Trek to Kothaligad fort

Had been to Kothaligad Fort on trekking with friends on 4th July, 2010. The day started with apprehensions because the previous day i.e. Saturday, it was pouring rains all over Bombay with some parts of it severely flooded too. Two or three members dropped out possibly due to concerns about transport, safety etc. Even my family was a bit apprehensive, but since I was one of the leaders of the expedition, I could not have backed of.



Few phone calls made to friends on Saturday evening to iron out last minute glitches, if any – everything seemed go - everybody was enthusiastic about the trip, rains notwithstanding.



We started of at 5.45 a.m. from Borivli National Park in a 25 seater bus which had its first pick up at Aarey forest and then onwards to the JVLR picking up few more people on board – last one being at Powai. Everybody was joking, jovial and light hearted. Rains continued to pour throughout the trip to Karjat.



At Karjat, we stopped for kanda bhajia, vada pav and some tea. Suitably refreshed, we set off again to the base camp, which was about 10 kms away through a narrow, winding, broken road Enquiries made at the base camp which had a local entrepreneur offering refreshments etc. – we were on the right path.

We set off at 10 a.m. through a winding upwards road, which had stones on it, so walking was a bit difficult, had to concentrate hard in order not to lose footing and twist ankle. This went on for about an hour by which time we came to the base of the mountain. The party broke into two groups, one going ahead with a purpose and the second party at a leisurely pace taking photographs on the way. So at the base of the mountain, we again made enquiries whether the advance party was on its way and having been re-assured, we set off climbing the mountain. From this part onwards, the breathing became hard, (though since we were all long distance runners the endurance levels were extremely high), the climb was tough at parts, few people took support and we reached the base of the fort which had a cave in it.

Again local entrepreneurship was visible, we were offered limbu pani, which was like nectar to us at that stage. The cave was just one room with a seating ledge and views through slits to the mountainside. We sat down for a while, took photographs etc., cracked a few jokes and then started off again – this time we had to climb 98 monster steps, each step like three steps of a building staircase. The steps were narrow so only one person could climb at a time, taking support of the sides. It went on like a spiral, some people counting the steps, others deeming it unholy to do so. At one point, when we were climbing the steps, it jutted out to the mountainside which had a sheer drop of about 1000 feet, so one had to be very careful with the footing. At the end of the steps, we reached the top of the mountainside, which had a small plateau and a beautiful view of the entire mountainscape all around. It was sheer breathtaking beauty in itself.

Lunch packets brought out, each one nibbling a little from each one’s box, we relaxed for a while and soaked in the atmosphere for as long as possible. The climb from the base of the mountain to the top took 90 minutes.

We started back at 2.00 p.m. again encountering the steep steps and this time the cliff side descent was tough on the weak hearts. Few more photographs on the way, we were on the way back first down the mountain and then down the winding path. On the way, we came across, one village which had its typical village houses, quaint little verandahs, little shops, children playing across the road, dogs et al. Returned back to the base camp at 4.30 p.m. had delicious tea at the base camp restaurant with few of the lunch snacks. Suitably refreshed and thoroughly satisfied with the day’s trek we set back to Bombay at around 5.30 p.m., few people dozing off, others chit chatting and all of them asking for an encore – more treks in the near future.