Lohagad

Vacations passed but with just one quality trek-Karnala. Then again did my usual home trek i.e. Parsik. First I went with Shivendu and Ninad. Then went again there in the same week with my college gang (would be putting up those two treks on the blog later). So finally the opportunity came my way to do a proper trek-Lohagad

One of my old friends, who is also my partner in crime in my class asked me if I would like to go to Lohagad. Although college had started the same week but this opportunity was too good to let go off. I was still in two minds as this would mean missing my Saturday lectures in class. I asked y parents and after having a very strict warning about missing any further lectures they allowed me. Soon more than a handful of my friends knew about it and were interested in coming for the trek. As it turns out every time many of them backed out with different reasons. My trusted lieutenant Tej and my partner of Raigad trek Akshay agreed to come. Ninad had told me that he was having exams so I didn’t inform him about us going and same with Shivendu.

The day of the trek came and I was pretty much excited. I was to meet Prasad and Akshay at Thane station. Tej ha already informed me that he was ready at Dadar station with his ticket of Indrayani express that we were to take to reach Lonavala. I reached thane station at quarter to six in the morning. Soon Prasad was with me. But I was very much worried about Akshay as I had no information about his whereabouts. I had tried calling him more than a couple of time but with no answers. We were still in the queue for tickets when Akshay called. He said that his train was late and he would reach sharp at quarter past six. So we took his ticket as well.

After taking our tickets we reached the platform where our train was going to arrive. I was already five passed six but with no signs of Akshay. Train arrived at ten passed six and was going to leave at fifteen passed six. I called him again and told him that he was going to miss the train unless he arrived in five minutes. He said that he would make it, but still I wasn’t sure about it. It was quarter passed six and train left, but still there was no sign of Akshay.

I messaged him that the train had left and what was he going to do now. His answer was one of the biggest surprises I would get on this trek. He said that he was coming to Lonavala by a bus! I was very happy to know that he was coming but still I had not seen Tej in our train and I was worried about him now.

I and Prasad were standing in the passage way. We were chatting about our previous trekking experiences. He had been to Lohagad twice before but he was still excited about it as if it was his first time. The weather outside the train was very much calm and cool. Mist was omnipresent and the air was very moist. The day was still to break. Trains halt was now at Kalyan station. Once there, a huge crowd boarded the train. We could hardly stand on our two feet but were comfortable once again after the crowd settled but still it was not like our previous condition. The dawn was just a few moments away. We could hear the chirping of birds around us when the train stopped. Occasionally a tea vendor would come but we were way more excited to settle down with a tea. After having spending around an hour and half in the train we neared Lonavala station. We were now planning our next action. Firstly were going to find Tej, then call our homes and finally take a note about Akshay’s whereabouts

As soon as we got down from the train the first thing I saw was Tej! I was very much relieved to see him there. Then introductions between Prasad and Tej were carried out. We were now moving out of the station towards some jeeps standing outside. We enquired there rates and when we got some out of the world answers we decided to forget the jeeps. So now we asked some Rickshaws about it. Same story was repeated here. By now we had very well understood about these people’s true intentions. So we let go of it all and moved towards good old state transport buses. Once in the bus station Akshay met us and soon we boarded the bus. The bus took us to the village of Malavali. The bus was empty and we were the only people inside it other than the conductor and the driver. 15 minutes later we got down having spent just Rs.4 each. This was in stark contrast to the Rs.150 asked by the Rickshaw.

Once in the village we started walking towards the village of Bhaje. But after asking some locals we came to know that it was quite a long distance, and we were already behind time. As luck would have it, a rickshaw stopped near us and took us to the village. From here our trek started. There were trees on both sides. Photography freak Tej was having a whale of time and I was getting very much impatient to reach the top of the fort.

On our way we passed Bhaje caves. These are some pre historic caves and have beautiful carvings inside them. We had planned to go there but considered it better to pass it of. So now we were on our way to the great fort of Lohagad. We could see the extended wing of the fort in front of us. It is called “vinchu kata”. It resembles the tail of a scorpion and that’s why it is called so. To our left we could see the huge sprawling fort of Visapur. It had some beautiful sights to offer. The morning was very pleasant and the sun was shinning upon us. Till now everything was fine except Tej, he was going mad with his photography and it was really irritating me. I was afraid that if the sun continued to shine so vigorously then we were going to be in for trouble.

I was telling them the history of the fort. I didn’t know much about it but was just reciting what I had read in my research prior to the trek. The fort was build during the reign of Satavahana dynasty. From them it went to the founder of Nizamshahi Malik Amber. Then after the fall of Nizamshahi, it came under the rule of Adilshahi dynasty. It was then captured by the great Maratha king Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja. During his treaty with Mughals he had to give it away, but reinstated it five years later. As with all other forts of Maharashtra, Union Jack was hoisted on it in the dark year for the forts of Maharashtra-1818.

All of my fellow trekkers were astonished with this piece of information. I went ahead and told them about the other intricacies of the fort and now they were sure that I was here before and was just bluffing in front of them that it was my first trek here. Now the sun was hidden among the clouds and it seemed that it would rain any minute. The next thing we knew was that the sun was out again and shinning on us again. These hide and seek continued. By now we were in between Lohagad and Visapur. We could see many mountains in the background. I could even make out some forts among them like Tung, Tikona, and Korigad etc. Here we met an old local lady she told us some fable about a horse and a queen. To prove it she even showed some marks etched in the rocks below us which resembled human footprints and Horse footprint. No one among us believed a word that she said but considering her age and her willingness to make us aware about the fable (that I didn’t understand at all) we acted as if we really believed every word of it. We even thanked her and left. Nearby there were three small kids playing cricket. The bat that they were using amused me very much. It was a piece of wood with a very short handle and a long blade. It barely resembled a proper cricketing bat. Nevertheless those boys seemed pretty happy with what they had. It just proved the point of the cricket fever present in Indians. Even Tej and Prasad had a go with that “willow”. After having a snap of those kids we left them alone.

By now it was passed noon and we could just see the strong walls of the fort towering over us. We could even make out the trademark grey color on them. As we neared the fort it became more and more intimidating. We climbed a few stairs and were inside the fort. Very much unlike the other forts, it appeared well preserved and maintained. I got a very pleasant surprise to see the restoration of the fort being carried out. Very few forts in Maharashtra are being restored today. Mostly the forts lie with the burden of history on them, but they still stand tall and recite the stories of war heroes who created history. It is very saddening to see these witnesses of History in such a sorry state. The fort is simply huge and there is an air of mystery on the fort. The fort appears very much masculine and raw beauty. It exudes a confidence of its own.

After looking around and snapping tones of pictures we moved towards the summit of fort. Over here Prasad was very hungry and sat down for having some fruits. We were busy with our photography when a monkey appeared of nowhere and went straight towards Prasad who was having a banana. He was scared out of his wits and threw all the bananas in front of the monkey. The monkey ate them in no time. The trouble was still far from over. Another monkey appeared and stood in Prasad’s way as if asking for something. Now we were really scared as this one was bigger in size than the previous one. Prasad had a very bright idea and threw a rolled piece of paper from his bag long away. Both monkeys were attracted towards. This time was enough for us to run away from that place.

Admiring the scenic beauty all around us we reached the top of the fort. Fort has mainly 4 gate viz. “ganesh darwaja”, ”narayan darwaja”, “hanuman darwaja”, “maha darwaja” . At the top of the fort there are three mosques and a Shiva Temple. There are huge tanks of water build during the historic times. There is also a lake. After spending some time here we moved on towards the “vinchu kata”. If we look at its structure from its point of beginning it completely resembles the tail of the scorpion. To reach the end of this region we had to climb down a rock patch. It was one of the most exciting rock patches I have ever done. It was short but had lots of exciting points in it.

After completing this we met a guy. He was around 40-45 years of age and was talking to us as if he knew us from a very long time. Prasad being our public relations guy was overawed by him. Me, Tej and Akshay were really pissed of by his overfriendly behavior. The worst came when he chatted away Prasad from us and they were heading back towards the other end of the fort. Now was the time for action. We three called Prasad but he was far away to hear our voices. We had dropped our sack to rest and have lunch over here. We again repacked and started moving towards where Prasad was going. They had the same rock patch to do again. We knew that Prasad was slow on the rocks so it worked as our advantage. We almost ran for them. When we reached there, Prasad was negotiating the rock patch we had counted upon. I asked Tej to go after Prasad had completed as I no more trusted that guy. Tej who is really quick on the rock was besides Prasad in no time. I was very much angry with both Prasad and that guy. But now the time was to help Akshay complete the rock patch. He was a bit shaky as he could not get a grip due to his shoes. After helping him calm down and making him reach the top I followed suite and completed the rock patch. Once with Prasad I gave him a piece of my mind and asked him to do away with that guy. After around 5 minutes that guy was gone and we were having lunch in a hiding that kept us safe from the roving eyes of the monkeys.

Lunch was finished ad mist chatting and joking. Next half hour we were on our way down. The way downhill appeared small and comfortable. We reached the base village and were off to our homes, in no time.

During the trek I missed my brothers Shivendu and Ninad a lot, as they are always game to my idiotic adventures. I equally missed my friends Mayur, Bhavesh, Shaunak and Himanshu who were a part of my previous treks. I also missed my friend Gaurav who never comes with me for a trek, but I am sure that one day I will convince him to come with me. All in all this was one trek in my life that I won’t forget ever.