In the lapse of nature ~ Trek to Lohgad

The rains offer the best reason for anyone to make a quick getaway. so this time we planned a trek to Lohgad after meticulous planning and chat conference discussions. At around 8 am in the morning we were all at Shivajinagar railway station. Everyone dressed in a typical hiking attire with shorts / three fourths / loose jerseys etc .. Yepp we were off for a hike !! I could see the excitement in everyone's eyes. At 9.15 am we reached Malavali station. Had a quick breakfast and started heading towards Lohgad. As soon as we leave the station, we can see the Mumbai-Pune express highway. There is a small flyover bridge crossing the expressway. We walked across, and for some distance after that, we followed a tarred road. Our first stop was Bhaje caves. We had to climb some steps to get to the caves. The caves themselves were quite narrow and deep, and had narrow small doorways. We imagined that this might be where the prisoners were kept. It sure was the perfect place to play hide and seek! The main cave was the only one with some kind of decorative structures, all the others were crude stone caves. We explored the caves a bit, and then decided to move on. From here, the climb to lohagad took around 1 hour. The climb was breathtakingly beautiful, and the climate made it only better. We were surrounded with dreamy clouds of fog. Every thing around us was covered in greenery, including the walls and stone strairs. Small waterfalls littered the stone cut mountain, all the way to the top, giving the caves cut into the stone a water curtain like appearance. As soon as we were on the top platue, we were welcomed with heavy rain and gutsy winds. I could have sworn the wind could easily carry away small animals. It was becoming increasingly difficult to see anything. We found a small stone temple and glued our backs to it and waited for the rains to thin out. It was not helping, the rains still lashed at us. it still has its fortification and doorways in pristine condition. The fort dates back to the Satvahan Era and was mainly used to keep a watch on the trade route passing through the Sahyadris.As one starts ascending the fort, 4 massive doors have to be crossed namely Ganesh Darwaza, Narayan Darwaza, Hanuman Darwaza, & Maha Darwaza. The top of the fort is expansive and has a huge lake built by Nana Phadnis. The most interesting feature of this fort is the ‘Vinchu Katta’, which stretches for almost 2 kms and is slightly detached from the fort. The end of this katta has a bastion which was used for keeping a watch on the region.As the name itself suggest, the ‘Vinchu Katta’ when viewed from the top of the fort resembles a Scorpions Sting.

At the top we were in the lapse of nature. finally at 4pm we started back. After 45 mins, we were at the base village, trembling, shivering and chattering due to the cold winds. we caught Lonavla-Pune local and reached Pune by 6.30pm. Sahyadri was calling us to visit again :)

How to go : From Pune, take Lonavla local and get down at Malavali railway station. Then cross expressway and road leads you to Lohgad.

Best Season : Monsoon.

So frndz, if you need any more info just buzz on 098223 54348 or drop a mail to writeabhijit@yahoo.com

Happy Monsoon :-)