Thrilling Trek to Duke's Nose

The rains offer the best reason for anyone to make a quick getaway. So this time we planned a trek to Duke’s Nose after meticulous planning and chat conference discussions. Nagphani, later known as Duke’s Nose, is a cliff at Khandala near Lonavala. The Cliff is pointed like a snake's pointed head portion (hood) and hence the name Nagphani (Nag means snake and phani means hood). The name Dukes’nose is derived as the cliff looked like the shape of the Duke. Nature makes you feel so insignificant at times; you can’t help but continue to stare at this beauty. There’s a small temple on top of the rock and ample space to just lie down and stare at the sky. If you’re in Lonavala this is a place you must visit. Duke’s Nose can actually be seen from the Mumbai-Pune expressway.
At around 7 am in the morning we gathered at Shivajinagar railway station. The Sanhyadri Express was the ultimate choice we made.
Everyone was 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. To our surprise the sahyadri express was almost empty. Without any hassles we got complete bogie for our group of 14 people. We landed at Khandala at 9am. We decided to have some snacks. After having tasty Misal Paav and a hot cup of tea, all got refreshed. Atmosphere was very pleasant. We started walking towards Mumbai direction. First we came across Khandala lake just adjacent to the main road. We took a left turn from Khandala Lake and reached the old rail tracks. The rail track which was not functional and heading upside hill was the one we choose. We came across Tata Power Station. Even though the entry was restricted from Tata premises one of the Tata employee told us to go from premises itself. After 20 minutes walk from green woods and slippery slopes we reached a plain land. We started climbing and reached at the top in about 45 minutes. The trek was scary especially for gals but everyone was enjoying the adventure. Your footwear has to have a good grip. You keep reaching grassy plains along the mountain's slope where you can relax, take snaps of the mountains and valleys and move ahead. The last few hundred meter path towards the Duke's Nose is quite challenging. Once you reach the top, you will be astonished to see a small Shiv Mandir built there, and the Shivling alongside it. The fog was dense. We had our Lunch at Duke’s Nose with paratha, chatni and Pickle. It was too much enjoyable. Then after having few snapshots we started our return journey. It was a truly memorable and refreshing trek.
How to go : From Pune, preferably go by Sahyadri Express and get down at Khandala railway station. From there the old rail track goes towards Duke’s Nose.

Best Season : Monsoon.

So frndz, pack the bags and e'joy the beauty of monsoon. If you need any info just drop me a mail on writeabhijit@yahoo.com or buzz on 098223 54348
Cheers!