This trek is special like no other. It was tough n long, we were 3 inexperienced trekkers, I fell ill and nature gifted us an amazing companion. Read on....
The Plan
The plan was in Divya's mind for a while. She had intended to do it earlier, but something always got in the way. Finally she asked me and I too got hooked. Thus, on the weekend of 2nd October, we decided to trek 2 forts, Rajgad and Torna, both massive, and about 10 kms apart.
Diyva had done most of the ground work for the plan. She spoke to quite a few of our diggaj trekking friends and the opinion was unanimous. Its a very tough task. The 2 forts are separated by a 6 hour walk, in complete isolation and with the fear of wildlife attacks in the night. We met up to explore all options and I used all my logistics skills to make an efficient plan. We were still skeptical as both of us have trekking experience, but no expertise. We decided to ask other people who we know are good trekkers. We were unsure if we would undertake the trek if it was just 2 of us. 3 days before the trek, Rubens joined in. I was very happy as he is a good trekker and has done a few tough ones.
So finally, Friday 1st October, the 3 of us were set. Initial plan was to drive to Gunjawane (base village of Rajgad) in the night in my car, halt there for couple of hours and start at day break, climb Rajgad, quick lunch and very brief exploration and head off to Torna. Hit Torna by evening, spend the night in the mandir, explore fort in the morning an descend down to base village Velhe. However, on Thursday Rubens suggested we change plans and climb the other way, Torna first. His consideration was the lack of infrastructure at Torna and the story of the ghost of Torna. Since his first point was very valid, we decided to change course, even though we would have to go backwards 20 kms to fetch the car after descending. A lot of the final planning was done on phone since I was travelling to Kozhikode and had a very hectic Thursday
D Day
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| Here we go |
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| Hotel Descent |
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| Good morning sun - we beat u |
As planned we set off at day break and hit Cheladi Phata. Here large boards direct you right towards Nasrapur, Rajgad, Torna and Velhe. This road is called the Nasrapur - Velhe road and is a State Highway. It ends at Velhe and so there is no chance of getting lost. By 7 am, after a 225 km drive we were at Velhe and after parking my car by the bridge, having a quick breakfast (what else but pohas) we set off.
The Climb
1. Torna
- At 7.45 am precisely, we began climbing. From here on, the description gets chronological. The initial climb was a painfully steep incline walk. The sun was out sharp.
All set to roll - 8.15 am: Man Down: Within 15 mins of the climb, I was struggling.I had already taken 3 breaks and just could not walk. I have trekked in much tougher conditions, I have trekked after nightouts, I have trekked while fasting, I have trekked after long drives. So nothing in this situation was new. Infact I had slept 4 hours, had a descent breakfast and the sun wasn't that hot. This was quite worry some as we had atleast 12 hours of equally tough climb to go. I was even contemplating changing course. Both Divya and Rubens sensed my discomfort. At one point where I gave up, there was a hut 25 steps ahead. Divya took my bag and asked to to walk to the hit. By the 20th step I collapsed again. Finally in hut, we took stock. The diagnosis was indigestion and the cure was to puke it out (Dr Divya). I was fed banana and lot of fluid was pumped in. I was suggesting they 2 continue and was in a good mood to stop midway, open my sleeping bag and take a nap (a la Kamandurg). However, Divya insisted that we stick togetherand worst case, climb only Torna. We decided to carry on and decide on the plan based on my condition. Although feeling a bit better, I was still slow and taking a lot of breaks. Divya was also slow due to the steep climb and poor Rubenswas mostly walking ahead alone, clicking us and probably wondering how the 2 of us would cope the rest of the way. By now Layla had joined us. She was generally staying close to me and breaking whenever I broke. As always, I ignored her.
- 9 am: Man still down: While the breaks were getting more spaced out, I was still in trouble. We had made very slow progress due to my speed. Even Layla was getting bored waiting for me. I have even worn my Shiekh outfit to beat the heat. Divya kept asking me to puke. At this time a group of 5 passed us. Through standard trekker bonding we gathered that they had the same plan. However, unlike us there guys had changed 2 STs and 1 Trax and walked a bit to reach here (no sleep). Even these guys saw my state and immediately offered medication. In a moment of desperation, I popped in 2 tablets together (1 antacid and 1 antipuke).
- 9.30 am: Man not that down: Maybe it was the double doze, maybe the banana or maybe just time,
but I was feeling better. My breaks were fewer and our group was almost at pace with the gang of 5. We now passed a very scenic patch where we could see the Gunjawane dam on one side and Velhe on the other and there was a lot of colorful flowers. Soon we rounded the Zunjar maachi and reached the rock patch. This was the shaded part of the climb. Besides it was rock cut steps, my preferred option. Soon, I was at pace and humming.
Sheikh Ali, Divya, Gang of 5 and Gunjawane dam - 10.30 am: Atop Torna: We reached Torna along with the group of 5. Layla was with us. A local who took down our names and our plan in a register. He told us it would be a 6 hour walk for us from here to Rajgad. We decided to continue as I felt I could go on. However, we decided to reduce the exploration and set off immediately and also to make and eat lunch enroute. We did however stop some time at the tank to fill up, at the mandir to look around and while I recovered strength, Divya and Rubens went and saw Zunjar Maachi. Considering we were headed towards Bhudala Maachi, almost all areas got covered. Rubens offered Layla some biscuits but she was hardly enthused (maybe cos Diyva licked off the cream before giving it to her).
- 11.15 am: We had set of to cross Torna towards the Bhudala maachi. By now, I felt completely recovered. I was racing ahead to check my self. Yes I was back. This patch was mainly flat walking. We had a beautiful view on both sides. Rajgad could be seen far away on the left, as could the ridge we had to cross. On the right, towards the back was the Gunjawane dam. Many times we had to pass through towering bushes. However the path was well
defined. Intriguingly, Layla continued to follow us. By now, she had our attention.
The Awesome ladder patch - 12 noon: Bhudala maachi: The group of 5 spent a bit more time exploring Torna. However, they were faster and by the time we reached Bhudala maachi at 12, they had passed us again. This was a tricky descent. There is a steep rock patch, followed by a metal ladder and another steep patch. The group ahead took a long while and so we had to wait. I enjoyed the patch. With our massive backpacks and sleeping bags, it was essential to do this patch backwards, a trick Divya has still to learn. She struggled a bit but we cleared the patch all right. When down, we looked up and saw Layla looking down on us. Clearly she could not pass the ladder patch, we bid her farewell and walked on.
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| Never miss a chance to climb a tree - howsoever ill u are |
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| Welcome to Torna |
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| Racing towards Bhudala - Ridge starts to the right |
2. Layla
Even before our trek began, a black dog start following us. Its usual for village dogs to follow
trekkers on the regular treks as they know they will get some food from us. I have also heard stories where these dogs act as guides when the trekkers loose their way. However, I have never had a dog follow me in my limited 25 odd treks. As i was unwell and taking a lot of breaks, the dog kept with me (we hypothesize that it could sense I was in trouble). I am not an animal lover, so my usual approach was to ignore the dog. However, it kept with all the way till top of Torna. When we opened some snacks, the dog completely ignored the food, this got us even more intrigued. We started discussing the dog and why it was with us. Divya soon highlighted that it was a female. In a moment of Claptonic inspiration, I named her Layla.
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| Layla |
The group of 5 were more keen on acknowledging her presence and petted her a lot, whenever they passed us. Still she ignored them and stuck to us all through the walk to Bhudala maachi. We felt she would head back in due course. She was useful and showed us the correct path at a couple of places. However, at a couple of places she seemed hesitant to continue. When we reached the ladder patch, it was obviously not a patch the dog could do, so it was farewell time. However, after completing the ladder and rock patch, we hadn't walked far when we heard a thud behind, Layla had found a tricky but possible route down this patch. She was back with us. This time, there was no way back for her. This dog from Velhe was going to come end up at Rajgad some 20 kms away. We had now become a group of 4.
3. The Ridge
It was 1 pm by the time we finished the rock patch and began the ridge. Its quite a sight this ridge. One can see Rajgad at the other end and villages on both sides below. However, not a single soul or
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| The Ridge |
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| Bye Bye Torna |
Finally at 1.45 pm, after half an hour of searching for a shady (my slang for shaded oh grammar Nazi's) spot to eat, hunger got the better of us and we stopped on top of a open hillock, right under the sun, for lunch. Layla had walked ahead and had to be whistled for to join us. Lunch was intended to be well made vegetable, cheese, butter and chutney sandwiches. However, in our exhaustion, we decided to skip butter and restrict the chutney to 1 slice. Lunch making was a perfect assembly line. I made the chutney and applied it on the slices, Rubens opened and put the cheese, Divya being the lady of the group (a title which was later accorded to Layla) had to cut the tomatoes and cucumber and Rubens again assembled the sandwich. We had carried ingredients for about 20 sandwiches. However, hunger levels were low. We only finished 1 loaf of bread and 1 packet of cheese and a lot of the chutney had to be thrown. Since we had not anticipated Layla's presence, all we could give her were bread slices. She ate a few without complaining. We offered her the veggies and cheese but she refused. One of the small joys of the lunch was it reduced weight on our backs. Divya was most happy since she was carrying all the veggies. We also consumed a lot of water and that was the 2nd reason for weight reduction. This, added to the fact that we were now well rested and had also taken a lot of time to eat lunch, meant that we now decided to walk fast and make ground. The group of 5 had long since disappeared ahead of us. We were expecting to pass them somewhere, since their lunch plan was more elaborate one of making fire and cooking Maggie but as we gathered later, they decided to postpone lunch until reaching Rajgad.
At 2.30 pm, we set off again, still a long part of the ridge to be crossed. Bags being lighter, stomachs being full and me being well, meant we made good ground. Its a very intuitive straight route. One has to remain on top of the ridge. Couple of places, it seemed a bit confusing but Layla guided us. The ridge has many small hillocks. Initially we were climbing and descending each. Then we discovered bypasses. Each hillock had 2 routes, one that went over it and one that went flat around it. The bypasses were off the edge and sometimes though thick bushes, but they were much easier. Layla was also happy. As soon as we discovered the bypasses, life was good. The only villager we met during this leg of the journey felt we might not be able to walk on the edge and directed us along the hillock route.
3.30 pm: The journey was going fine but water was running low. We had enough to reach Rajgad but were worried about Layla. She was visibly panting by now and also taking every opportunity to catch shade. Divya wanted to give her water but the 2 of us were unsure if we have enough to spare. Finally she prevailed and we took some water in the lid of the chutney jar (only option) and gave it to Layla. She laped it up with joy, although there was a slight tinge of the salty chutney in it. After a few laps she walked away, and so we felt she has had enough. However, within 10 mins we reach a small ditch containing water and Layla was lapping away again. This time she had her fill. Clearly, she just took enough from us to survive. This dog was indeed god sent.
We were aware that our trail would cross a road and pass one lonely hut towards the end. So we
We were aware that our trail would cross a road and pass one lonely hut towards the end. So we
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| The Forest |
were eagerly looking for both these as a sign of us getting closer. We passed through a jungle (welcome break from the sun) and many thick and tall bushes. Layla was a real nuisance in the
bushes as she would suddenly stop and we would trip over her. Finally at about 4.15, the hut arrived, There sat an old lady bust with some work. She was quite bemused to see 3 trekkers with massive backpacks and a dog. At about 4.30 pm the road arrived. Its a SH that goes from one village to another. ST buses ply on it. Its at the lowest point of the ridge, so we knew that it will be a steep uphill climb from here. Just at the time, 2 villages were passing by on their bike. There 2 were again bemused to see 1 girl and 2 guys walking out of the forest with huge backpacks and a dog. They asked about us and about the dog. We really were a sight, 4 of us.
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| The tall bushes |
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| Us 4, on the road |
After the road, the steep climb began and it started taking a toll on Divya. She was struggling now
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| Climbing again |
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| Hello Rajgad |
Finally at 5.30 pm we completed the climb and were now touching the Rajgad wall. We still had to round this edge of the fort, go behind and find the path to the entrance door. However, so kicked were we with our achievement that we decided to take a nice break. Layla
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| Can u see Torna in b/g? |
4. Rajgad
We began the last leg of the Rajgad climb at 5.45 pm and exactly at 6 pm, we reached the first darwazaa. We were entering the Sanjeevni Maachi side. Soon we were inside the massive fort. We reached a set of tanks. While there were a lot of fishes in the water, it still looked a bit murky to drink. Rubens and self freaked out in the water, almost taking a bath. The joy of hitting cold water after having walked the whole day in hot sun, is one of those to be experienced things. Poor Divya had to just watch, she catches a cold of she gets her feet wet in cold water. Self and Rubens had a nice pedicure done by all the hungry fishes in the tank. There were a set of 5 tanks but none had water we were confident of drinking. Thus, well washed, we set of towards the main part of the fort. We stopped at a hillock to watch the sun set. It was quite a pretty sight. In happiness, Divya's emergency bottle was consumed.
Until now, the only people we had seen since 11 am were the group of 5 who passed us, the 1 lone villager we found walking on the ledge, the bemused lady in the hut, the 2 men on the bike, and the lady coming down from Rajgad who had taken all our veggies.
We continued towards the main fort. It was quite a long walk and was getting dark now. Rubens being the high energy member of the group, we decided that he should go ahead and try and find a place to sleep and food to eat. Layla decided to go with him, probably she guessed that no member should be left alone.Self and Divya ambled along at the best pace we could. The main fort was still to appear. I was getting a bit worried now since we were very low on water and it was getting dark. We had to get our torches out now. Finally at about 7 pm, we saw people, loads and loads of people. We had reached Padmavati mandir. Our journey, which began at 7.45 am and involved almost 20 kms of walking / climbing, had ended, for the day atleast.
The place was packed. Later we realised that all the 4 halls were packed with people. Some people had to sleep out in the open too. Most had climbed earlier in the day and explored the fort. Some would move to Torna the next day while most would just head back to Mumbai / Pune. By the time we reached, most trekkers had already settled down for the night. Food was being cooked all around. Rubens had once again played superman of the group. Despite his lack of knowledge of Marathi, he had arranged for the food, found 2 spots to sleep and filled up some water. Divya just collapsed on reaching. Self and Rubens had our dinner, Pitle and Bhat, since the Bhaakri was over. Then we had chai, loads and loads of chai. Finally Divya woke and had some food (just as i was getting a bit worried about her). She ate only some, rest she fed Layla. We also decided to give off our 2nd loaf of bread to Layla. So among the 4 of us, she had the best meal. I managed a spot to sleep near the door. Soon Layla came and slept next to me. Later in the night, some folks tried to drive her out, be she sneaked back in snuggled back next to me again. There were many stray dogs on Rajgad that night. And most were petted by the trekkers. But only one belonged to a group and slept inside the temple. Only 1 was a trekker.
After an interrupted, disturbed but very much necessary rest, we got up at 5.45 am. Target was to climb up the Balle Killa to see the sun rise. A lot of trekking groups we waking up to explore. We set off by 6 am. Balle Killa is a fun climb. There are a lot of interesting rock patches. However, there are railings for support and so the thrill is reduced. Layla was sleeping, so we didn't bother her. We reached Balle Killa top by 6.45 am. We had missed the sun rise. But the view was awesome. We were at the highest point of the fort. There are some beautiful water tanks on the Balle Killa. The remains of the palace are also seen here as could Torna and the ridge route. We were sitting and soaking the beauty and enormity of the place when we saw Layla coming. How she had found us on this massive fort, I don't know. But she did, and she came near us and sat. And the group was 4 again. After spending more than an hour exploring the Balle Killa and chorvat, we set of back down.
Back in Padmavati temple at 8.30 am, we had breakfast of pohas. Most trekking groups had left by now. A few were headed to Torna (these were the 3 day plans, only us and the group of 5 had done a 2 day plan) while a few were headed back down. We met the group of 5 again. They had been in the temple all along, but we didn't spot them in the crowd. They were also headed off. They had to catch the 11 am bus to Pune from Gunjawane so they were in a hurry.
Most interestingly, as soon as we reached back in the temple, Layla disappeared. Initially we though she was hanging around outside being fed by the other trekkers. However, when we stepped out, we didn't spot her. I was anyway fretting about the farewell. We would have to take a vehicle from Gunjawane and it would be difficult if Layla had followed us till there. Once again, this dog had amazed us. How she knew that it was time for her to go off alone, I don't know. All 3 of us regret not having a proper farewell with her. I will never get my self to love an animal. But Layla is the closet it will ever come to.
At about 9.00 am, we too packed and set off for descent. We passed the Padmavati lake where tons of trekkers and revelers were having a blast (bath) and took the chor darwajaa (please note that the Gunjawane darwajaa is closed) and could see the group of 5 about 30 mins ahead of us. We decided to do a fast descent. I was worried about finding a quite transport option to Velhe and hence driving back in the evening. Night driving, after one of the toughest treks of your life ain't recommended. The descent was again good fun. There are some cool rock patches. Divya in her exhaustion gave up trying to learn reverse descending and we also didn't push her. All we wanted was to make time. And make time we did. On our way down, we met a lot if groups going up. It's interesting to see people at different speeds and gauge who will be in trouble reaching up.
At 10.50 am we reached Gunjawane village. We had completed the descent in about 1.5 hours. On inquiry, we were told that the Pune ST is about to leave and that can drop us half way to Velhe. We just managed to catch the bus. The group of 5 were not in it. They would have probably got an earlier vehicle. The bus dropped us at Magrasani, where, within 5 minutes, we got a Trax to Velhe. My fear of delays in getting transport to Velhe had been unfound. By 12, we were at my car at Velhe. We all changed and also had a good time washing up at the well (cold water after a sun soaked trek). By 12.15, we had set of towards Mumbai. I have a tradition of carrying a Dairy Milk Silk to all my treks. This we open to celebrate the trek when we have reached up. However, this time, we forgot about the chocolate on Rajgad and could only remember it while descending. So, as decided, we celebrated in the car. Ofcouse, we couldn't finish the chocolate and had to carry some back home. Another first in my treks.
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| Superman Rubens |
We had lunch enroute and took the scenic NH4 to Pune and from there, the expressway to Mumbai. By 5 pm (less than 48 hours), we had dropped Divya at Kanjurmarg and were home. This trek will remain in my memory for the shear endurance we put in, for what we managed to do, for Divya's leadership, for Rubens boundless energy and enthusiasm, for my bout of illness and finally for Layla.
