Waghjai Ghat-Thanale Caves-Savashni Ghat.(Region: Between Lonavala-Tamhini)

Jai Shri Ram

"Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are Cathedrals where I practice my religion"    

                                                                                                                           Anatoli Boukreev.

The twin dykes of Tail Baila have always fascinated me. I still remember the fantastic aerial view i got of Tail Baila while we flew over the terrain while flying from Goa to Mumbai. Tail Baila appeared like a sub marine from above and the views of Sudhagad and the entire Sahyadri main range are still etched in my mind. 

Tail Baila is a small village about 40 kms south of Lonavala and now well known amongst the climbing community due to the twin rock dykes of Tail and Bail. The Tail Baila fort is a watch tower guarding the old ghat routes towards Sudhagad. There is a temple of Lord Bhairav in the middle of the 2 fort walls. The fort is situated at a height of around 3200 feet above sea level.

Our plan was to explore the ancient Ghat routes of Waghjai Ghat and Savashni Ghat which connected the Pune and Raigad district and also visit Thanale Caves.

We started at 11.00 pm from Chinchwad after picking up Vaibhav and Vineet Date.We passed Lonavala and Peth Shahpur at around mid night. The prospect of crossing the Saltar khind in the middle of the night was hair raising. Prajakt had got his trusted Indica and there were some exciting moments while negotiating a steep gradient just before we turned right at the junction for Tailbaila village. It was pitch dark in the forests of Saltar and suddenly we had to take a steep left turn.

The car however refused to climb due to the very bad condition of the road and started going back....Prajakt however skillfully navigated the car and soon we were on our way. Had the car stopped, getting out at 2.00 am in the night in the forest to push the car would have been some experience.( Our guide latter told us that they had encountered a leopard on this very patch of the forest a month back!!).

It was pitch dark when we arrived at Tail Baila Village at an unearthly hour in the night.....2.30 am, needless to say we quickly settled inside a house in the village. However it had rained and the ground outside the porch of the house was damp.Thus just Vinit could sleep inside the house(He tucked himself nicely on an old sofa set:-). The rest of us got back inside Prajakt's car for a couple of hours of vital sleep.

 

We got up by 6 and had a nice hot cup of Tea and the customary break fast of Kande pohe.
We started our trek at 7.15 am in the morning. The route leading to Waghjai ghat from Tail baila village was wide and heading straight to the west and thus we made rapid progress.

  As we approached the edge of the ghats we got mesmerizing views of Sudhgad fort and the konkan plains below. Before we started for Waghjai ghat we took a left on the plateau to descend towards this small water fall. All of us drank the cold water and refreshed our selves before starting the descent.

   While the typical ghat routes in Sahyadris start in a deep Ravine or gorge, Waghjai ghat starts off as a trail at the western end of the plateau.The route is a relatively easy and gentle on your legs and meanders along. However it is a longer route and you need to traverse the mountains a few times before you hit the lower plateau.The base village is Thanale in Konkan.

 

We got breathtaking views of the Kondgaon Dam enroute to Thanale. We met a local villager enroute who was going to supply milk to Kondgaon village. The ghat route was very much still in use.All along the mountains were covered with yellow Sonki flowers and the myraid colours made the descent very pleasant.

As we started our descent we got breath taking views of the lower plateau and the konkan plains.

Sarasgad emerged like a lotus from the plains on the western horizon.

After descending about 100 meters we took a slight left for the waghjai temple. The ghat route trail keeps descending downwards to the right.

The idols in side the temple of Goddess Waghjai.

The route after the waghjai temple descended towards the North and then again turned south once we were on the plateau below. There was dense forest on the lower plateau though and thus finding Thanale caves was going to be a challenge.

    We had descended 400 meters and it showed 9 am in the clock. We had reached a junction in the clearing just before the route enters the forest again and goes towards Thanale village.At this point you need to take a left if you want to go to Thanale caves.If you continue on the the route which goes straight you will reach Thanale village in konkan,a descent of another 200 meters on the plains.

Our local guide was quite well versed though with this terrain and was a very simple and honest man.

En route to Thanale caves

Fresh stream just before Thanale caves

En route to Thanale caves you have to go through dense forest. Keeping the Sahyadri main range to your left you need to go towards the south through thick forest which is largely untouched Being the west ward side, this area receives very heavy rain fall during monsoon.Not many people visit this side of the mountains except a few who trek up to Thanale caves from Thanale and Dhondse village.

The caves are not not visible once one enters the forest and are at the upper part of the mountain in dense foliage.Thus though our guide was a local finding the caves was not easy. We crossed a stream bed and reached a forested gully from where you need to a take a left for the caves. We missed this turn and proceeded a bit ahead. However the guide was quick to figure out that we had lost the route.He ascended about 300 meters almost vertically through thick grass and karvi plants and soon found the path leading to the caves.

We were elated on the reaching the caves after a vigorous search.We reached the caves by 11.00 am.The Thanale Caves or Nadsur Caves is a group of 23 Buddhist Caves located 72km to the southeast of Mumbai, in western Maharashtra, India, at Thanale Village, Taluka Sudhagad in Raigad, about18 km from Pali. The caves are very clean and have close to about 23 chambers and are primarily Buddhist caves. They date back about 2000 years.These caves belong to first century B.C. It has two Chaityas, two Stupas and the rest are Viharas.These caves are some of the most ancient rock-cut caves not only in Maharashtra but in all India and were located at a complex site of the ancient trade route of Chaul. The earliest caves were probably excavated between 70 and 50 BC, according to paleographic evidence.

The beautiful Serpant sculpture which adorns one of the doorway inside the cave.

A carving on the ceiling of the caves.

                                                                              The Stupa's.
                                                              

We enjoyed the splendour of the caves. We had our lunch which included Amrakhand, some boiled eggs, parathas and topped it with the customary son-papadi. We all took a 15 minute siesta inside the cave and started our return journey at around 1.00 pm.

  

After we descended from Thanale caves we took a short cut through the forest which joined the savashni ghat route coming up from Dhondse in Konkan.We had to first ascend from the lower plateau or Padar as it is referred in the sahyadri's to the ridge connecting the trail coming from Dhondse village. We had to negotiate lot of thickets, thorny bushes and vegetation before we joined the Savashni ghat trail.

We trekked through the most ever green forest with varied tree types like Teak, Mango,Jamun and many more. The ascent was steep and much more demanding then waghjai ghat that we had descended in the morning. The gradient kept on becoming steeper as we gained altitude.

During the Peshwa rule, Sakharam Pants wife died while negotiating the ghat route and thus the Tail Baila Ghat route got renamed as Savashni ghat( Savashna in Marathi basically means a women whose husband is alive, and in those days due to the constant wars the women with their men alive were considered fortunate).

The fag end of the hike was quite steep and we also saw some old rock cut steps on the upper end of the ghats. We got grand view of Sudhagad once we reached the top of Savashni Ghat.

The gang relaxing after the ardous ascent of Savashni Ghat..

   It was just 3.00 pm and we sat in the grass enjoying the beautiful evening view of Sudhagad, 
   Kevni Pathar, Ghangad and Tail Baila. It took us another 1 hour before we reached Tailbaila  
   village.

  We had trekked for about 16 kms and it was one of the most enjoyable hikes i have done. It  

  was over all a very sumptuous trek which had all the ingredients like ghat trails, ancient 

  caves, fascinating views of the Western ghat, surrounding forts and beautiful evergreen   

  forests around Sudhagad and Pune district.

  Hope all of you enjoyed reading the blog and it encourages you to step out into the ghats!

Trek participants: Prajakt Bhalgaonkar, Vinit Date,Vaibhav and Amit Marathe.

Some important points to be noted:

1). Please ensure that you exercise regularly before you take up this or any other arduous trek.
2). Please do not litter and and carry all your waste back with you after the trek.
3). Stay close with the group and do not wander alone in the forest.
4). At all times carry at least 3 litres of water per day. Very important to stay hydrated.
5). Respect the guides you hire and make them a part of your trekking team, share your food with them and do not give your sacks to them to carry.
6). Try and gather information about the geography and historical importance of the places you visit.
7). Please respect the time given to your fellow trek mates and be on time always.