Amit Marathe's Blog

Jai Shri Ram The forest was turning darker by the minute,evening was turning to night rapidly and we were still in Khadsamble caves on the mountain above the  plateau.........Lahu Kadu, our guide for this trek, was refusing to accept that he did not know the route ahead and kept on guiding us deeper into the woods towards Ghondand Ghat,instead of taking us to the lower plains. Our destination for the day was the small hamlet of Kondi in Konkan and here we were stranded on the plateau about 300 feet above the Konkan plains. Far on the horizon we could see the lights of Nagshet village..but the route to the plains below had been engulfed by the shadows of the dark night. It was still only 7.30 pm and yet it had become pitch dark.We were facing the daunting prospect of spending the night in the forest and preparing ourselves for the uncomfortable vigil ahead. Ghatanche Vatsaru..! Winter of 2017 had brought with it the prospect of embarking on some rarely trodden

           Jai Shriram   Cold monsoon winds were blowing through the ghats,the hills were surrounded by thick mist, dark clouds and rain........ The entire setting looked ominous..all was quiet and nervy as the car approached Dhamanohol.. The prospect of trekking through the unknown and that too covering two ghat routes and a fort in this weather seemed a daunting task.. But then i thought to myself that why am i getting perturbed? Is this not what i am in search off..the search for the unknown, to challenge my fears, to stretch and find out the limits of my potential !! As often happens in life, the dark clouds and rain soon gave way to fantastic scenes that only the Sahyadris can bless you with..Soon we started acclimatizing ourselves to the chill and the rains... As we crossed Varasgaon Dam and entered Dhamanohol village..we were ready to take on the challenge! Shankar Dada, our guide was promptly waiting for us at Dhamanohol and this instantly comf