Ahupe Ghat-Gorakhgad-Sakharmachi Ghat-Gaydara Ghat-Ahupe
Jai Shri Ram
The afternoon glow of the sun dimmed as we entered the hallowed forests of Bhima Shankar and Bhattiche Raan or Bhatti forest.We seemed lost in a primeval land, the trees were hundreds/perhaps thousands of years old, the forest seemed long lost and deep, tall trees disallowing the sun god from penetrating the lower reaches of the forest floor, the chief denizen of the forest, the leopard making his presence felt on the tree trunks and barks with his nail and teeth markings..!!
The Ahupe Devrai or Sacred Grove
Some treks and places stay with you long after they get over. The trek to Ahupe and beyond was just this kind of a trek. Even 4 months after the trek when there is a slight nip in the air at night and yes nowadays there is only a slight nip in Pune, I still get transported to the cold blistering winter chill we experienced at the Ahupe Devrai.*
*Devrai means a sacred grove, Typically there is a deity inside this grove which makes it sacred and the trees in and around the small temple of the deity are not cut by the villagers and preserved over generations. It is believed that if anyone cuts or disturbs this sacred eco-system , then God's ire will be invited by that person. Thankfully due to this belief we still get pristine groves on the periphery of villages in the Sahyadri's. Due to this one gets to see rare and age old trees in these forests. The Malabar Giant Squirrel is found exactly in these forests. It is elusive but can be sighted if you remain quite and patient.
Coming back to our trek. The same had been planned carefully by me with expert advice and logistical support from my close friend Onkar Oak. We were four of us and thus the batch size was ideal for a range trek.
This was a full loop trek of close to 44 kms in 2 days and was surely going to test our stamina and fitness levels and also our speed.
The trek plan was as follows:
Day 1: Descend from Ahupe village on Deccan plateau to Gorakhgad base in the Konkan which was a 3000 feet descent via the historic Ahupe Ghat, then ascend 2000 feet to Gorakhgad top and stay overnight at Gorakhgad.
Day 2 : Descend Gorakhgad to Deheri village in the Konkan. Then from Deheri move further up close towards the base of Siddhagad and ascend close to 3500 feet to top of the Sahyadri crest line via Sakhar Machi ghat and then onward to Ahupe via the forested path coming from Kondhwal.
While Day 1 was quite manageable, Day 2 was going to test us as we had to reach Ahupe before sunset and we had some 25 kms to cover in a single day with 12 kg sacks and whole day of hiking.
Ahupe is a small hamlet nestled on the crest line of the Sahyadris on the cusp of the Deccan Plateau, north of the pilgrimage town of Bhimashankar. It sits atop on the Sahyadri main range at a height of close to 3000 feet on the dividing line between the Deccan Plateau or Desh in Marathi on the East and the Konkan plains on the West.
We had left Pune at around 6.30pm on Friday evening and post having a quick dinner we soon crossed Manchar. Once you cross Manchar and approach the Dimbhe Dam the temperature drops noticeably. We could immediately smell the country air and we soon got enchanted with the darkness of the night and the starlit sky.
We circumvented the length of the back waters of the Dam. Post the Dam back waters end, the road starts climbing towards the ghat matha or head of the Ahupe plateau. Once you climb up the ridge the road is lined with thick vegetation of both sides. It was a thrilling car journey as it was pitch dark when we approached Ahupe. Just before Ahupe village starts, there is a sacred grove within which is nestled a beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Bhairav. We reached Ahupe at 11.30 pm and the temple in the grove was an ideal dwelling for our night stay, The temple was clean and well lit and gave us the much needed protection from the cold. The inner sanctum sanctorum was enclosed by a grill door.
The temple is located at the edge of the grove right on top of a valley cum narrow gorge which descends into Konkan some 3000 feet below. Due to this there was cold wind blowing from the valley below and needless to say we virtually ran inside the temple and settled into our sleeping bags and dozed off peacefully.
Ahupe Ghat
Height from msl: 3000 ft
Trek starting point on top: Ahupe village
Base village in Konkan: Khopivali
Water availability in the ghat route: Pure drinking water available in water tanks through out the year
Endurance: Medium to slighly higher endurance especially if you also want to climb Gorakhgad on same day.
Difficulty level: Easy
We got up early next day morning and started for Ahupe Ghat descent at 7.00 am sharp.
The temple is on the outskirts of the village and the Devrai looked magical in the morning. We parked our car near the village school and headed west where the land was ending on the western horizon. There was a cluster of trees, and lo and behold we saw the opening of Ahupe Ghat slowly emerging from the tree cover.
The early morning sun shown brilliantly on Gorakhgad and Machindrgad, the two famous twin pinnacle forts/mountains that saluted the main range from the plains. We could see thick forest cover all along from Ahupe Ghat extending and surrounding the two twin peaks.
The ghat route is very well laid out and still in use by the villagers. Thus the descent was gradual and quite easy on the legs. There was dense forest all along and also as the ghat faces the West, there was virtually no harm from the Sun for the first 3 hours of our descent.
It took us about 3 hours to descend the ghat route and reach the Konkan plains. We soon reached a stream of water and took a much needed break. The time was 11.00 am.
We found spme local village women who had come inside the forest to wash clothes and they told us that there was no need for us to go to Khopivali and that we could directly ascend Gorakhgad by taking a left from the stream.This vital information saved a good 2 hours for us as going to Deheri would have meant at least 1 hour of walk more and then climbing Gorakhgad from there in the afternoon Sun would have been punishing.
The Gorakhagad Fort.......the path of the ascetics
This left turn was in fact a well laid out route through proper forest cover. The forest path is frequented by villagers from Khopivali as they enter the forest to collect firewood. On the mid point as you approach the lower plateau of the fort, there was a Shiva temple and an ashram of an ascetic who lives there with his disciples. Further up just before you start the final ascent of Gorakhgad, there is a temple dedicated to Lord Gorakshnath on the lower plateau. By the time we reached the Ashram the sun was breathing fire. We took a 15 minute break and began the final ascent of Gorakhgad at around 1 pm.
The climb from here is quite steep. The famous rock cut steps of Gorakhgad which lead you to the main entrance need to be negotiated carefully. You get a dramatic view of the Sahyadri main range from the fort entrance door. The main range looks like a huge wave approaching the fort. Both, scary and beautiful :-)
From the main entrance you need to pass through a funnel and come out in the open, a further climb of another 200 feet before you reach the cave complex on the northern face of the Gorakhgad pinnacle.
The cave has pillars inside to support the ceiling and also windows and meditation platforms.
We were quite excited as we were going to cover a fort which was erstwhile inhabited by ascetics and hermits and that too from the strict and slightly mysterious Nath Sampradaya or sect. Thus it was natural that the mountains in the vicinity would be as difficult to reach as accessing the wisdom and getting the blessings of the Nath Sadhus/hermits.
All 3 mountains, Gorakhgad, Machindragad and Siddhagad are named after Guru's/hermits of the Nath sect and capture the essence of the Siddhi or power they acquired through penance and a very strict ascetic lifestyle. Machindranath was the main Guru who brought forward the Nath sampradaya/sect. Gorakhnath was his first disciple and main proponent of the sect in the years to come. Gorakshnath is credited with expanding the Nath sampradaya teachings.
Due to its proximity to Mumbai however Gorakhgad is now-a-days frequented by hoards of casual hikers who are only interested in fun and frolic and very few try to dwell into the history or spiritual aspect of the fort. Fortunately for us there was hardly anyone on the fort and this meant that we had the caves all to ourselves for the night. The caves were clean and ideal for night stay, however the floor was surprisingly rough and uneven and thus barely suitable for 8/10 people to sleep despite the cave being much larger.
The location of the cave is beautiful and faces the north and overlooks the Machindra pinnacle.
There are water tanks adjoining the cave and the one to the left of the cave is pure and filled to the brim with crystal clear water.
It was 2 pm now. We had trekked for continuously 7 hours. After having lunch and after a glance around the surroundings we quickly dozed off for an hour.
A thrilling climb to Gorakh top
We woke up at 3.30pm as we still had to climb the pinnacle. We took a left from the cave and carefully went further ahead from the water tanks and reached the back side of the pinnacle. From here there is a steep and thrilling rock cut step route to the top. There are about 50 steps which lead to a cave and another 70 odd steps lead you to the top. The route is exposed and there is barely any place to put a foothold. So one needs to concentrate properly and climb one step at a time. There are holds in every step to grip while climbing. However this final climb route should be strictly avoided in Monsoon. Also for those with vertigo problem, they should avoid going to top of the pinnacle.
Thus after 15 minutes of a thrilling climb we reached the top of Gorakhgad. The view from Gorakhgad top is one which every trekker must experience at least once in his lifetime.
One gets an enduring and gigantic view of the unending Sahyadri main range from here. We could see the entire range from Siddhagad fort, Bhimashankar on our right( South east) to the venerable Ajoba mountain to our left( North-west).
It was an unbelievable sight. The kind of close up and well wide angle view one gets from Gorakhgad top of the Sahyadri crestline is unmatched. Perhaps the only place from where you can get a similar view but from a much farther vantage point is from Rasalgad near Khed in South Konkan.
The top of Gorakhgad is quite small. There is a beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Gorakhnath on the top.
Me and Sandy sat quietly inside the temple meditating and chanting 'Om Namah Shivay'.
Tushar and Prashant went further ahead to explore the fort top. They soon discovered a hidden water tank on the South eastern flank of the fort. One needs to carefully descend to the water tank as the path is steep; one mistake and you can fall in the valley 1500 feet below.
As the sun began to set we got some breath taking snaps of the Sahyadris. The 2 hours we spent on the top were pure gold. What can be better than 4 friends getting to spend an entire evening together on the top of a mystical fort overlooking the mysterious and deep forests adjoining Bhimashankar.
All four of us were soaked in the tranquility and the beauty of nature. We could see Ahupe ghat which we had descended in the morning right in front of us. Further to the north we could see Trigundhara ghat, Khute Daar ghat, Dhakoba mountain, Jivdhan fort, Nane ghat, Harishchandragad fort, Nafta pinnacle and Ajoba Mountain.
All 4 of us hardly spoke and just enjoyed the solitude on the fort. Sometimes without speaking also one can have a very meaningful conversation, this was one such evening.
As darkness approached we descended back to the caves. We had an early Dinner at 6.30 pm. We were tired from our day long excursion and retired early at 8.30 pm itself. We soon dozed off into a deep sleep. However in the wee hours just before dawn our sleep was disturbed due to a sudden commotion.
We had heard that Gorakhgad attracts crowds of weekend revelers, however our experience till now had been quite different and peaceful. But we were rudely awakened by the reality of the commercial world of trekking. Some 25 odd youngsters of various ages had ascended Gorakhgad in the middle of the night at 2 am and reached the caves at 4 am .These people were not only not bothered about their own safety but also did not have the civility of being silent upon seeing trekkers sleeping inside the caves.
They all engaged in loud chatter and completely disrupted and disturbed our sleep. It was only after we gave them a lecture on civil behavior that they fell silent and settled for some sleep themselves.
However this disturbance robbed us of a vital one more hour of sleep and we soon got up at 5 am. We could see lights from the villages far below. The fort base was surrounded by deep forest and a lone light in the forest flickered from the Ashram below. We quickly freshened up and started our descent towards Deheri village at 6.00 am.
But before that we did not forget to catch the mesmerizing views of the Sahyadri crestline at Dawn. Golden light could be seen behind the dark outlines of the mountains and Planet Venus adorned the early morning sky.
We descended carefully, but at a fair pace and reached Deheri village by 8.30 am. After having breakfast at Hamid Bhai's house (our local contact at Deheri), we started for our ascend back to Ahupe at 9 am sharp.
Hamid Bhai had arranged for a villager as our guide as we were climbing via Sakharmachi ghat, a less frequented and circuitous route.
Sakharmachi-Gaydara Ghat
Height from msl: 3200 ft
Base village in Konkan: Uchale/Narivali
Village on Deccan plateau: Kondhwaal.
Water availability in the ghat route: Water available only till December end in the streams and water falls. No water cisterns or tanks built.
Endurance: High.
Difficulty level: Medium
We walked on the tar road for about a km and reached Uchale village. From here one needs to take a left towards Siddhagad. There is a kaccha road which takes you to Siddhagad base. Our guide suggested that rather than climbing via Siddhagad ghat we can take the shorter route of Sakharmachi ghat which leads one to the hamlet of Sakharmachi. This hamlet is situated between Konkan and the Sahyadri crestline on a height of 2000 feet.
We decided to go with the guides suggestion as this was going to save us a vital 1 one hour as the Siddhagad ghat route was a long cut.
The ghat climb starts after you walk for about 15 minutes on the kaccha road. You reach a cluster of houses and the ascent starts just from behind these houses. We requested for some water in one of the houses and quenched our thirst just before starting the climb.
The ghat route was well built and regularly frequented as the same was used by the villagers of Sakharmachi.The route climbed rapidly through dense forest and the final climb was through a nalli or narrow gorge. We thoroughly enjoyed the climb and reached the Sakharmachi village by 12.00 noon.
The whole village has been shifted to Murbad as the area has been declared a wild life sanctuary. Thus the fields and the beautiful houses with neat front yards were all deserted and desolate.
While one can understand that the forest needs to be restored and grown, I wonder why the original dwellers or adivasis need to be shifted out of the forests. They are also equal stakeholders of the forest and uprooting them and thrusting them into dusty towns like Murbad is very unfair.
Little girls and boys who played and frolicked freely on their natural lands are now imprisoned in so-called one-room 300 sqft flats in the city. It reminded me of Raanbhuli, a beautiful story written by G.N Dandekar which captures the plight of a mountain dwelling girl when she is forced to stay in a slum in Mumbai post marriage. This girl however refuses to give up and fights back and convinces her husband and moves back to the mountains. The story captures the essence as to how much is enough in life and what is important in life.
I felt a similar pang of pain when I saw these beautiful houses and fields now completed empty and being taken over by the forest.
Gaydara Ascent
We rested under the shade of a cluster of trees and had our lunch. Post lunch we took a small nap and now started for our final ascent to the top of the mountains.
The climb from Uchale is in 2 stages. In stage one you climb from the konkan plain to the upper plateau or machi and then there is another 1200 feet climb left to the top of the deccan plateu. This final climb is through dense forest and is called as Gaydara ghat. The route of Siddhagad ghat also comes and joins the junction from where the Gaydara climb begins. We were now in full flow and ascended the Gaydara ghat at a steady clip. We reached the top of the ghat at exactly 2.30 pm. We were joyous with our achievement as now we were assured of reaching Ahupe before nigh fall. It had taken us exactly 5 and a half hours to climb the entire ghat from Deheri to the top.
After taking a 10 minute nap and soaking in the cool mountain air we replenished our bodies with some food and a litre of water each.
From here the route enters the Bhattiche Raan/forest. The forest was dense and thick and we crossed it rapidly and came out in the open near the head of the Ghod river valley.
We kept walking east from the opening in the forest but we were unable to find the kaccha forest path which was coming from Kondhal village and which would have taken us to Ahupe.
While we started to get a bit anxious, we were comforted that we had a wise old man of 60 as our guide. He had been here multiple times and he actually showed us the secret or technique of route finding on being lost.
He first tried to locate multiple trails, but most of these trails ended in thick forest cover or thickets of trees and led us to dead ends. Then he thought calmly and asked us to follow him along the river bank. He said that there is a bridge which crosses the river further upstream and once we locate the bridge, the kuccha road to the left will take us to Ahupe.
After further 30 mins of crossing the river bed which was full of boulders and thorny bushes we reached the bridge on the river Ghod.
We took a left and rested under a tree as now we were finally on the correct path. A local villager and his son coming from the opposite direction confirmed that we had to ascend the mountain ahead and a 2 hour further hike would take us to Ahupe.
We covered this distance in exactly about 2 hours and reached Ahupe by 5.30 pm well before sunset.
Just before descending down to Ahupe, I lost my footing. But miraculously my fall got averted and I managed to stand on my feet inspite of tumbling forward and loosing my balance. Had I fallen, I would have had a nasty injury as there were small rocks and pebbles on the route. I felt as if Lord Gorakhnath himself gave me a hand and saved me from certain injury.
As we reached Ahupe village in the evening, the entire village was basking in the evening glow of the sun setting on the western horizon. We bade farewell to our guide as he had to descend back via Ahupe ghat and reach Deheri village.
It was an extremely satisfying trek which tested our endurance to the fullest, especially on Day 2 as we not only descended Gorakhagad but on same day covered a 25 km hike from Deheri to Kondhwal-Ahupe. We covered this entire distance in 11 hours. Sometimes you need to pat yourself on the back for achieving the seemingly difficult or impossible, and this was one such day.
Tushar Kothawade, led the way for us all along the trek and set the pace as he normally does. Due to this all of us completed the trek on time.
We all got back into my car parked near the school and started our return journey back to Pune.
We had covered the two most interesting and picturesque ghats ,
ascended the elusive and impregnable Gorakhgad, encountered rock patches
which really tested our grit and inner strength, crossed exposed traverses and
through this, had enjoyed ourselves to the hilt.
The smells and sounds
of the forest , the colors of the morning sky, the unforgettable panorama of the Sahyadris from Gorakhagad top, the connect with the Nath yogis still resonates in my mind and
heart....
Hope all of you
enjoyed reading the blog and that it encourages you to step out of your comfort
zones and into the ghats!
Trek Team: Tushar Kothawade, Prashant Kothawade, Sandeep Waduskar andAmit Marathe.
Pic credit: Amit Marathe, Tushar Kothawade and Prashant Kothawade.
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 always be on time
P. S : Also contribute to the villagers in whichever form, cash or kind so that you become a part of their ecosystem. A simple act of giving basic medicine/first aid kits to the village police patil or Sarpanch can go a long way in establishing a bond with these simple and kind hearted folks of our mother land.
Take care and God bless.
Very nicely narrated I could revisit the entire route while reading this! Keep it up!👍
ReplyDeleteI must say this is the most exhaustive and complete blog I have read regarding this route! You have combined the history and our trek experience seamlessly! Memories of this trek will last for lifetime and through your blog I can relive these memories again and again! Well done my friend!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the detailed write-up. We had been wanting to do Ahupe Ghat for long time and and a long weekend was perfect to try this loop out. We did a similar loop, except that we ascended Siddhagad and stayed there overnight. Coincidentally, we had the same wise old man for guiding us.
ReplyDeleteFor future reference or for anyone else wanting to try out the route, here is the activity recorded on Strava. Individual activities are linked. Combined GPX or individual GPX can be exported to your devices for following:
https://www.strava.com/activities/6854176364