Mystical Kandat ! Nalli-chi Vaat - Parvat - Chakdev - Mahimandangad Fort - Ambivali Ghat ( Mahableshwar- Jawli-Koyna region)

Jai Shri Ram                                                                             

Kandat.......!!

The Sanskrit meaning of this word is Deep Forest. (Kan is Kannan or forest and Dat is deep).

The Kandat valley is formed by the Kandati river which is a tributary to the Koyna. The area lies to the South of Mahabaleshwar about 50 km from Tapola on the border of Satara and Ratnagiri districts. Due to the backwaters of Koyna, this entire land had been cut off from the rest of the world until Raghuveer Ghat road was built from Khed via Khopi reaching the higher land of the Sahyadri mountains near Shindi village.

Thus when we started formulating our plans to trek in this mystical land, it was important to plan our route well so that we explore the key peaks and forts methodically. We decided to cover Chakdev-Parvat-Mahimandangad via Nallichi vaat and Ambivali ghat. This was part of our bucket list trek at PTG (Pune trek group) and our long-cherished desire to traverse this magical land was soon going to become a reality.

It was a perfect combination of Ghat routes, forts, mountain peaks and pristine untouched forests. The trek involved climbing the Nalli chi vaat ghat route which was going to take us to the fascinating Kandat valley some 2200 feet above msl from the depths of Konkan, climbing to remote Jom Mallikarjun Temple situated on the impregnable Parvat mountain 3700 feet above Sea level, traversing through bear and bison infested forests to reach the remote and difficult to conquer Mahinmandangad fort, ascend Chakdev mountain and pay obeisance to Lord Shiva and then descend down to Konkan through the age-old Ambivali Ghat route.

As we wanted to spend some quality time exploring and experiencing the forests of Kandat valley and its priced treasures we planned this trek around the 26th Jan Holiday weekend in 2021. We had spaced our trek across 3 nights and 3 days.

As I had taken the lead in envisaging and conceptualizing this trek, had to spend some time researching the area. This involved studying google maps, calculating approximate distances between our start points and endpoints for the day, tying up the logistics of our guide, overnight stays, food, etc. Like always Vijay supported me wholeheartedly. Jitendra Banapure's blogs provided vital insights about the area and the terrain. I also got in touch with Ganesh Chavan, a youngster from Lamaj village who has his own youtube channel on the Kandat Valley. Ganesh has completed his BE in ENTC and works at Satara. It was Ganesh who introduced us to Ramchandra Barge Mama our guide at Kandat village. Ganesh especially went to Kandat on a weekend to speak to Barge Mama and help us firm our plans. He was very humble and unassuming and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to him for extending all possible support to us. 

Thus having done our homework well we were all set for the trek now. We were 8 of us and thus the size of the group was also ideal for a range trek.

We started for Kandoshi our base village a bit late from Pune on 23nd Jan, Saturday. The laid-back departure cost us dearly as we encountered a lot of weekend traffic due to the extended weekend especially up to Mahableshwar. It took us 6 hours to reach Mahableshwar from Pune. However, we made rapid progress after Mahableshwar. En route we stopped for a cup of tea just before Poladpur in a small hotel surrounded by fields on one side and forests behind the compound of the hotel.

After getting refreshed by a cup of tea we reached Khed at around 6 pm and took a left turn from Khed at Bharne naka and continued our journey towards Kandoshi.

We took a left turn at Ambivali village and as our cars went ahead we were greeted by the massive Rasalagad Sumargad Mahipatgad mountain range to our left.

Ram Vardayani Temple at Kandoshi

Kandoshi, our base village and starting point for this trek, is nestled in this scenic valley created by the Jagbudi river hugging the Sahyadri's and the Mahipat Sumar Rasal range. This is a small hamlet in Konkan bordering the Raigad and Ratnagiri districts. There is a temple dedicated to the Goddess Ram Vardayani.( Vardayani means Goddess who gives boons/blessings). This is also the principal deity of the More clan.

We reached Kandoshi at the cusp of nightfall just before 7 pm. Our guide, Ramchandra Barge Mama had already arrived at Kandoshi from Kandat and was waiting for us outside the Ramvardayani temple. We were lucky to gain an entry inside the temple just as the main doors were closing for the day. 

We met Mr.Sanjay More and his family inside the temple. They welcomed us and were kind enough to show us around the temple and its precincts. They also showed us the famous stream just outside the temple. There was a head of a cow or Gomukh built through which water gushes out at consistent speed throughout the year. The speed of the water neither increases during monsoon nor goes down during summer. It's an absolute miracle. No one has been able to understand the source of this gushing water. We all filled up our water bottles and drank to our heart's content.

Mr.Sanjay More and his family have their ancestral home at Kandoshi where his 80-year-old mother stays alone. They were visiting here due to the long weekend. Mr.More stays at Thane and has retired from SBI. He and his wife welcomed us into their home and made arrangements for our night stay inside the verandah of their house.

Initially, we resisted as we did not want to trouble him and were planning to stay inside the Maruti Temple and outside in the mandap built next to the temple. But Mr. More insisted that we stayed inside his enclosed verandah. He said that as Kandoshi is surrounded by mountains and forests, there was a threat of leopards at night and thus we should not sleep in the open.

Mr.Kamble, a villager running a rice mill kindly assisted us in preparing food. After a sumptuous Dinner, we all quickly settled in Mr.More's verandah for some much-needed sleep.

Ghat name:Nallichi Vaat

Elevation gain:700 meters climb upto Kandat and approx 1100 meters to Parvat top.

Village on top of Ghat: Kandat 

Base village in Konkan:Kandoshi

Grade: Medium.

Endurance: Medium.

Time Taken to Ascend:4 hours.

Water availability: Most of the year in streams en route, except in April/May.

We were up early at 5.30 am on Sunday  morning as we had a long day ahead. After having some break fast and nice hot Tea, we started for Kandat via Nallichi vaat at 7 am sharp. The trail started from just behind the temple. The temple is surrounded by the Sahyadri main range from all sides in a V formation and the Temple is at the opening of the V formation.The path initially crosses some fields and soon we entered a dense forest path. On our left we could see the fresh sunrays illuminating the Angthesari route, which is used by the villagers to go up north on the Ghats towards Dabhe Mohan, Zhadani, Ram Raan and Ghonaspur villages.

The route soon entered a dry stream bed, The stream gushes out as a torrent during rains and is one of the key tributary to the Jagbudi river. We did some photography as the morning sky and colors of the forest cast its spell on us. After about 30 mins from Kandoshi, Barge Mama showed us a trail climbing on the mountain to our right. This is one more Ghat route named Telisari which also goes to Kandat but from deep forest and is a more circuitous route. We had chosen Nallichi vaat at it is a relatively more open route with less dense forests and also climbs up straight towards Kandat.

We had now reached the inner sanctum of the Sahyadri's, a place pure with only the sounds and smells of the forests able to penetrate this untouched pristine forest sanctuary.

We crossed the stream and started climbing from the left of the stream towards its origin, which was the Nalli or gorge. We soon reached the lower plateau and took a 10 min break. Prashant presented me with a dry leaf as a present as this was my 100th trek.

From this dry upper bed of the stream, we entered the main climb from inside the narrow gorge. The climb was through boulders and also our guide made way for us through thorns and shrubs as even this route had become less frequent now as most villagers nowadays avoid these forest paths and go to the ghat top by ST buses, jeeps or bikes.

We encountered a rock patch at the upper part of the gorge. The patch was not very difficult but had to be negotiated with concentration. Also, this patch should be avoided in the monsoon as it can get very slippery. After climbing for about 2.5 hours we reached the Ghat matha or the top of the Deccan plateau. 

 

We were rewarded for our climb in the form of sparkling pure water in the stream bed above. We quenched our thirst to our heart's content. Barge Mama asked us to hurry up as Bisons frequent this stream early mornings. We however cooled off by drinking and also pouring some cold water on our heads. We crossed through the stream for another 30 mins and reached the origin of the stream, which was magical as the stream was actually originating under the ground from a crevice a la Gomukh from which the Ganges emerges.We took a right from this point and post that we began our final climb towards Kandat. After another 30 mins, we reached the upper part of the plateau which was a patch of golden grass. After another 10 mins walk through sparse vegetation we reached the  Nirapji Devi Temple at Kandat village.

 

The Nirapji Devi Temple, Kandat

The temple sits at the edge of the Deccan plateau and marks the end of the ascent and arrival on the Ghats for a vary traveler from the Konkan plains.The Nirapji Devi temple is in the midst of a sacred grove thoughtfully conserved by the local villagers. The Devi is a swayambhu diety. The temple is one of the principal place of worship of the More's of Jawli. Adjoining the temple we could see the remains of the erstwhile wada or mansion of Chandra Rao More, the ruler of Jawli in the 17th Century(Around 1610/1620, Govind Rai Raje More). The stone platform and some stone vessels are all that remains of the once well-constructed house.

The Goddess Nirapji Devi is known to have emerged from the ground and are Sapt Shila or seven stones. Govind Rai Raje and his family were blessed by the Goddess through a dream and directed to search for the Sapt Shila at the place where the temple is built. The temple is at least 400 years old and surrounding trees, idols and relics have been silent witness of the bygone era.

The Uchat village and surrounding people were relocated to Thane district during 1962 when the Koyna Dam project came up. Thus the upkeep and condition of the temple which was once frequented by 16 villages around Kandat and Khed slowly deteriorated due to neglect.

Around the year 2000, the villagers decided to rebuild the temple. In 2007 the temple construction was restarted and the newly built temple was inaugurated on 7th May 2009.

The More clan has now started frequenting the temple once again and dharmshalas and stay arrangements have been built by the temple trustees for the devotees.( Ref: Kishore Kadam, Trustee of Nirapji Devi temple, Video by Ganesh Chavan).

Beautiful and picturusque Kandat

 We were just enchanted with this place and took a 15/20 mins break. It was 12 noon. We had taken 4 hours and 20 mins to climb the Nalli chi vaat ghat route. From Nirapji Devi Temple we proceeded for Kandat village which is just about 200 meters away from here. We were welcomed by Barge Mama's family at his spacious and clean house. The house is located at undoubtedly one of the most picturesque and scenic locales I have ever seen. The house had the backdrop of the gigantic Parvat mountain and was situated right on the edge of the ghats. Mami soon cooked a piping hot meal for all of us of Pithla and Bhakri. Post lunch we were treated to fresh buttermilk. Barge Mama also has a license for Honey collection from the forests and some of us bought fresh honey from him. The verandah of the house was sparkling clean and we did not need an invitation to doze off on the mattresses so dutifully laid down by his family for us. The afternoon siesta lasted longer than normal. 

We all were ready to proceed towards Parvat at 2.30 pm post a cup of tea. However, before we proceeded for Parvat Barge Mama called the priest of the Temple situated on Parvat top to inform him that we will be staying overnight in the temple. However, he started demanding INR 1000 as a donation towards the temple trust in lieu of permission to stay on top overnight. We did not appreciate this at all. We had no issues in donating a sum towards the welfare of the temple if the request had been polite. But this demand put us off completely. I promptly called Ganesh and told him about this request. He called up Mr.Jangam, the Chief Trustee of the temple, and narrated to him this demand made by the temple priest. Mr.Jangam immediately called up the priest and scolded him for making such demands. He not only gave him his peice of mind but also told him to take good care of us we were guests in that area and also devotees. Once this issue was sorted out we started on the tar road initially heading towards Uchat village. 

The gigantic Parvat

After about a km we took a right on a well-marked trail which started taking us towards the route frequented by Kandat villagers to go to Parvat. We first reached a Dhangar Wada after climbing for about 15 mins and from here the route entered the heart of the enormous Parvat mountain. The mountain looked gargantuan in size spreading some 15 km at the least from East to West. A wild boar passed us at breakneck speed fortunately missing us by about 10 yards. Wild boars are notorious for causing injuries to humans. We cannot blame them as they become aggressive towards humans due to the rampant hunting that takes place as they are priced catches for the village folks and boar meat is considered a feast for the entire village.

We walked on a ridge connecting the Kandat valley to Parvat for about an hour and reached the upper plateau of Parvat at 5 pm. The route passes through dense forest and almost has a meditative effect on anyone passing through the trail. One is completely cut off from the outside world and you are actually traversing a route frequented for so many years only by the villagers of Kandat. After about another 45 minutes we reached the small hamlet of Parvatwadi located just below the Parvat peak. I purposely went inside the hamlet and met the priest and his fellow villager who had made the demand for donation. Their mood had sobered down and they were more welcoming now. It was important to quell their wrong actions as paying the INR 1000 amount was not an issue for us, but their intentions had to be nipped in the bud so that they don't repeat this with other groups.

We drank some water offered by the villagers and after taking Darshan of Lord Hanuman on the outskirts of the hamlet we started our final climb towards the Mallikarjun temple our halt for tonight. It took us another 40 mins from the hamlet to reach the temple. We were absolutely elated to reach the top of Parvat, the ultimate mountain of the Kandat valley. We were now 3700 feet above msl. We had climbed about 1100 meters from Kandoshi in Konkan to Parvat top in a single day in about 11 hours( breaks included). The entire atmosphere on Parvat was magical. As the sunset behind the Chakdev mountain, the evening cool breeze and magnificent atmosphere cast its spell on us. I spontaneously started singing "Kya Mousum hai kya hai ye manzar " song n Shalabh started recording my voice on his phone. We could see Makrand Gad on the North West and Utareshwar Mountain to our North. The Koyna backwaters sparkled in the distance and to our South we could see the Mahimandangad fort emerging from a cluster of hills. 

By the time we reached the temple the sun had set and we were exhausted by the day-long hike. We did some much-needed stretches and drank some more water and also applied some cold water to our faces. This freshened us up and we settled down in the main temple of lord Jom Mallikaarjun for the night. Mallinath, our trek mate prepared hot soup for everyone, and post that we all helped him make a sumptuous vegetable Khichadi for us. 

The night was not very cold and we had a comfortable sleep. We got up early morning at 5.30 as the sunrise at Parvat cannot be missed. I prepared some nice hot tea and Maggi for everyone. Again Malli and Vijay were around to help. Mallinath is a very good cook and due to his culinary skills and easy-going nature is a must-have in any self-sufficient trek group.

The Jangam priest came early morning to the temple for puja and for offering the daily prayers. 

Parvat is one of the Sapt Shivalayas or 7 temples dedicated to Lord Shiva in the Jawli province built by the erstwhile ruler Chandra Rao More. 

The Jangams:

The Jangam tribe takes care of these temple and are the priests here. They originally hail from Karnataka and are devotees of Lord Shiva also called as Shaivites.The Rudra avtaar of Lord Shiva, named as Veer Bhadra is the Kul Daivat or principle God of the Jangam people. Mallikarjun, which is another avtaar of Lord Shiva is also associated with the Jangam clan.While the Brahmin priests are called Poojaries, the Jangam priests are called Swami. How and why they moved from Karnataka to here is unknown. When we spoke to some elders of this community, they told us that they have been here even before Shivaji Maharaj's era. The Jangams at Raireshwar temple near Bhor however maintain that they were appointed as priests by Shivaji Maharaj.

(The above information has been provided by my friend and fellow Jangam trek mate, Mallinath).

We started descending Parvat this time towards Valvan village to the South of the mountain. Our plan for the day was to walk to met shindi village and climb Mahimandangad and then proceed to Chakdev for an overnight stay. The descent initially was by well-constructed steps till we reached the lower plateau. From here the route goes through dense forests. We crossed a small stream with purple color vegetation on the way. Normally there are bison in this patch and hence we made rapid progress through the thickets. 

 

Once we were out in the open on the lower end of the ridge we could see Chakdev, Mahimandangad and Valvan village below at a distance. Being early morning we descended at a fair clip but still, it took us about 2 hours to reach Valvan. From here we took a shortcut through a col dissecting two small hills. The col was forested and we soon reached a tar road which took us to Shindi village. As Prashant had injured his leg on the way, he preferred to rest at Shindi village ( He had already been to Mahimandangad a few years back). We took the local forest guide Santosh Pawar with us as some portion of Mahimandangad is in the Sahyadri Tiger reserve core area and the forests on the lower slope are bear-infested. 

Mahimandangad fort

 We took the road going towards Raghuvir ghat in konkan and after walking for a km from Shindi we took a left trail heading straight towards the fort. We reached a small opening where there were some hero stones. Just ahead 2 Bisons were grazing. They turned and fled upon seeing us into the forests. We moved ahead and continued with our ascent through thick forests. We soon reached the upper reaches of the fort and crossed the narrow traverse leading towards the fort main entrance. We could see the fort bastion partially standing on the right. We took a left from here and reached the fort top. There is a temple dedicated to Lord Bhairav and Goddess Bhairavi on the fort. Also, there are water tanks and cisterns which indicate that the fort was mainly used as a watchtower to guard the trade route coming from Khopi to Shindi and further towards Satara during the olden times. The climb from Shindi takes about 45 minutes

 Chakdev

We descended the fort in 30 mins and after a short break at a house in Shindi for lunch, we started ascending Chakdev from the trail next to the house. The initial climb was steep, but in about 25 minutes we reached the Chakdev plateau and another 1-hour walk through forests and meadows took us to the Chakdev village. 

The Chakdev or Chaukeshwar temple is just outside the village. We prayed to Lord Shiva and the atmosphere inside the temple was very peaceful and calm. We also observed that like Parvat, there were other idols of Lord Mallikaarjun and Lord Veer Bhadra at Chakdev as well. Here as well the Jangams are in charge of the temple. Post spending some quality time inside the temple we headed towards the Chakdev Western end. The entire Jagbudi valley opened in front of us. On the right side we could see the cliff from where a steep and exposed ladder route descends down into Konkan to Ambivali village.

After some more exploration of the plateau, all of us headed back to the Chakdev village. We had made arrangements at Santosh Jangam's house for an overnight stay and food. Santosh and his wife now stay at Valvan but had come and cleaned their house and made all arrangements to make our stay comfortable. There are only about 10 families that stay on Chakdev mountain now. Most of the villagers have shifted to Valvan village due to the remote nature and lack of road and other facilities here.

 We had nice hot tea post-visit to the temple and it was one of the best evenings we spent together as a group. We discussed on various topics including a book titled Saath Divas Sahydriche written by Shripad Hirlekar. This book captures the solo trans-Sahyadri trek done over a period of 2 months in the early '90s by the author which made the entire effort even more praise-worthy. There was very little guidance available to trek in the Sahyadris during those times and the only notable book that the author referred was Trek the Sahyadris by Harish Kapadiya. There were no google maps, nor mobile phones nor transport available to interior base villages, and yet the author took upon this massive challenge all alone. We all were mesmerized by the preface reading that I did where the author has poured his heart out. One line particularly stayed with me..it said

" I had very little in way of resources to carry out a 2-month trek, but yet I started on this journey all alone..well how will today's new generation brought up on materialistic ambitions understand that in having nothing I had a lot"..such lines took us into a zen like frame of  mind and the conversation we had on values, ethics, simplicity took us into a different mood.

We soon prepared some Bhel to go with another round of tea. Santosh and his wife took good care of us and even gave us quilts at night to put over the sleeping mats. The food was also good. Post some late-night chatting we dozed off for some well-earned sleep. We got up early morning and after breakfast of Pohe and Tea, we started our descent of Chakdev. 

 Today was the last day of our trek and the plan today was to first go to Valvan village and then descend to Ambivali in Konkan via the ancient well laid out trail of Ambivali ghat.

 

We left the Chakdev mountain plateau at 7 am and reached the starting point of Ambivali ghat at 9 am. En route, we stopped for some water at a house. The water was pure and cold and we all filled up our tanks before the arduous journey. Barge Mama told us that just behind the house there is another ghat route which descends to Astan village. The route is named Astan Sari. Post a small break we proceeded on the Ambivali ghat route and post a 30-minute walk from Walvan we reached a clearing. Suddenly the land ended and dived some 2500 feet into Konkan. We had reached the edge of the Deccan plateau and now stood at the mouth of Ambivali ghat. There is a Hanuman Temple right at the start of the ghat route and also a beautiful Temple dedicated to the local deities nearby. You need to take the right turn which goes up an incline into a thickly wooded forest path and leads to a clearing where the temple is situated. The temple is surrounded by a Devrai or sacred grove and the path is through nice green canopy. There was a cacophony of birds chirping all around the temple. 

 

Ambivali Ghat 

 

Village on Ghat top:Walvan  

Decent: 700 meters from Walvan and about 1000 meters from Chakdev.

Base village in Konkan:Ambivali

Grade: Easy to medium.

Endurance: Medium.

Time Taken to descend: 3 hours. 

Water source: Not available en route.

 

We started our descent at around 9.30 am. The ghat was a centuries-old route used by villagers, traders, and warriors in olden times to travel between Walvan on the Deccan plateau and Ambivali in Konkan. The ghat is well built and the trail is very gradual. After about an hour's descent, the route climbs a small hillock and turns right. Prashant and our other trek mates continued to descend on the left. But Barge Mama astutely asked all of them to stop and guided us on the right route. The man was 66 but very sharp, fit and had a very deep understanding of the forest, trails, and routes all around Kandat and its many mountains and trails. We were very fortunate to have him as our guide for this trek. The route from here comes out on a slope and a clearing. We stopped for a short snack break. From here the route again enters the forest and descends down to a Dhangar wada just before Ambivali. However, just 10 minutes before the Dhangarwada the route is disrupted due to fallen branches and one needs to keep the main mountain on the left and keep descending through a steep slope for about 10 minutes before one finally reaches the konkan plains below.

We crossed a forested but wide path and reached the Dhangarwada and the fields nearby. From here ambivali is still a good 30 minutes away. However, we were in good rhythm now having trekked 20/25 km every day for the past 3 days and thus we reached the Hanuman Mandir in Ambivali at 11.55 am.

It was a fulfilling and versatile trek comprising of impregnable  and tall mountains, evergreen forests, large hearted village folks and almost virgin landscapes. We started back for Pune from Ambivali at around 1 pm and post lunch at Khed reached Pune at 7 pm.

This blog cannot be completed without a small note on our guide Barge Mama.

Well, Barge Mama is a handsome 66-year-old man who has spent the greater part of his life tending to his fields and collecting honey and forest products from the forests and then selling them in the markets of khed and Mahabaleshwar. Life has not been easy for him as he has had to work very hard to raise his children and take care of his family. His sons today are settled in Satara and doing well for themselves. While Mama has enough food and crop with him, he is someone who does not have much cash in hand and thus resorts to guiding people or selling forest products to generate some much-needed cash for his household. His knowledge of the forest trails and paths all over Kandat is impeccable. He speaks less but has a charming smile. All along the trek he kept surprising us with some very apt proverbs which he used according to the situation of the trek. His wisdom and introverted nature endeared him to us. 

Trek Team: Prashant Kothawade, Vijay Gurjar, Virag Rokde, Saket Ghanekar, Mallinath, Shalabh Pareek, YMS and Amit Marathe.

Pic credit: 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 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 liters 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.