Harishchandragad

Date : 12-13 Jan, 2024

Guess what? I finally ticked off a mega to-do from my bucket list – a wild winter trek to Harishchandragad! So, here’s a quick rundown of the epic journey that I undertook on a chilly Friday night in January.

I had been itching to do this trek since November, bugging my usual trekking squad, but alas, someone or the other was always missing on weekends. Determined not to let this dream fade away, I decided to go solo, and started looking for alternatives. The only glitch – the long and hectic journey to and from the base village. Finally, I decided to join a trekking group and stumbled upon Trekhievers, who had an upcoming trip with an itinerary that matched my preference. As a last resort, I hesitantly asked my buddy Santosh, who had joined me on earlier treks. I wasn’t very hopeful of him joining, since he has moved to Pune and it would be a treacherous journey for him. Thankfully, he agreed to get on board. We booked our slots online for the Friday night trek. Santosh managed to hitchhike a carpool ride from Pune to Kalyan station, where he would board the same train as all of us.

We were to reach Kasara and drive down to the base village Pachnai, which is one among the many routes to this fort. Some of the other popular routes are – Khireshwar-TolarKhind and Nalichi vaat, which are for thrill seekers. This one was for beginners and weaklings like me, and hence, suited best !

All set on the day of the trek, the adventure kicked off at 8:45 pm, when I boarded the local train from Mulund to Kasara. The train was jam-packed, being a workday, and I barely squeezed in at the door. I was standing on the edge hanging on to dear life until Dombivli. Somehow, at Kalyan, the crowd thinned a bit and I could sneak inside. But that’s not the interesting part – Santosh got into a different compartment at Kalyan, and we connected over chat to find exactly which compartment we were. I told him that I will get off at the next station and try to join him in his compartment. At Shahad, I got off to play a sprint-and-catch game to find him. Picture this: ladies and first class compartments in between, and me sprinting towards the back of the train, only to see him sprinting towards me. He didn’t spot me and zoomed past. U-turn time! Sprint back to where I was. Total madness, but we pulled off the stunt just in the nick of time!

The train reached Kasara at 11:00 pm, where we saw a number of groups gearing up for various treks, mainly Kalsubai and Ratangad. We split into two groups and got into two jeeps. In another 15 minutes, we stopped for a dinner break at Baba da Dhaba – not the cleanest joint, but the food hit the spot. Group introductions followed, and we hit the Kasara ghat again at 12:30 am.

The drive was a rollercoaster of decent and atrocious roads, almost off-roading at times. The driver seemed to have forgotten that the jeep had brakes too, and carried on nonchalantly with his video game ride. We distracted ourselves from that wild ride, by playing some games, and finally heaved a sigh of relief when we reached the base village, Pachnai, at 3:30 am. After a short rest at Kiran dada’s house, which was to be our stop for lunch later, some of us dumped our heavy bags, stretched and warmed up, and started the trek at 4:00 am.

Plot twist! I had spilled the beans about my trekking resume, during the introduction, and, now, suddenly, I’m the chosen one – asked to help the tail end of the group, as the other lead had to move back to base to get his phone. Santosh was tired from all the travel, and was lagging behind from the rest of the group. I stuck with him. Trust me, that was a whole different adventure, when you don’t know the route and the rest of the group is out of sight. All of us managed to reach the main plateau at 5:45 am, where we waited for a bit, and resumed the climb to Taramati peak for the sunrise.

We reached the peak by 6:30 am. It was a tricky but manageable climb. The weather was very cold and breezy, but the view was totally worth it! We could spot Malshej Ghat from here, and also, Pimpalgaon Joga dam and Khireshwar village, which is the starting point for an alternate route to the top. On the other side we had a glimpse of the main attraction, Konkankada! The sunrise was beautiful, and we clicked a lot of pictures – both, solo and with the entire group. After savouring the breathtaking views on offer, we began our descent from Taramati at 8:00 am to move towards Konkankada.

The descent towards Konkankada was another thrill – down a cliff along dried waterfalls and crevices. Slippery gravel, but we managed with each other’s help. It took us 30 minutes to reach Konkankada from Taramati peak. It was nothing short of spectacular. A breathtakingly huge semicircular wall with an overhang and a drop of close to 1400m, the view was majestic. We lied down at the edge of the cliff to experience the sheer thrill of looking down from that height. Definitely not for people with fear of heights ! Forty-five minutes of soaking it all in, while strolling along the edge, we headed towards the hotel for breakfast at 9:15 am.

It was Kiran dada again, he has a small hotel on the top too. Lime juice, hot kandapoha, tea, and some Maggi – that’s what fueled us for the next adventure. We rested here for a while and then visited the Harishchandreshwar temple, which is a medieval architectural marvel, a carved-in-rock beauty. Some of us filled our water bottles from the tanks here. We then visited the Kedareshwar cave that is next to the temple and offered our prayers to the huge shivling here. For that, we had to wade through some ice-cold water in the cave, that relaxed our tired feet. The cave is supported by four pillars that apparently represent the four yogas, of which only one remains to this day, and its fall is expected to coincide with the end of Kaliyuga. A spiritual experience !

We clicked the last group photo here, and began the descent to the base at 11:15 am, enjoying the stunning return route that we had missed in the dark. On our way down, we crossed a lot of trekkers trying to make the ascend in the sun, which was starting to get a bit harsh now. They were frantically asking us how long it would take from there to reach the Konkankada, and were disappointed each time we said it was 2 hours from here.

I was back at Kiran dada’s place by 12:15 pm, along with two others, and, we waited for the remaining gang. Santosh followed closely. By 1:15 pm, everyone except two trickled in. Turns out, they had a honeybee encounter, and were badly stung, but thankfully, were safe. At Kiran dada’s place, some yummy lunch followed – unlimited pithla-bhakri, aloo mutter, rice, and dal. Delicious!

The return journey commenced at 2:30 pm, and after a sleepy ride, we reached Kasara at 5:00 pm. Just in time for the train which was scheduled for 5:02 pm, and the sprint to catch it was real. Santosh almost missed it, but with a friendly wave, he managed to hop on – thanks to the motorman!

Finally, I reached Mulund station around 6:45 pm, and by 7:00 pm, I was back home. What a satisfying and enjoyable trek it turned out to be – chasing sunrises, exhilarating views, yummy local food, dodging bee stings, and creating memories for a lifetime. Until the next adventure!