Naneghat – A trek up in the air

As I have already told you, I have decided to go places and write on them. So when Suzanne my sister told me that she wanted to do something out of the box, I suggested we trek. Suzanne had to visit her in laws at Nagpur and she asked me to arrange something a fortnight after she landed in India. It was really an exciting idea to do something as a group.

After a great deal of contemplation, and planning, I decided to go trekking to Naneghat. This mountain pass located in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra was a lovely spot for trekking. Naneghat means coin pass indicating that this was the place where the traders used to pay toll in earlier years.

So after Suzanne landed at Nagpur and was over with her visit she called on me and we met at Pune. Suzanne along with her husband Hrishikesh and his friend Ajinkya and me with my friend Steve and wife Monica met up at Pune and left by car towards Naneghat which is around 26km from Pune.

As per plan we met the trekkers group at a place called Pimple Saudagar, the next morning. Ajinkya and Steve decided to ride the bike. The climate helped us to enjoy the ride up and the drive was smooth. The sun was playing hide and seek with us, rarely to be seen and it was hiding behind the clouded sky. The early morning freshness the roads which with no traffic around and the wind beating against our faces was fun. We reached Narayan gaon. From here we had to go to Junnar.

The narrow roads of the village slowly forked out into a beautifully laid road. Surrounded by trees and an extravagant spell of greenery, this place made us feel closer to Mother Nature. Far in the distance the majestic Shivneri fort loomed large in front of us and the beauty of the fort radiated in the history of the past. We were at the foothills of the Shivneri.

It had taken us more than three hours to reach here. The drive and the ride was pleasant and we were all ready for some grub. One word of advice for whoever wants to go on the trek. Please remembered to take lot of water and snacks with you as the trek up is without any kind of café, hotel or restaurant. Also remember to carry a spare set of clothes and some sleeping material, just in case you get stuck on top.

After an hour we left Junnar and went towards a place called Ghatghar. This time, Steve and I rode the bike while Hrishikesh sat in the car. The big rocky road that we entered was completely sudden and I had to try hard not to fall down from the bike. I was not used to such stony roads. While the jeeps and the public transport buses whizzed past, I was feeling a little low that I couldn’t ride as fast as they were driving. The greenery around with the lovely hills peeping out and the purest form of air around gave us all the stamina to pull it through. We went to the Jivdhan Fort. Here we wanted to trek. As we approached the fort, our hearts were beating faster. We saw a hut there and this was a place where they gave the facility of keeping our luggage if we wanted to. We decided to unload ourselves a little and took just what was necessary and proceeded. Hrishikesh had been to Naneghat before as he was a tourist guide. So we had a professional person to guide through the tour. The vehicles stationed our trek began. I took out my camera and took as many pictures as I could. Suzanne was very busy showing the place around to her children Sarah and Anna.

Monica was getting fatigued. She was feeling the discomfort on her knees. But we went on as she said it was alright. It <img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1841" style="padding: 3px;" title="Dhanyache Kothar" src="http://blog.traveladda.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Dhanyache-Kothar-300×225.jpg" alt="" w

idth=”290″ height=”217″ />was not only her even we got tired after some time, but the lovely surroundings that we were in, ensured that we forget about our troubles. There were lot of rocky patches and the time that we had to climb over the rocky areas was really difficult. The villagers and the locals were really innovative and intelligent to have actually created a system of holding on the rock. There were points which we could hold on to. Brilliant! While we climbed up, we wished we had wings.

Soon we were up on the top and as we went on walking we saw a place called the Dhanyache Kothar. This was a place which had around 4 rooms. These were maybe past historical constructions. But the constructional elegance was too good to believe. It had a kind of structure that gave the overall look of being small, but in actuality it was big.

I just continued taking photos and told Suzanne to pose for some. She was already exhausted. Not one to take so much at a time, I was indeed surprised that she did so much. We were soon on our way to the top. After a great deal of walking, huffing and panting, we had actually reached the top. The top was like the forbidden land where only the brave dare! From the top we could see the entire village of Ghatghar.

Hrishikesh our unofficial tour guide said that it was also called Nancha Agatha. The top was a unique experience and all the videos and photos that I took there seemed insufficient in comparison to the lovely scene that this place offered. The trek seemed fulfilled and all the tiredness and fatigue seemed to vanish as we seeped in the virgin look.

The few serene minutes that we spent on top was video recorded and even today when I see it, I long to be back there on the top enjoying the lovely surroundings and the surreal beauty that existed there. WE made our way down slowly. We had sufficient water yet when we saw the water tanks with their clear water we felt like storing some of it. There were lot of tanks on the way and we were more than happy to freshen ourselves by splashing the water from these tanks on our faces. This was good as soon we entered the rocky patch which I dreaded.

With my weak knee, I was wondering how I would get down. Climbing up was never a problem for me, but getting down scared me. However in spite of a lot of rocky features, this place gave enough strength for me to try it. Hrishikesh showed us the art of getting down without applying force on the legs. With all this mini training over, the entire group did manage to come down. There were many groups of trekkers like us who were seeing us and following what we did!

After a lot of walking we reached the Wanar Lingi. This is a hill and is a lonely hill at that. Yes, this just stands all alone in the middle of the surroundings. It was a forest surrounding the hill and we were actually walking through it. The hill never seemed to end and finally we reached the bottom. This place is called the “Pathar”.

Here we rested for some time. Phew! It had taken us an hour to reach Pathar from the top. Then we proceeded towards the next spot which was the Naneghat Cave. Much is said about the caves but I would only say that you have to be very careful as they are slippery. So wear good footwear when you go on a trek here. We relaxed and rested here and were completely exhausted but happy. WE collected a lot of dry wood from here and pounced on the aloo parathas that Monica had brought along for all of us. It was almost dusk and as we saw the night falling on us, we returned to that hut where we had left our luggage. The man there asked us to stay overnight there. With a watery delicious khichdi as our dinner we slept the night through.

The next morning we got up and went towards Ghatghar and were intrigued to see the ancient booth where toll was taken. There was a big pot called the Ranjan. This had two parts the upper one for removing the money that is put there.

Finished with most of what we wanted to do, we were a happy lot who reached the car back. WE rested at the place we were put up and regaled ourselves with the best experiences we had during the trek. I wrote this blog while everyone else slept.

Rossaying: Trek it up to feel the difference at Naneghat.