30/31st May 2009
Participants
– Kiran(Trek Lead), Gopal(Deputy),
Ajay, Anthony, Harshal, Laxmikant, Pramod , Rakesh, Sai Nath, Vinay,
Winnith
As per the plan the Tavera started
from Borivali with
Harshal, Rakesh, and Anthony. The rest of us boarded the Tavera at
Thane at Teen Haath Naka. We started the trip from Thane at around 8:15
pm along the Agra Road , and due to some accident there, we were caught
in a huge traffic jam. Finally at the Bhivandi junction, we took a left
turn and continued the journey through Bhivandi towards Wada, This road
has a lot of potholes upto Bhivandi town and is not very comfortable
for travelling. We had a fuel stop in between and soon after crossing
Bhivandi stopped at a Dhaba for a sumptious dinner. We then reached
Wada which was about 35 to 40 kms from here and our next destination
point was Jawhar. This stretch of road from Wada to Jawhar was
excellent, wit h clear signboards and markings all along. Finally at
around 1:30am we reached Jawhar, and from here, after enquiring wit h
the localites headed towards Zaap taking a right turn into a thin road.
This road to Zaap is also very uneven and filled wit h potholes.
Finally we reached the Bhupatgad base village Chinchawdi at around 2:30
am . Here we rested for the night at the
village temple and were up by 6
in the morning and refreshed ourselves with some good tea at a local
villager’s house. This is a very dry area wit h very little water,
especially in the summer season. It would be good if any government
body/welfare organisation could do something to ease the water problem
of the villagers here. The location is remote too & separated by
atleast 20 kms from any of major towns.
We started the trek around
7:30am . There is quite a bit of greenery along the route, though the
effects of tree cutting can be realized easily due to the low density
of trees on the route. There were many plants on the route wit h some
sweet and refreshing purple berries which we kept plucking and eating
on the way(locally known as karwande). We reached the top of the fort
at around 9 and had a breakfast of snacks that each of us had brought
along. We then roamed along the top of the fort for about half an hour,
and the scenery of the valley and villages below and the mountain
ranges beyond was excellent. There is a water tank on top of the fort
wit h a little water, but this water is not potable. The trek is quite
easy, but one should carry enough water wit h them as the region is
very dry, especially in summer. We then started our journey down to the
village. Here we rested for sometime at the village temple. Since there
was enough time we decided to visit
Devbandh on the route back. This
route is also extremely narrow & usually directionless! Need to ask
at every junction for directions. Our plan was to go to Vada via
Devbandh – Khodala – Vada. It takes about an hour & half to reach
Devbandh. Located on the Jawhar – Kasara road, this place is famous for
the Lord Ganesh Temple . The place extremely scenic wit h hills on all
4 sides & a river flowing nearby. We could only imagine seating
there in the hot month of May how scenic & heavenly it would be
during monsoon. Instantaneously, we decided to have a trip in this area
in coming monsoon! Here we spent some time in the serenity of the
temple and then had our lunch wit h some cows who forcefully invited
themselves to the party. We then started our return journey to Mumbai
via Vada & Manor at around 3 pm and after a quick halt for tea at
Vada junction, we touched Borivili, Mumbai at around 5:30 pm. Thanks to
the good planning from Kiran again and the driving skills of Harshal we
completed one more trek successfully.
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Photo Link: Click Here
Written by: Winnith Rebello