ONE DAY TREK TO DHAK BAHIRI

DHAK BAHIRI

Type: Hill Cave
District: Raigad
Height: 2300 feet above mean sea level
Base Village: Jambholi
Region: Karjat -Lonavala
Difficulty Rating: Tough 
Transport: Kalyan to Lonavala by rail, Lonavala to Jambholi by bus.
Time to reach the top: About 3 hrs from the base

Trek to Bahiri caves is famous for its rock climbing section and is considered one of the toughest trek of Maharashtra just because of this rock patch.
But we will try to make it as easy as possible, with appropriate use of ropes, securing safety of each and every participant over the patch.

The plans for the trek will be as follows :
Though it’s a one day trek, the scorching sun in this dry season heats the rocks and makes it difficult to climb after 11 am itself. So to avoid getting burnt by heated rocks we have decided to hike the cave early in the morning and for the same reason we need to reach the base one night prior to the trek.

We will be starting from Mumbai on Saturday afternoon, Our Mates from Pune will join us at Kamshet or Lonavala
Will reach jambhavli the base village by night.
Will have our dinner in the Village, rest for an hour, and start for a night trek till the base of the cave.
Early morning wake up, breakfast, will start towards the patch.(this will prove us very helpful, as only one person can climb the patch at once. and no other goup reaches )
We will climb the patch and will be back by 12pm to the base of the cave.
From here we will return to Jambhavli.
Have lunch and will start our return journey to Mumbai(Karjat) / Pune(Kamshet).

[
Things To Be carried:
A bottle of water (Atleast 2 Ltrs),
TORCH with extra batteries, Candles (compulsory).
2-3 bunch of papers and proper bedding
Camera(Optional)
Cap, etc.,
Some ready to eat food. Plum cakes, Biscuits, etc.
Medicine those if u require usually (Optional)
Good trekking shoes,
A haversack to put in all the things to be carried. so that one has ones hands free while trekking. Please do not carry sling bags or Jholas.
Please avoid wearing Gold and other ornaments.]

ONE DAY TREK TO SHIVNERI

Shivneri

·                     Fort Height : 3500 feet.

·                     Type : Hill forts

·                     Fort Range : Naneghat

·                     Grade : Medium

·                     Village : Junnar

·                     Days : 1 days

·                     Accommodation Facility : One can make a stay on the fort in Shiv Kunj or Ambarkhana. Shiv Kunj is a suitable option among the two because of water cisterns is available near it.

·                     Food Facility : Available in Junnar

·                     Drinking Water Facility : Water ponds are available at the top.

·                     Time To Reach : 1 hour from base village..

Shivneri Fort is a historic military fortification located near Junnar which is around 105 km from Pune, a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is known as the birthplace of Shivaji Raje.

History :

Shivaji's father, was a general in the army of the Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur. He was concerned for the safety of his wife Jijabai during her pregnancy as there was constant warfare going on.He,therefore moved his family to Shivneri fort. Shivneri is a highly defensible location, with steep rocks on four sides and a strongly-built citadel.
Shivaji Maharaaj was born at the fort on 19 February 1630, and spent his childhood there. Inside the fort is a small temple of goddess Shivai Devi, after whom Shivaji was named so.He acquired all the skills and training on this fort which he used while establishing hindavi swaraj (self-rule). He learnt the early lessons of swaraj on this fort. There are statues of Jijabai and young Shivaji. In the fort there are two water springs, namely Ganga-Jamumna, which have water throughout whole year.

Sightseeing: 

Shiv Janmasthan: 
This is the place on the fort where the birth of Shivaji Maharaj took place. This place is named as Shiv Mandir. Ahead of Shiv Mandir there is a huge water tank.
Kadelot point : 
This is the place where prisoners were punished by throwing them down the fort. This point is on the northern end of the fort.
Shiv Kunj : 
Shiv Kunj is a monument constructed by the state government, in honor of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Inside Shiv Kunj there is an idol of Bal Shivaji and Jijabai made of “Panchdhatu”
Kamani Masjid :
In front of Shiv Kunj on can see this Kamani Masjid. It might have been named Kamani because the top of this structure is like bow that is called as Kaman in Hindi. On the east-facing wall there is an inscription in Urdu.
Ganga Jamuna :
These are the water cisterns behind the Shiv Kunj. Water in these cisterns is potable. On whole of Shivneri there are more than 10 water tanks.
Ambarkhana :
Every fort needs to have a warehouse for its storage of grains and food products. Ambarkhana is the place where huge amount of grain can be stored. The caretakers here keep this place very clean.

How To Reach : 
To reach on fort Shivneri first we have to reach Junnar. Distance between Junnar Bus stand and Shivneri is 2 km by road.

Ways to reach Junnar :
1) From Mumbai or Kalyan one can reach Junnar via Malshej Ghat or via Khandala Ghat. Route via Malshej Ghat is the preferable as it takes less time. Buses ply hourly from Kalyan towards Junnar. Distance from Mumbai is approximately 100 km.

2) From Pune or Shivaji Nagar one can take buses for Junnar. Buses ply hourly for Junnar from these bus stands.

3) On Kalyan – Nagar road there lie two diversions:
a) Bangar Phata
b) Aale Phata.
One can also descend at any one of these diversions and use local transport to reach Junnar city.

ONE DAY OUTBOUND PROGRAM TO VASOTA

Vasota

·                     Fort Height : 4267 ft.

·                     Type : Forest forts

·                     Fort Range : Mahabaleshwar

·                     District : Satara

·                     Grade : Medium

·                     Days: Max 2 days

·                     Accommodation Facility: Mahadeo Mandir can accommodate 2-3 people. A plateau near the joint water cisterns can also be used as camping ground. Nageshwar cave can accommodate 20-25 people easily.

·                     Food Facility: One should arrange for self.

·                     Drinking Water Facility: The way to the right of the stairways to Nageshwar cave takes us to a well, water in which can be used for consumption. Even in summer this well does not dry out. Water is available in sufficient quantity on Vasota.

Situated in dense forests surrounded by river Koyna is the fort of Vasota, which according to the ‘Dnyaneshwari’ means a resting place. This fort is also known by the name of Vyaghragad.
History : We have to go back to the times of Sage Vasishtha to know how exactly old is the fort. It’s believed that a disciple of Vasishtha, a sage by the name Agasti, came to reside on a mountain on the banks of river Koyana. He named the mountain after his mentor. Later the mountain was fortified and converted into a military station. In the course of time, fort Vasishtha was pronounced as ‘Vasota’.

This fort is believed to belong to the Shilahar dynasty era, and probably named Vasota due to the name Vasantgad given to it during that era. According to ancient scriptures Shivaji took Vasota after his successful raid on Javli region. But it is untrue. Shivaji took Javli and other forts in the Konkan region but Vasota eluded him. When Shivaji was trapped on Panhalgad he dispatched a battalion from his main army and won Vasota on June 6, 1660. Later in 1679, 26,000 rupees were found on the fort. Among the prisoners caught in 1661 in Rajapur, Faren and Samuel were kept imprisoned on the fort.

Later in 1706, Tai Telini brought the fort under her control. The very next year Peshwa Senapati Bapu Gokhale fought with her. After 8-10 months of intense battle, Bapu Nadkarni conquered the fort.

Sightseeing:

There are two entrances to the fort Vasota

On entering the fort there is a Hanuman temple, now devoid of a roof. Three ways go ahead this temple. The path straight ahead takes us to the remnants of the fort. The one on the left takes us at ‘Kalkaiche Thane’.
On the way is a Mahadeo temple which can accommodate 2-3 people. Moving along the path we arrive at ‘Machi’. The view of the surrounding region is simply spectacular.

Babukhada :
The cliff to the west of the gorge has a sheer drop of 1,500 feet if not more. It was known as the Babukhada and was used as a place of execution for criminals or offenders who used to be hurled down the cliff. The west face of the fort was only a degree less abrupt, and a loose block or boulder of the old wall, if tumbled down the cliff, might be seen bounding from ledge with increasing violence- and speed for an extraordinary distance. The face of the cliff to the south is in three concave stretches and a shout or whistle gives three or sometimes four beautifully distinct echoes. The view to the north is fine, including Makrandgad or the Saddleback and the fine group of steep hills about Kandat and the Par pass. The view south is shut out by the Babukhada, but the west gives an extensive prospect over the rugged Konkan down to the sea.

Old Vasota : 
The mountain that is seen from the Babukada on Vasota is Old Vasota. No way exists now that takes us to this fort. In addition there is an acute shortage of water. Also presence of wild animals in the area keeps the trekkers away from this fort.

How to Reach :
There are 2 main ways to reach the fort, one via Nageshwar and the one directly to Vasota.
Via Nageshwar : It can be said that a visit to Vasota is incomplete without visiting Nageshwar. On our way to Vasota a distinct pinnacle catches our attention. This pinnacle is named Nageshwar. A cave is carved in this pinnacle with a Mahadeo temple inside it. Thousands of devotees crowd this place on Shivratri. Water droplets fall on the Shivling from the rooftop of the cave throughout the year. Most of the trekkers generally visit Nageshwar on their way to Vasota; the only constraint being a walk for a few miles.
Directly to Vasota : a)From Satara:
One can reach Vasota from Satara by 2 different routes.

i)Via Kusapur:
Board a bus at 9 a.m. from Satara and reach Bamnoli. From here one should come to Kusapur by launch. From Kusapur 2 ways go through dense forest, the left towards Vasota and the one on the right towards Nageshwar.

iii)From Mahabaleshwar:
From Mahabaleshwar get to Tapole village and then further arrive at Kusapur by launch. From Kusapur one can reach Vasota as described above.

b)From Chiplun: 
i)Board a bus from Chiplun at 8.30 a.m. and alight at village Choravane. It takes 5-6 hours to reach Vasota from this village. It is to be noted that there is no water on the way and one has to carry his own supply. After climbing for some time one comes across a plateau from where the path on the left goes to Nageshwar and the one on the right to Vasota. As we move ahead along the way to Nageshwar we see another path below that goes to a well through dense forest. We can cut short the total time to Vasota to just 2 hours if we take this path.

ii) Arrive at Tivre village from Chiplun. From here we can reach Vasota via the Rede Ghat.