A lil about the place :

Mount Kalsubai is the highest peak (1,646 meters) of the Sahyadri range. The peak point served as a tower to watch the enemies during the Maratha rule. It is an nonpareil place to enjoy trekking.
A small temple can be seen at the top. The temple has an old well in its backyard. According to legend the water level of the well never drops below 3 feet.
From the top of Mount Kalsubai, one can get great view of the Bhandardara lake and Wison dam. Immediately after the rainy season, the place is covered with variety of flowers. During the months October to November people neighbouring region organize a religious fair at this place.
Baari village is the base to climb Kalsubai.

Our Experience here :

The trekking path is simple but it has a constant gradient. The soil is coarse and there is constant danger of slipping. The top of the mountain seems elusive, as you make it to what seems to be highest point, a distance away we see another climb. There are at least four such steps untill the actual top is in sight. On the total climb we encountered 3 ladders. These ladders are placed in places where there is a steep rock to be climbed. The ladders are unfortunately not in a very great shape and one has to be careful while climbing the ladders. On the left is a sheer drop into the valley, while on the right is the mountain. At one place, where we needed to go round the rock, an iron rope is tied to the rock for support. All these ladders and rope are safe, without any danger, as long as you are careful and do not do any mischief. The first ladder is about 50 – 60 ft., the second ladder is about 30 – 40 long. Both these ladders are more inclined, whereas the last ladder is vertical and is about 70 – 80 ft in height.
Kalsubai temple sits on a huge vertical rock in the shape of a drum, the third ladder is placed to climb this rock. At the base of this rock is a well. The water in this well is really sweet, and its surprising to find a well at this height.
On top of the rock is a small temple of Kalsubai, it is hardly 10 ft by 10 ft in size. The top of the rock is hardly 90 – 100 ft in diameter.
The way down is by no means simple of the continuous descend, the slippery soil and the ladders contribute to the difficulty.
Though we had plans to spend the night camping on the mountain top,The heavy rains and crazy winds totally prevented my friends and me for doing soo.With the heavy rains,it took us about 4 hours to climb up and about 2 and a half hours for our decent.The thing that saddened us the most is that we were unable to click much snaps due to the heavy rains Carrying the slr,tripod,Tent and sleeping bags was a total waste.
An idle time to visit this place is just after the rains and am definitely gonna be going there again Because this place is soo sooo BEAutiful

How to get there :

Bhandardara By Bus
Maharastra state road transport bus services are available up to the down hill. Most of the major cities in the state including Mumbai are connected to Bhandardara by bus.

Bhandardara By Train
Nearest Railway station is Igatpuri, which is nearly 35 km away from Bhandardara. Taxis will charge about Rs 500 and state bus charge is about Rs 25.

Last Sunday, the 18th of July was an awesome trek and ride to Karnala. Have added a few snaps and a lil info about the place.. Enjoy the reading.

Karnala fort(also called Funnel Hill) is a hill fort in Raigad district about 10 km from Panvel city. Currently it is a protected place lying within the Karnala Bird Sanctuary. It was a fort of strategic importance as it overlooked the Bor pass which connected the Konkan coast to the interior of Maharashtra and was the main trade route between these areas.

The Sanctuary

The sanctuary is quite small with an area of 4.27 square kilometres but is one of the sanctuaries except the Sanjay Gandhi National Park to be within reach of the Mumbai city.The sanctuary is very rich in avifauna and harbours 147 species of resident and 37 species of migratory birds who visit the sanctuary during winters. Two rare birds i.e. Ashy Minimet and Spotted heart woodpeckers have been sighted here.

History

Its exact date of formation is not known but likely it predates 1400 CE as under the Devagiri Yadavs(1248–1318) and under the Tughlaq rulers(1318–1347), Karnala was the capital of the north Konkan districts of their respective empires. It later fell under the command of the Gujarat Sultanate but in 1540 was taken over by Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar. The Gujarat sultans then requested the help of the Dom Francisco de Menenzes the commanding officer of the Portuguese at Bassien (modern day Vasai) to win it back. He ordered 500 of his soldiers to Karnala fort and they were able to capture it. The fort was left in charge of the Gujarat Sultanate but with Portuguese garrisons.
Shivaji conquered it from the Portuguese in 1670 by building breastworks as he advanced. After his death in 1680 it was taken over by Aurangzeb. After this the Mughals occupied it for some time after which it in 1740 with the rise of the Peshwas of Pune it went to them. It remained under the command of killedar (garrison commander) Anantrao until a colonel Prother won the fort and established the rule of the British East India Company there in 1818.

Major features

Karnala fort actually consists of two forts one at a higher level and other lower. At the centre of the higher level is a 125 feet high basalt pillar. It is also called Pandu’s tower. This structure was used as watchtower when the fort was occupied however now it is in a ruined condition. The presence of bee hives also makes it difficult to climb and have resulted in at least one casualty in recent times. There is a water cistern which provides fresh water all year long. From the top the forts of Prabalgad and Rajmachi are clearly visible.

The fort has two inscriptions one in Marathi and the other in Persian. The Marathi inscription which has no date is seen on the lower gate on the inner side. Its words are indecipherable. The Persian writing is on upper gate reads “Syed Nuruddin Muhammad Khan, Hijri, 1147 AH (1735 CE) and probably dates from the Mughal occupation of the fort.

The riders : Vivek + Navroze + Kapil & Me

The pillions : Benny & Namrata

Destination : Raigad

Date : 10th  & 11th July

Distance Covered : 400 kms

Experience : Looking beyond the façade of a place and allowing its true colours to seep in can result in the most beautiful of experiences..

more to come..