Igatpuri—Mt.Kalsubai

On 13th June 09, I and Ashish Negi set out for Mt.Kalsubai. We reached Dadar station at 11.45 p.m. to catch the Mahanagri express , however the train was delayed for more than an hour and arrived at 2.15 a.m. instead of its actual departure at 00.25 a.m. At 5.00 a.m. we arrived at Igatpuri station and after using the public loo on the station we set out. We walked towards the platform 1 and came out of the station. There is a rickshaw stand immediately outside, however we proceeded towards the bus stand which was towards the right hand side once we were outside the station. We arrived at the bus stand after walking for roughly 10-15 minutes. The shops were closed since it was only 5.25 a.m. We enquired at the bus stand and were being informed that the first bus to Bhandardara was at 7.00 a.m. and Kalsubai was one the way. Immediately outside the bus stand are tea vendors and I had tea. The entry point of the bus stand has a dargah and the exit point has a temple. We waited at the temple and caught the bus at 7.00 and the bus left sharp at 7.00 a.m. Total Damage: INR 40.00. After a journey over almost an hour we arrived at Bheri—small village which is the base from where one starts for Mt. Kalsubai. There was a small outlet where we got down and we took tea and Poha. Total Damage: INR 26.00. There is no other option except for poha and biscuits. One can see majestic Kalsubai from the stand and was magnificent. We proceeded towards the Bheri Village and after walking for 15-20 minutes arrived at the village. There is a well outside the village which was surrounded by villagers collecting waters which were dropped in by the tanker. We walked just beside the school and asked the locals for the direction and they were quite helpful. We walked and passed across the fields and kept on moving. There was no major trouble in finding the path since they were made on account of people walking. On the way we came across Bheri temple and few huts of villagers and we kept on walking and finally were very close to the base. There was a group of hikers who were walking down and had come from Mumbai. They informed of starting the trek at 6.00 a.m. and at 8.30 a.m. were down. They told us of the climb and step to be taken. Our journey had started at 8.35 a.m. and we were pretty comfortable in our timing. Finally we arrived at the spot where there were iron girdles and steps which were to be climbed. The steps and the iron girdles were of great help and additionally I was carrying a bamboo stick which was of great help in the climb. Ashish unfortunately was not wearing any cap and was neither carrying stick. After climbing on the steps for 20 minutes we came across iron ladders which were laid since steps could not be built as it was vertical rocks. One needs to be cautious while climbing the ladders. We kept on climbing with intermittent halts of 2-3 minutes to restore energy. Finally we came across a family with 2 children’s who had started at 8.00 a.m. we arrived at 10.40 a.m. at a spot where there was a tree and a huge stone where we all rested and infact we took a nap for 20.00 minutes. I was under impression that we had arrived, however the guide with the family informed that still there was a steep climb. By this time the sun was also bright and was taking its toll. We kept on walking, on the step, sometimes flat land and finally with intermittent iron ladders. We reached a flat top where the small temple of Behri was visible and that spot was the tallest peak in Maharashtra. The last step to the temple was through the iron ladder and finally we had arrived at the summit and it was 11.37 a.m. It took us 3 hours to reach top without any stretch. The view from the top was something which left us forgets out tirelessness. On the one side we can see the Bhandardara Lake and on the other side were the wind mills on the mountains. As far as our eyes could see there were only mountains and nothing else. At the top beside the small temple there was nothing and there was no shady place to take rest. We rested and ate Sattu, dry-fruits which I had got. After resting for 25 minutes we decided to travel down and decided to rest at the place where we had waited earlier while climbing. While travelling down we came across cattle’s i.e., cow grazing. We took rest at the spot and after resting for almost 1.5-2.0 hours at 2.30 p.m. started descending down. While climbing down it was easier, however on the iron ladder one needs to be really careful. We finally arrived at a small hut where we had nimboo-pani for INR 5.00/ glass. We arrived at the village and it took us 2.00 hours to reach the base. We had not eaten and Ashish was quite hungry and there was not a single hotel since it was a small village. We reached the main road and at the roadside shop we ordered for Poha and tea. Total Damage: INR 41.00. We waited for the bus at 6.00 p.m. since we had missed the 4.30 p.m. and finally caught the bus and arrived at Igatpuri station and it was 7.05 p.m. we roamed in the local market and Ashish had Chinese at the dinner and I took some fruits. We caught the Howrah-Mumbai at 8.25 p.m. and arrived at 11.05 p.m. at Dadar. Thus one more memorable journey came to an end.

Key Takeaway: Start Early, carry eatables, good quantity of water, cap.

For more pictures please follow the following link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30002962@N05/