Bhandardara-Near Igatpuri

On 1st Aug 09 I, Arunabha and Ashish set out for Bhandaradara in Arun’s car. We took the malshej ghat route and at the shivneri turn, we went straight and finally reached a village where we took left and drove towards bhandardara. It was my second visit, and spend the first day with the local sigh seeing and stayed at room given by the locals. There was no bed, neither TV. Total damage: INR 500.00. Next day morning we set out for Ratangadh fort, which was near the Amruteshwar temple (near Ratanwadi village) supposed to be build by pandavas in one day as told by the locals. On reaching the place Arun parked his car and I negotiated with one of the locals for guiding to the summit. Total damage: INR 175.00. The place is at its best during rainy season and we were simply amazed at the nature’s beauty. Finally we started the climb at 9.00 a.m. and after passing through streams started the trek .The jungle was having thick vegetation and finally at around 11.00 we arrived at the summit. The last stretch of the climb is the most dangerous one since we had to climb on huge boulders without any support except for the small gaps in the boulders which was used for climbing. At the summit was a small cave kind structure used by trekkers for overnight staying. Since it was rainy season there was so much of fog that we couldn’t see anything.

Key Takeaways: Best in rainy season, travel in your own vehicle/hire, carry rain jacket.