Bindaas Travellers trek to Dudhsagar Waterfall on 16th & 17th Sept, 2017

Dudhsagar Waterfalls … The very name conjures up the iconic image of the train on the bridge (for the Bollywood aficionados – Chennai Express fame)  with the majestic Waterfalls at the background. Dudhsagar, as the name suggests, means the ‘Sea of Milk’. For the academically inclined Dudhsagar Waterfalls is one of India's tallest four-tiered waterfalls, located on Mandovi river, in Bhagwan Mahaveer sanctuary and Kulem (Collem)  national park among the Western Ghats. It is densely surrounded by deciduous forest with rich biodiversity and forming the border between Karnataka and Goa states.

I  never thought I would actually end up seeing Dudhsagar  Waterfalls as part of a Trek. At the most, I would have been quite content to just have a glimpse of the waterfall while travelling in that route sometime.

Thanks to Bindaas Travelers, we actually did the trek and did it in style !!!!  The fifteen km trek in all covered the majestic Waterfalls up close and personal and the bonus Jungle trail through the beautiful Bhagwan Mahavir Sanctuary, plus the unique trudge along the railway tracks.

Our journey started routinely enough, boarding train for Pune at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (Kurla Terminus) , and getting to know each other along the way. We were joined by few others at Pune and then boarded the onward train from Pune. The optimal group size of eleven ensured Non-stop activity during the entire journey comprising of Dumb Charades, Mafia and lots other random games for others and book reading(!!!!) in my case. some fantastic Sunset photo opportunities too. 

Late to bed and early to rise was the mantra. We get off at the railway station as early as 5 in the morning on Sunday and start the onward journey on the Railway tracks. The ‘station’ does not have a platform and hence we carefully descend from the train using the steps. A continuous drizzle and the pitch black surroundings ensure all the flashlights and raincoats are put to good use. An hour’s rail line trek punctuated by an occasional scramble to the sides because of approaching trains brings us to the actual Dudhsagar Falls. We have a fair indication of the Waterfalls as there is a wonderful mist in the air plus the continuous faint roar of the Waterfalls.

We reach the spot well before daybreak and hence are treated to an absolute myriad of colours in the pre day break ... .actual day break. .and post day break periods. Thanks to the delayed arrival of our local guide , we spent a decent period of time at the actual Falls. Photos galore and soaking in the beauty of the Falls was done in abundance.

We eventually started our onward trek. Special mention of the amazing experience of walking through tunnels which we had to pass along the way plus the walking on the tracks too.

We started the jungle trail through the Bahagwaan Mahavir Sanctuary with its magnificent undergrowth and overhang of closely knit boughs. Barring a few places the overgrowth was nice and dense providing a measure of protection from the continuous drizzle. The fabulous exhibition of flora and fauna was a breathtaking sight.

Our intrepid local guide Tukaram apparently took us through many ‘shortcuts’ ensuring we trekked through foliage, knee-deep streams and of course the soggy red soil. The big advantage of having a local guide – the small nuggets that you get. We came across an innocent looking very still body of water called Devil’s Canyon. 

 Tukaram informed us that it had apparently claimed a  lot of lives and that the still surface was deceptive and actually there was a furious undercurrent at that place. We also were made privy to the ‘jurisdiction’ of the local deities and how the loyalties of the locals were divided among their own favourite Gods. The extempore jumping into a mini pool of water and the splashing water games was fun too. 

One would not normally expect to trek through nature parks barefoot, but we had adventurous fellow trekkers try out that too !!!

The breakfast break for the mandatory local cuisine of poha and chai was very much welcome and we were treated to the sight of a magnificent temple with the typical gopuram and a magnificent collage of colours. After trekking on (through shortcuts again) liberally laced with much singing and creative play acting,  we reach Base village Kulem for the much-needed changeover into dry clothes and then lunch (local cuisine). 

Well fed and watered we then go to  Kulem Station where We bid goodbye to our fellow trekkers from Pune  The one-hour shuttle train ride to Madgaon station in a practically empty train gives us some much needed rest either by way of snooze or catching up on many trekking stories from everyone.

Madgaon station with its nicely stocked restaurant and magnificent Mario sketches were lovely as always. With the expected delay in the train, Shrikant our trek lead along with enthusiastic participation from few others did their version of a social experiment and regaled the bystanders with a continuous medley of Bollywood numbers.

 The initially curious, then amused and subsequently, the impressed audience actually started showering the music ‘band’ with currency notes. ( for the record - The currency notes, of course, were returned back to the givers with considerable difficulty.)

The Matsyagandha Express whose onerous task it is to transport us back to Mumbai arrives at its own pace and we pile on into our Carriages. Without much ado we drift off to a long well deserved sleep to return back the next morning to Mumbai with pleasant memories and memory full of (pun intended) pictures 

Thank you, Bindaas Travelers for a fantastically managed event

Aad Fort -Rarely Done Trek- 27th August 2017

The promise of a rarely explored Aad Fort and that too grade “easy” was reason enough to opt for this trek

.

As is the routine we took the scheduled Kasara local (with the standard warning- IF YOU MISS THE TRAIN, YOU MISS THE TREK) and reach Kasara at 1.20 am. 

Time for the  long vehicle ride with the customary break at Baba Da Dhaba for Tea/coffee /Pulao/Biryani and the surprise Cake Cutting. (The crowd at Baba da Dhaba at 2 am never ceases to amaze me ). 

 The fun quotient of the jeep ride was provided by Arjun , one of our intrepid trekkers, who decided that travelling on the roof top of one of the two Jeeps was  a nice way to get some breeze. A hilarious turn of events , since no one in that Jeep  knew he was doing that and it actually led to speculation about ghosts and what not !!!!




We eventually reach the Base Village and take a much needed break at the local Krishna Temple.

 After the introduction round of the 25 odd trekkers where new friendships were made and existing bonds renewed, the group had a quick warm up round with simple physical exercises

and enthusiastically started the trek.

 The local (absolutely down to earth ) guide Gokul conversationally mentioned somewhere along the way that the (vast) tracts of land from point X to point Y belonged to his family , where they grew vegetables like  French beans and peas.  

Our ever jovial Trek lead Jaal actually suggested we had all the ingredients for pulao available!

.  

The easy grade trek started off easily enough almost like a stroll through the fields. Special mention of the fertile if gooey soil through which we trekked!!!!

The slight adventure to the day began with the ascent into the Hills beyond the fields. The continuous rains had made the paths slippery and at a few stretches the narrow path was all of 18-24 inches wide with a fairly steep fall on one side.

Special mention has to be made of the absolute majestic view of the enormous windmills which we could see as we gained height and took breaks in between at the plains/plateaus. 

The breaks were well utilized to either click pics 

or explore the surroundings as per inclination J

The food break in between at the temple cave was one of  the highlights of the trek with about twenty plus breakfast packets making their appearance and being exchanged freely among all. Instant sandwiches, cakes,  idli, thepla, kachori, fruits, to mention only a few. 

The dance party that began later has to be seen to be believed. Some absolutely groovy moves and some trick videography has ensured sufficient entertainment for a lifetime each time the videos are revisited.

The feeling of being in the midst of clouds, when enveloped by the fog and then suddenly being treated to the breathtaking landscape below when the fog cleared was fascinating to say the least.

We eventually reach the top, explore around a bit and

 after a good 

session of games 

or 

snoozing 

or blank gazing into the valley or clouds

(as per choice),

and of course the mandatory group pic,

the descent begins. 

We reach base in good time. Enroute get the chance to examine a windmill up close and personal (and click plenty of pics of course)

and then start the journey back. Lunch break with some authentic local cuisine

 and back to Kasara Railway Station. A long wait at the station followed by an even longer trip (duly peppered with a hilarious game of Dumb Charades),

we return home tired but happy after another fantastic trekking experience.

Thank you Tattva Adventures for an awesome experience and a Special mention of the fantastic camaraderie shared amongst the trekkers. I always am thankful for the like minded yet eclectic mix of  trekkers who more often represent many Professions and fields. Our group this time consisted of Finance professionals, graphic designers, Entreprenuers, Pilots and students of course to name only a few.

Visapur - August 2017

Visapur Fort – One Day Monsoon Trek promised the following !!!!
| 50 Shades of Monsoon | Twin Fort of Lohagad | Secret Escape Passage | A Walk Through Waterfall |
With a 6 am planned start , I typically looked forward to a couple of hours of snoozing in the bus (high hopes given the enthusiastic wannabe singers :P ). Another motivation for this trek other than the salient features as mentioned above  was ... traveling to and fro by bus. You have to do a local train travel to Kasara and back for a trek to know what I mean 😀

One of the highlights of the bus trip was the totally creative and hilarious dumb charades game with our juniormost trekker Bhaval (all of 11 years young) keeping us wondering as also in splits with his version of all movies.

 Reached base village  as planned and after a typically Maharashtrian village breakfast of Poha and chaha the trek started. We were promised a rainy trek and we got one. Start to finish, except for the few who preferred to get wet (without rain gear), every one was in their respective rain jackets, caps and what not. Not that it made any difference. By the end of the trek everyone was soaking wet. Either nature had its way or we chose to get drenched under the myriad falls along the way.

Walk through waterfall is something which has to be experienced by all trekkers. For a easy grade trek the thrill quotient was more than made up by trekking uphill in the gushing waterfalls.

The occasional plains  gave us the much needed rest as well as the opportunity to admire the beauty of nature. On a conservative estimate we had about a million hues of green !!!

I do recollect seeing few caves with nice camping space, Assume that must have contained the “secret passage”, if any. Or maybe we missed seeing it because of the continuous downpour.

There were a few big rocks laid in formation and this was all the sign of any fort ever having been there. I have written elsewhere and repeat again, there has to be a certain regular maintenance done of all the historical places in the Sahyadris. There seems to be a lot of lip service happening about the rich culture and history of the Marathas , but precious little done to preserve the same.

Descent from the top happened soon enough and after  change over to dry clothes and a delicious lunch at the extremely hospitable village household , we started our return journey in good time with pleasant memories.

 

Thank you Mischief Managed (Digvijay Rathore and Shalaka Parasher) for a fantastic  time with nature. Looking forward to many more