Monsoon Trip 2015 to Madhe ghat

Three years back, I have been to Madhe ghat and again I wanted to visit same place in this monsoon. It is a perfect combination of ghat, rivers, waterfalls, lush green nature and small villages surrounding them. A must visit place for nature lover and Photographers.

Travelers for this trip were Me, Wife Renuka and my parents.

Madhe Ghat waterfall

About Madhe Ghat:
Madhe ghat is located around 55 km south west of Pune bordering Raigad district and in the vicinity of Torna Fort, Rajgad, Raigad and backwaters of Bhatghar dam. From this place, you can have a view of vast area such as Raigad fort, Lingana, Varandha ghat and Shivthar Ghal. This place is very cold and is a developing hill station.

In history, when the great warrior Narveer Tanaji Malusare died in the Sinhagad battle, his body was to be taken for last rites in his native village Umrathe near Poladpur. Tanaji Malusare's funeral procession was taken to his native place from this Madhe ghat route.

There are two routes to reach at Madhe ghat, Either by Pabhe Ghat or by NH-4 route.

From Pabhe ghat route is Pune -> Warje-Malwadi -> Khadakwasla Dam -> Donje Phata -> Khanapur village -> Take left after 1km from Khanapur -> Pabe Ghat -> on Nasarapur-Velhe Road, take right -> Velhe village -> Kelaad village -> Madhe Ghatwaterfall (Total one way distance is 62km route)
Another route from NH-4 is Pune -> NH-4 -> Khed-shivapur toll on NH-4 -> Take right turn at Nasarapur bypass -> Velhe village -> Kelaad village -> Madhe Ghat waterfall (Total one way distance is 82km route)

But I will suggest round trip route as Pune -> Khadakwasla Dam -> Pabhe ghat – Velhe village -> Madhe Ghat -> Velhe village -> NH-4 -> Pune.

9th Aug, 2015: Madhe Ghat (Distance traveled: 132 km)
We started our journey at around 7 AM on a Sunday morning by car. Weather was quite cloudy and we were expecting heavy rain. After crossing Khanapur, we saw left turn to Pabhe ghat. I was aware of route so quickly we drive to Velhe village via Pabhe ghat.

Once we reached near Velhe village, we were able to spot Torna and Rajgad fort but it was covered by clouds. Now we started feeling very hungry so took break at a small restaurant. Owner served us tasty Omelet and Fried Bread. Weather was freezing cold and we were having very tasty breakfast. That was awesome breakfast.

Pabhe Ghat

            After Velhe village, we took left turn for Madhe Ghat. Road condition is very bad except 8-9 km road patch. Forest was very dense and sometime it was difficult to spot road after taking some crazy curves. After crossing few mountains we saw spectacular view of Sahyadri ranges. You need to cross at least 4-5 Mountains to reach at Kelaad village. Sign board helped us to spot the Madhe ghat route and we took a left turn and crossed a small bridge. From here onwards either you have to walk for last 1.5km road patch. B’cos of monsoon, many people prefer a walk after that small bridge. We preferred to walk to reach at the top of Madhe ghat. The road ends at this point and offers you an amazing view.

Madhe ghat waterfall from Top

            When we arrived at Madhe ghat, we saw that this area is very plain and flat reminding you of the table land at Pachgani. Entire area was covered with thick fog and clouds. We were neither able to view valley view nor waterfall. We waited for some time and then Proceeding towards the edge of this mountain, we are able to see a gigantic waterfall falling over the exposed rock directly into the valley of 2500 feet falling in the Shivthar River in Konkan. Due to clouds, I hardly manage to click photos of waterfall but we enjoyed weather. 

Madhe ghat

            We clicked many photos of waterfall and surrounding area spent some time with the small water falls. Many people are aware of this place due to social media hence you may expect crowd on weekends. I loved this place. We spent more than hour and then started with our return journey. Few kilometers ahead of Madhe ghat, you can see one more waterfall. To view that falls, you may need to some trekking. Due to weather condition, we skipped that but decided to visit again for photography and second waterfall.
           For return journey we choose NH-4 path. After 30-33km we touched national highway 4. We reach home by 5 PM in the evening. It was truly stress–relieving nature trip. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog and planning to cover this lush green, breathtaking waterfall view spot in this monsoon.

Expenses

• Car Petrol: Approx. INR 500/- (7 liter, Average 15 per liter) 
• Breakfast at Velhe: INR 40/- per person for Omelet Pav and tea
• Snacks (Vada Pav near parking area): INR 15/- per Vada pav
• Toll on NH-4 (Khed-Shivapur): INR 80/-

Reference number:

• Ankush Shinde for breakfast/lunch: 02130-218336
• Balu shinde as forest route tracker: 9545299649 (Mobile range network is poor hence you may be able to connect him after evening)

Thanks for reading this Travel Blog. Happy traveling.

Pritesh Kulkarni

Pune

Read More

Monsoon trek to Torna fort

After Visapur and Tung fort, it was time to do one more trek in the month of June. We wanted to step up the endurance level so we decided to go to the Torna Fort. It was our monsoon trek. There was no sign of rain on the day but cloudy weather and soft sun light played their best role to unfold nature’s beauty in front of us.

Trekkers for Torna were me (as group leader), wife Renuka (Female group leader), Himanshu (My partner to organize treks)-Ketaki, Abhijit-Manasi, Sangram, Girish Ghospurkar (Father-in-law), Parikshit, Sandeep, wishwas, Ashish and smallest trekker Tanmay (Age-13)

Torna Fort

About Torna fort: 

               Torna Fort or Prachandagad (means ’massive fort’) is located in Pune , State of Maharashtra. It is the first fort captured by Shivaji Maharaj in 1643, at the age of 16, forming the nucleus of the Maratha Empire. The mountain has an elevation of 1,403 meters (4,603 ft.) above sea level, making it the highest fort in Pune.
There are many places to see on the fort. You can see Bini Darwaaja (the main entrance) Temple of goddess Mengai, Budhla machi, Zunjar Machi, (bastions), Kothi Darwaaja and Konkan Darwaaja on the fort.

There are 2 routes to reach the base village Velhe. One is Pune – National highway 4 – Cross first toll – take right at Nasarapur phata – Baneshwar – Velhe village whereas another route is Pune – Khadakwasala lake – Donje phata – Take right at Donje phata – Khanapur village – After khanapur village, take left for Pabe ghat – Cross Pabe ghat – On T-Junction, take right for Velhe village.

Personal vehicle or Government bus services from Swargate are convenient options to reach Velhe.

There is only one route to climb the Torna fort from Velhe village. Trekkers also prefer Rajgad – Torna trek route which is more popular. For this route you need to climb Rajgad – Sanjeevni machi – Descend along the left side of Sanjeevni Machi – 5/6 hours of walk to cross hills – Climb Budhla machi – there are 3 rock patches – walk towards right side to reach at Mengai devi temple.

29th June 2014: Trek to Torna (1.5 hr. of Journey + 3-3.30 hr. total climb):
            We woke up by 4.30 AM and left home at 5. We met the other trekkers at Rajaram Bridge. Some people were new to me as well as for others. After a quick round of introduction, we left for Velhe village. It was a cloudy weather and we were expecting showers as we did the previous 2 treks without rain. It was a pleasant journey to Velhe via Pabe ghat. We parked our cars at a restaurant ‘Torna Vihar’ in the village. It was 7 in the clock and we did not want to waste time for breakfast. We had Poha/Misal pav in breakfast and then our trek began at 7.45 AM.

Torna Fort and Path to climb first hill on Right side

               Weather was perfectly set for trekking conditions. The sun was busy in hide and seeks game with rainy clouds. The first patch was a flat one through planes and fields. But soon after crossing the fields and planes, it got an elevation at approx. 40 degree. There are a series of interconnected hills of varying heights which gradually lead to the highest hill hosting the fort. Reaction of new members after watching height of Torna fort and its route was like, are we sure that we’ll climb this fort in 3.30 hours? My reply was not to think about the peak but just try to focus on the hills. After walking along the fields, we took a right-hand side path to start hike towards the first hill. The patch was rough and there was no defined path. We somehow climbed carefully. From the first stretch only we found that it was going to be our test of stamina and energy. We took a small break and then resumed our trek to climb the further part of the hill.

Blue sky

               After the warm-up hill climb, everybody started the trek in high spirits with the aim to reach on top in three hours. We were taking breaks at regular intervals to gain energy. The trek to the Torna fort was simple and straight on the path nicely laid after climbing first hill. After 1 hour of hike, we reached on top of one hill. You can see beautiful nature view of Gunjavne Dam once you’re on top of the connected hill. It was not possible for us to start climbing on massive Torna fort without capturing its beauty in our cameras. From the top of hill, you need to walk on small plateau before actual hike.

Route to Torna

               The last 45 minutes of trek uphill are indeed pretty interesting. Torna fort offers you two small rock patches. For safety purpose, railings were mounted. Any person with basic knowledge can climb it easily. Somehow 3 girls from the group took lead and went ahead of us. Ketaki and Manasi are new to trekking activity but they climbed till the top without our help. The route after the small rock patches to Bini darwaja is pretty narrow though you do have railings to support you in case you miss a foot. There is a small waterfall just before Bini Darwaja and we took a small pit stop to get refreshed.

Torna Fort a.k.a. PrachandGad (Massive Fort)

Walk on plateau before actual Hike

Waiting for Trekkers or for Monsoon!

Railing on route during final hike

               Soon we reached the entry gate of the Torna fort ‘Bini Darwaja’ by 11.15 pm. All were really happy to reach here. It was as if one has got the fruit of all his efforts made. Next entrance named Kothi Darwaja to Torna fort is quite interesting. The path to the entrance is in curved shape along with guardrooms. As we were on height, sunny weather was replaced by cloudy weather and cool strong breeze was playing around us. We took a break and then decided to go to Goddess Mengai Temple for lunch break. On the way to the temple, you can see a water tank and a constructed room without roof. Trekkers can either set up their tents here or can stay inside the Goddess Mengai temple.

Bini Darwaja (Bini entrance)

Bastion at Kothi Darwaja

Kothi Darwaja (Kothi entrance)

              After 3.15 hours of trek, everyone was hungry. We settled down inside the temple for lunch. Homemade packed lunch and some rest made us feel fresh to explore the fort. This fort is believed to have been constructed by the Shaiva Panth in the 13th century. Torna was the first fort won by Shivaji at the tender age of 16. Seeing this huge fort must have prompted Shivaji to name it Prachandgad. After his daring escape from Agra, he came here & renovated the fort. When Shivaji started the restoration work of the fort, he came across a hidden treasure which financed the cost of rebuilding the fort of Rajgad which stands on the mountain opposite Murumbdev. In the 18th century, the Mughal Empire gained control of this fort after assassination of Shivaji Maharaj's son Sambhaji. Aurangzeb, then Mughal emperor, renamed this fort as Futulgaib (Language unknown: Divine victory), in recognition of the difficult defense the Mughals had to overcome to capture this fort. It was restored to the Maratha confederacy by the Treaty of Purandar.

Mengai Temple

Colors of Nature

Rajgad Fort from Torna

                 We decided to go towards the Budhla machi. In Marathi "Budhla" means a vessel, & "Budhla" Machi looks like a vessel kept upside down. This is a breathtaking spot on the fort. On the way to budhla machi, we saw mahar water trench and kokan darwaja. Fortification of the Kokan darwaja (kokan side entrance gate) is in a better condition. On the way to Budhla machi, you can see a beautiful bastion construction with a secrete route to enter into the bastion. You need to crawl to reach here. We went there and it was truly amazing. It is definitely a must visit place. From budhla machi, you can go to the Rajgad fort.

Fortification and Fort wall

Kokan Darwaja (Kokan Entrance)

Budhla Machi

Way to secrete Bastion 

            Another famous location on the fort is the Zunjar machi. After spending some time near budhla machi, we took a walk towards Zunjar machi. It is situated on the western side & is a wonderful spot to see. This machi was the most important part of the fort during the wars as it is the most difficult part of the fort to win and hence it is called as “Zunzar machi”. "Zunzar" means a "Fighter". To reach “Zunzar machi” you have to descend an iron ladder. This iron ladder has been put on the wall of the fort making the access to the Zunjar Machi easier. After this ladder there are two rock patches, out of the two the last rock patch is a difficult one. Everyone was trying to capture the beauty of the machi in cameras. We spent some time here and then walked along the fort wall.

Sadar

Zunjar machi

Fort's Wall

             We saw almost the entire fort in 2 – 3 hours and now everyone wanted to have a power nap before we started the descend. The nature changed its mood regularly, sometimes raining, and sometimes winds playing with us and sometimes sudden focus of the sun-rays glowing up the lush green wet vegetation. Everyone was taking rest when I was eager to enjoy nature’s beauty. I informed my group member and went to explore the fort again with my camera. As most of the other trekking groups had started to descend, I was exploring the fort alone. Peace of the fort, nature’s beauty with cool breeze was best way to do meditation for me. I enjoyed photography for around 1 hour and joined my group for snacks.

Waiting for Monsoon...

                 After sightseeing, we started descending at 4.15 pm. Myself and Abhijit helped the girls to descend the rock patch. Descending was not a difficult job but after some time, pressure on the knee becomes troublesome. After descending half the way (Rock patches), we took a break for 10 min. No reason as such for the break. Yet after the small break, we covered the remaining distance with lighting speed. We reached Velhe village at 6 PM. After we reached at our parked cars at base village, we had tea break and then we left this historical place.

Our Torna Gang (L to R: Me, Renuka, Ketaki, Himanshu, Sandeep, Sangram, Girish Ghospurkar, Parikshit, Abhijit, Manasi, Wishwas,Ashish and Tanmay at center)

                 Torna is truly a place to visit and to remember the greatest Maratha King. One must visit the fort and enjoy the nature and the beauty of the great fort. It was a perfect end to an adventurous weekend. We reached home by 8.30 PM safely ending a pleasurable trek in monsoon.

Zunjar machi from another angle

Old beauty at base village Velhe

Things to carry for Torna trek:

• A water bottle to carry at least 2 liters of water
• Some dry food and packed lunch, No suitable food stall is available on Torna fort.
• Windcheater / jacket / Barsati during monsoon trek.
• First aid kit
• Do carry instant energizers like Glucon-D or Tang.
• A towel or napkin and 2-3 old newspapers
• Camera to capture best nature movement
• Better avoid wearing Gold and other ornaments. No need to carry heavy cash.

Our Expenses:

• Car petrol: INR 750-800/- (approx. 9 lit at INR 81.8/lit)
• Breakfast at Village Velhe: As per ordered Dish (Poha: INR 20/-, Misal: INR 30/-, Bread-omelet: INR 35/-)
• Tea: INR 10/- per cup
• No Expenses on Lunch as we were carrying food from home.

Contact Number for reference:

• Restaurant Torna Vihar at base village: Hemant kadam – 9403581022 / 9021813512.

Click here to read my Travel/Trek blog on Rajgad Fort

Thanks for reading this Travel Blog. Happy traveling.

Pritesh Kulkarni 

Pune

Read More

Day Picnic to Madhe Ghat (मढे घाट)

            While reading some travel blogs I came across 1 mountain road (Ghat: घाट) known as Madhe ghat (In Marathi: मढे घाट) and decided to visit this place this monsoon.  It is a perfect combination of ghat, rivers, waterfalls, lush green nature and small villages surrounding them. A must visit place for nature lover and Photographers.

About Madhe Ghat:

           Madhe ghat is located around 55 km south west of Pune bordering Raigad district and in the vicinity of Torna Fort, Rajgad, Raigad, and backwaters of Bhatghar dam. From this place, you can have a view of the vast area such as Raigad fort, Lingana, Varandha ghat and Shivthar Ghal. This place is very cold and is a developing hill station.

             In history, when the great warrior Narveer Tanaji Malusare died in the Sinhagad battle, his body was to be taken for last rites in his native village Umrathe near Poladpur. Tanaji Malusare's funeral procession was taken to his native place from this Madhe ghat route.

   There are two routes to reach Madhe ghat, Either by Pabhe Ghat or by NH-4 route.

From Pabhe ghat route is Pune -> Warje-Malwadi -> Khadakwasla Dam -> Donje Phata -> Khanapur village -> Take left after 1km from Khanapur -> Pabe Ghat -> on Nasarapur-Velhe Road, take right -> Velhe village -> Kelaad village -> Madhe Ghat waterfall (Total one way distance is 62km route)

Another route from NH-4 is Pune -> NH-4 -> Khed-shivapur toll on NH-4 -> Take right turn at Nasarapur bypass -> Velhe village -> Kelaad village -> Madhe Ghat waterfall (Total one way distance is 82km route)

 

Board near Madhe Ghat

But I will suggest round trip route as Pune -> Khadakwasla Dam -> Pabhe ghat – Velhe village -> Madhe Ghat -> Velhe village -> NH-4 -> Pune.

2nd July 2012: Madhe Ghat  (Distance traveled: 138 km)
          We (Me and my wife Renuka) started our journey at around 8.30 AM on a Sunday morning by bike. This time we decided to go on my 10-year-old bike as we heard that the road conditions are not good for the car. The weather was quite cloudy and we were expecting heavy rain. After crossing Khanapur, we saw a left turn to Pabhe ghat. We confirmed this route with 1 villager and processed with our journey. 

              The road was amazing, especially in the Ghats if you are a photographic freak and nature lover. You can see Sinhagad fort from a different angle. Road/Ghat is through dense forest and some paddy fields. If you are a photographic freak then it is very difficult to keep the camera in the bag during the entire journey. We took too many halts for nature clicks. A cool breeze was making our journey more joyful.

Sinhagad fort from different angle

Sinhagad fort from different angle

Pabe Ghat

              
            Once we reached near Velhe village, we were able to spot Torna and Rajgad fort but it was covered by clouds. Now we started feeling very hungry so took a break at a small restaurant. The owner served us tasty Missal Pav and Fried Bread. The weather was freezing cold and we were having very tasty Missal Pav. That was awesome breakfast.

Swapnil Restaurant

Torna Fort

Backside Torna Fort view

              
              After Velhe village, we took a left turn for Madhe Ghat. Road condition is very bad except 8-9 km road patch. Forest was very dense and sometimes it was difficult to spot road after taking some crazy curves. We enjoyed our bike ride through curvy road/ghat.  After crossing few mountains we saw a spectacular view of Sahyadri ranges. You need to cross at least 5-6 Mountains to reach Kelaad village.  Signboard helped us to spot the Madhe ghat route and we took a left turn and crossed a small bridge. From here onwards either you can go on the bike for last 1.5km road patch or you can have a walk. Bcos of monsoon, many people prefer a walk after that small bridge. We saw few bikers struggling to climb on the last patch. We preferred to walk to reach the top of Madhe ghat. The road ends at this point and offers you an amazing view.

Paddy fields

Road to Madhe Ghat

Madhe Ghat

              When we arrived at Madhe ghat, we saw that this area is very plain and flat reminding you of the table land at Panchgani. Proceeding towards the edge of this mountain, we are able to see a gigantic waterfall falling over the exposed rock directly into the valley of 2500 feet falling in the Shivthar river in Konkan.

Madhe Ghat Waterfall

Madhe Ghat waterfall from another mountain

Rainbow in Madhe Ghat Waterfall

             We clicked many photos of the waterfall and surrounding area, spent some time with the small waterfalls. Many people even living in Pune wouldn’t be aware of this place which will make you stress-free. I loved this place. We spent more than an hour and then started with our return journey.

Table Land at Madhe Ghat

 

We

Gigantic Waterfall from Madhe Ghat

A Small Jungle Trek

               While moving down from that, we saw we spotted lots of Jackfruit trees. Renuka loves Jackfruit so we asked boys from village to help us to take some down. We took 3 mid-size Jackfruit bcos of limitation. Thank god that we were on the bike and not by car. For the return journey, we choose NH-4 path. After riding 30-33km we touched national highway 4. We were hungry but it was 4 in clock so rather than hunting for lunch we had heavy snacks.  

 
             We reach home by 5.30 PM in the evening. It was truly stress–relieving nature trip. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog and planning to cover this lush green, breathtaking waterfall view spot in this monsoon.

• Petrol for Bike: Approx. INR 225/- (3-liter petrol considering average 50 per liter) 
• Breakfast at Velhe: INR 40/- per person for Missal Pav
• Lunch on NH-4: INR 150/- for both (heavy snacks) 
• Toll on NH-4 (Khed-Shivapur): INR 0/- for Bike (For Car it is INR 70/- one-way entry)

Thanks for reading this Travel Blog. Happy traveling.

 Pritesh Kulkarni

Pune

Read More