Sahaydri Sangh Harishchandragad Trek via Nalichi vaat
December month started trek to harishchandragad is almost excitement
in all trekkers, as its good to visit between September to February season on
this fort. Well what can I say for Harishchandragad, its 2nd heaven,
its Green carpet. So sahaydri sangh decided to climb harishchandra once again
on 20th December but from Nalich vaat route agin, on special request
of Saurabh Shivalkar.
The Fort is quite acient, considered to be from the Medieval
period, the great sage changdev, used to mediate on Taramati / Rohidas in 14th
Century. The Caves are also from the same period. You will not found much
history about this fort, but it was captured by the Marathas in 1747 from the
Moguls.
Nalichi
Vaat : -
We climed all the rock patches with no difficulties. One needs
more confidence and dertermination then ropes to climb these rock patches and
Sahaydri Sangh all guys Sachin chavan, Vinayak galve, swapnil hande, manesh
keny, vishal mhaske, vikrant more (small pack), ajit sherkar, jitu, rajesh
rahatwal, saurabh shivalkar, Pratik and myself bhushan indulkar were easily
crossed this rock pathches without any stress.. We were expected huge hot
climate but it doesn’t happen, climate was okey.
The view from the rock top was breathtaking. Once we reached the
top of this rock patch, we took a moment to admire that we have achieved,
giving us sense of content. That was a moment of cherish. Well done Sahaydri
Sangh.
Kokan
Kada : -
Konkan Kada of Harishchandragad is a huge cliff. The view of the Konkan region
from the top of Konkan Kada will take your breath away.
In the monsoon season, the wind currents blow up from under the cliff and if
you throw flowers down, the wind blows them back up. It’s a fascinating
experience, which I had experienced when I had climbed Harishchandragad twice
in year 2007(from Khireshwar via Tolar Khind) & in year 2011 (from Nalichi vaat ), both the times the view
was too different than this time, we were pushing our guys hard to come before
sunset view end at kokankada, Finally we managed to spend atlist 20-25 mints on
kokankada, from that place we captured amazing sunset snaps n our own too J
Kedareshwar
Cave
Going rightwards of
Harishchandreshwar temple, there is the huge cave of Kedareshwar , in which
there is a big Shivlinga, which is totally surrounded by water. The total
height from its base is five feet, and the water is waist-deep.
Taramati Peak
Also known as Taramanchi. This is the topmost point on the fort somewhere
aound (1450 meters). Leopards are seen in the forests beyond this
peak. From here we can have a glimpse of the whole range of Naneghat and the forts near Murbad. From
this Taramati point, we can have a glimpse of forts till Siddhagad near
Bhimashankar in the south and Napta twin peaks, Ghodishep (865 meters),
Ajoba (1375 meters), Kulang fort (1471 meters)in the north near the
Kasara region
Temple of Harishchandreshwar
This temple is marvelous example of the
fine art of carving sculptures out of stones that prevailed in ancient India.
It is about 16 m high from its base. Around this temple there a few caves
& ancient water tanks. The top of the temple resembles construction with
the north-Indian temples. A similar temple is situated in Buddha-Gaya
Harishchandragad lies where the boundaries of Thane, Pune
and Ahmednagar districts converge.
1) From Thane District: One has to board the bus for Nagar
from Kalyan & alight at ‘Khubi Phata’. From there we reach the village of
Khireshwar by bus or private vehicle. This village is 7 km mean almost 1 ½
hour walk from khubiphata.
2) From Pune District: There is a daily bus from
Shivajinagar ST stand (Pune) to Khireswar village.
3) From Ahmednagar District: via Rajur village.
Nilesh Shinde,
santosh sarak, umesh mane, Kumar khot, Vikrant more this among our group missed this trek.
I had started this
write up of trek after 6 months later from the trek but still, it felf as if
I’m just back from the trek .
Jay Shivray
JAY SHIVRAY