28 May 2011:
Hrishi – an
enthusiastic trekker / biker from Pune was to join me for this trek to Maldev
from Tivra pass. I started from Mumbai and he from Pune at around 4:30 AM. We
would be meeting for the first time, but both of us really jelled really well
and I was sure he would be a good trekking companion. Thanks to his navigation
skills, GPS phone and keen eye for the route, wildlife we had a great time and
also got saved from getting lost in the forest once.
After
reaching the base village where we parked our bikes (Bhenwadi), a villager from
Phanaswadi came with us till half way (from where there was only one trail to
the top). It was very hot and humid and no shade most of the time till we
reached the top jungle plateau. We started at 12:15 PM. Reached the traverse to
top jungle plateau at 4:00 PM.
We took a
wrong trail uphill which was made by Gaur (Bison) and reached the top of a hillock.
Hrishi saw GPS and found that we were indeed on the wrong track and I also saw
a clearing in the jungles from the top. We decided to go in that direction and
with GPS we were able to find the trail in the jungles.
It would
not have been a good night to spend outside in the jungle filled with bears, in
case we would have got lost. We lost an hour getting back on the right track. It
was just in time since it was already 5:00 PM and would get dark soon.
What a
relief and we started enjoying the walk in the jungles. From now on there would
be no heat but pleasant jungle weather and lots of wildlife sighting and jungle
experiences. It was very nice to see such thick forest cover even at fag end of
May.
5:45 PM
and we reached Shamrao Kokare's house in dense jungle. We were greeted by him.
He was a bit suspicious initially since we are not allowed in the jungle
without written permission. But we told him that Hemant had spoken to forest
dept at Bamnoli.
Shamrao is
a self made man 70 years old, living in these jungles since birth and when the
Maldev village existed here.
Tired we
relaxed at his house which was right in the middle of the dense jungles
surrounded by huge trees and thickets. The scenery was out of this world and
best seen in photographs.
He gave us
rice and potato gravy which was really appreciated since we were really tired
to cook our food after the long 5 hour trek.
In some
time it started becoming cloudy and started raining. It was amazing to see the
dark clouds surrounding the mountains and in no time hiding them and there
comes the rain. What a coincidence, it always rains when I visit Koyna and has
happened for the 3rd time now.
Since this
was the first rain, Shamrao was not prepared and water started leaking from the
thatched roof. We helped him to put on the tarp on the roof in the heavy rain.
He was fit as a fiddle and did not look like a 70 year old. Within no time he
climbed the roof and directed us to help him to attach the tarp to the bamboos.
Wet and tired after the ordeal we retired for the night after having MTR and
thepla for dinner.
29 May 2011:
Woke up
early in the morning and enjoyed the cool jungle breeze. Since it had rained
last night the mountains were still partially covered in clouds, and that was
the view I was waiting for and hoping to see since we were going there just at
the time when monsoon sets in there. It felt as if we were in heaven.
Shamrao
wanted to speak to Hemant wanting to confirm our permission status, since if we
were lying then he would get into trouble if the forest officials come to know
that he allowed us to stay without proper permission. He also wanted to speak
to his family who no longer like to come here in the jungles. So early in the
morning we set off towards the clearing from where we had come previous day
since we get mobile range there. It was a nice short walk in the jungles with
the cool breeze blowing and mountains covered in early morning clouds.
During
this small excursion with Shamrao we learnt quite a few things. We saw lots of
fresh bear and gaur shit, (bear shit was full of Jamun seeds – Jamun trees grow
in abundance here in these jungles and we also had our share of Jamun’s apart
from the bears) proving how active this jungle
is with wildlife. After doing the phone calls we were back to his place
for a breakfast of MTR pongal and tea made from fresh milk.
Since we
had come up so far – our aim was also to visit the Old Vasota fort, which has
not been trekked since almost 10 /15 years since it now comes under the
restricted area. Shamrao was initially hesitant to take us up there, but then
after a lot of prodding and he seeing our desperate and sad faces decided to
take us there.
There was
no way we could have made it to Old Vasota on our own since there are no trails
made by humans up the mountain. We had to find our way and most of the times
use the steep trails created by Gaur (Bison) and Bears.
Even
before we started the uphill climb through the jungles we spotted 2 gaur’s on
the steep side of the mountain. We were happy to see some actual wildlife
finally. Overall we could see around 6 / 7 gaurs on this trek to old Vasota and
lots of signs of Bear like shit and the digging they typically do. One Gaur
actually came right in front of us when we were coming down but Shamrao made a
shrill sound so he ran away into the jungles.
Making our
way up steep slippery scree and thick forests we finally reached the top
plateau of the old Vasota fort in 2 hours. It was a dream come true for us,
cherished since almost 5 years. We saw lot of Gaur and Bear pug marks on the
top and we had heard from others too that this fort is infested with bears /
gaurs. It must be their play ground I must say.
From the top
we can see the 1000 feet sheer drop called Babu Kada, the new Vasota fort and
the Nageshwar lingi further away. We sat there for an hour under a tree and
enjoyed the view from the top. This fort does have some eeriness attached to
it.
While
coming down Shamrao decided to take a different route which was supposed to be
easier to descend. But it was exactly opposite. Steep downhill scree filled
path and it was longer too. We took 2 ½ hours to descend.
On the way
down Shamrao suddenly stopped and started to fidget with his koyta (knife)
besides a tree trunk. He emerged after 10 mins with some strange thing in his
hand. It was nothing but a bee hive hidden besides the tree by a bear. We bit
into the bee hive, chewed it and tasted the pure sweet honey. It felt like
heaven and rejuvenated our energy stores. Some lesions in self reliance in the
jungles J
We reached
down at around 4:30 PM and crashed in Shamrao’s house, tired but satisfied.
What more could we ask for. Finally we have done the old Vasota fort.
We slept
for an hour before getting up and just lazing around the forest clearing around
his house. Also had a nice bath from the water in the well nearby. Now we were
again neat and clean J. We
sat by the well side for quite some time enjoying the cool evening breeze and
birds chirping before the night fall. It was nice to recap the route and
compare the notes / information we had before we started the trek.
30 May 2011:
Early
morning we decided to visit the old Shiva temple in the jungles not far away
from the lake. It was a beautiful temple with a very old charm to it. There was
a small hut besides the temple. The whole setting gave a great feeling of
peace.
After
spending some time at the temple we walked towards the lake side. Wow – what’s
this? After a brief walk in the jungle we came across a huge opening just
before the lake shore, the thick forest around the lake, mountain tops covered
in clouds making the green look greener, cool breeze, but seriously can’t
explain this in words. We just sat there for an hour doing nothing but enjoying
the view.
Now it was
time to bid goodbye to Shamrao and head back home. It was well spent 2 days with him, learning a lot about the
jungles, wildlife from him. It was a quick downhill trek in 3 hours without
getting lost and no GPS J and
a very boring ride back home via NH-17.
