Region : Igatpuri
Height : 4255 feet above MSL
Base village: Ratanwadi
Grade : Medium
We visited Ratangad during February 9-10 2008. I did this trek again with trek-di. Seems like I have a special bond with trek-di now, having done almost 10 treks with them.The reporting time to FC gate was 6.00am, i started from home at 4.45am and came to Yogesh's (a friend) home by 5am and kept my bike there and started for FC on his bike. We reached FC by 5.30am and went to the GoodLuck chowk to have some tea and came back. Coming back we found participants already waiting there along with Shridhar kaka (from trek-di) and Hemant and Dhyanesh (both volunteers for trek-di). We joined them and engaged in some conversation.The bus they had hired came by 6.25am and we were on-board soon and started our journey.
The journey was via Nashik Phata - Chakan - Narayangaon - Sangamner - Akole - Rajur - Ratanwadi. Total 220km one side. We stopped at a road side hotel near narayangaon for breakfast and again went ahead , the roads upto sangamner are excellent and after that are somewat ok , we reached Ratanwadi by 2pm with adequate breaks in between. Had lunch which we had brought. Ratanwadi is a small village but with a rich heritage , old era carvings and statues are present there. Also the famous Amruteshwar temple of Satvahan era is located there.
After lunch we started towards Ratangad picking our sacks.The route is via forest and the trail is not clear so we had hired local guides to lead us upto the fort and also carry provisions up because we were to stay for the night there. The sun was shining bright but the route being via thick forest did not feel the heat or tiredness. Some people who had come from Bangalore for the trek, however got tired and were slow. I was with Hemant in the middle and we went chatting and laughing.
After about 1.5 hours of climb / walk we reached a clearing where there are two paths , one which goes up straight is the path to Ratangad and the other towards the left goes to Harishchandragad via the Katrabai Mountain. Possibility of taking the wrong path here is high because of these diversions if someone who does not know the route comes here. We could see the Khutta Pinnacle at a distance.Khutta is actually a pinnacle near Ratangad and offer good technical climbing (maybe will try one day).
The last part of the climb to Ratangad was easy and we came to the ladders. To climb up the fort at the last part ladders are kept there because the steps which were originally there were blown off and some have fallen down due to erosion so the villagers have put up iron ladders to climb up. Climbed the first ladder and stood at the base of the 2nd helping people to go up and then went up. The fort door is amazing and offers good views. Once on top through the door , one has to again climb a fleet of rock cut steps to gain access to 1 more level up. This level contains the temple of goddess ratanai and a huge cave , where one can stay, and where we had to stay for the night. We put our bags in the cave and started on to explore the fort... From the cave we turn right to come back to the rock cut steps we climbed and pass it towards another door leading to 1 more upper level of the fort.
The views from here are breathtaking and cool. There is a bastion on the top level which offers great views around. Immediately straight we can see the Katrabai mountain and the Ajoba mountain in front. We went towards the west side , passing water tanks (4-5) which contain potable water for drinking. The sunset was awesome from this point , its always awesome :). After sunset we came back to the cave because it was getting dark and cold.After coming back we saw that Shridhar kaka / Hemant and Dhyanesh were preparing dinner. We tried to help them in some way and finally dinner was prepared around 8.30pm after which everyone sat down for dinner and had a nice dinner. Then we had some talk and people were preparing for sleep. I opted to sleep out for 2 reasons i.e I found that the cave could not fit all of us and the second reason being hemant and dhyanesh were sleeping outside. Yogesh too joined me in sometime because he found the snores of some participant disturbing.
The night was cold..brrrr...it was around 4-5 degrees but i had my jacket ON and slept for sometime. I usually dont get sleep properly at such places...:) Morning woke up to find dark clouds towards the east which had arrived mysteriously from somewhere. The sunrise again was awesome and after breakfast of poha and tea we left for visiting the fort. After some group snaps we went around. Ratangad has a vast expanse which we traverse from side to side. First we saw the Kokan darwaza (door) along with the bastions. Little ahead we could see water tanks (8-9) , these also held potable water. Futher ahead we had to climb up to reach the nedhe (needle hole in rock) which is a natural wonder there. The gusts of wind blowing at the nedhe was something I cannot explain, it was pure heaven. Getting down from the nedhe towards the other side was an experience in itself :) for others because of the scree patch there. On this side we could see the forts of Alang , Kulang and Madan and the peak of Kalsubai (the highest in Maharashtra) clearly. We went down to the Trayambak darwaza which offers a cool view and steep steps below..we went down the steps to see the Baan pinnacle , a arrow shaped pinnacle which is famous for climbing.
We came back up via the steps. (Actually there is a route to climb down from this door down but its a long traverse and takes more time than the other one). We then circumnavigated via the other side towards the place from where we started, here we saw a water tank which is supposed to be the origin of the pravara river. The water was crystal clear and tasted sweet. Finally after some more walk we came to the place where we had climbed in. Myself and Hemant climbed down quickly to prepare lunch for others because we knew other would take a lot of time to come down the ladders and also we were short of time. We reached Ratanwadi in 1 hour and started preparing soup and lunch. All the group members were down by 3pm and we had a nice lunch and started for Pune. We reached Pune by 10pm and finally had dinner at GoodLuck before starting for home from there and reached home by 11pm. A great trek I must say.
