Jivdhan - Naneghat trek

Fort : Jivdhan
Height : 3754 feet (above MSL)
Base Village: Ghatghar
Grade: Hard

Place: Naneghat (it is a pass)
Height: 2800 feet (above MSL)
Grade : Easy

Route: Pune -> Nashik Phata -> Chakan -> Narayangaon -> Junnar -> Aaptale -> Chavand -> Ghatghar (approx 105-110 km)

This trek was in planning for a long time. Every time someone or the other was not there and hence it was cancelled. This weekend (28Feb-1March 2009) people were enthu for this trek hence we decided to do it. The trekkers were : Me, Sau, Sachin, Chhaya, Amey,Sarang , Abhijit,Som,Sam,Vikram and Sharayu. The plan was to start at 6.30 am from Nashik Phata and I was as usual there by 6.15am. Som had arrived there by bus from Hadapsar and he was my pillion.

Vik and Sharayu arrived at 6.30 exact. Post some time Sac , Chhaya, Amey, Sarang, Abhijit and Sam too arrived at 7am. Started at 7am from Nashik Phata and we zoomed on towards Chakan where Sau was supposed to join from Talegaon.

Chakan was quickly covered. We were there around 7.30am and then post some hi etc started off towards Narayangaon , it was decided to stop at Narayangaon for breakfast. We hit Narayangaon at around 9am. Breakfast was usual fare of poha,upma and chai. Post breakfast we turned off the highway to get to Junnar at 9.30am , the road from Narayangaon to Junnar is also nice and post Junnar we went straight past the statue of Shivaji Maharaj on the road to Aaptale. The roads ahead were somewhat broken and going ahead the last 10 odd km of the roads were pure hell with only stones / mud and like but the bike went ahead effortlessly though.

We arrived at Ghatghar the base village of Jivdhan at around 10.40am and after parking and securing our bikes at a house we started off for the fort. The fort looked formidable from below and we had to traverse some distance ahead to get to the stairs on top. The sun was shining on us and it was becoming hot. The region there is devoid of any green cover hence making the progress difficult. This fort was built in the Satvahan Era and has a quite of a history too.

Going ahead we had to climb a small hillock and get into the small dense forest on a path which takes you to the top to the steps. Going up was a pain in the sun and for the first time I was getting too tired due to the sun. I took a lot of breaks and at some point i couldnt continue ahead. I asked others to go ahead and lay down for 2-3 minutes and then mustering my will power went ahead and reached the steps. Going up was a pain for the first time in my trek experience due to the sun. Going ahead the steps are broken and some distance ahead there is a rock patch of 10ft which needs to be climbed because the steps are blown off here(done by the British in 1818). There are footholds and handholds in the rock for easy climbing to the top but care needs to be taken. The rock patch will be a nightmare in rainy season though. Going ahead we passed all our bags to the top.

I climbed on top of the rock patch quite easily and went ahead to some more steps and finally we reached the entrance of the fort where there is a big water tank inside a cave. Sitting in the shade was like heaven and venturing out in the sun was like hell but we had to get on top of the fort to the granary structure where we had to stay. Painfully trudging along I somehow reached the granary. Inside the granary it was like someone turned on the AC, it was cool and shady. The granary consists of many rooms inside but 2-3 rooms are accessible , the others are too dark to know whats in it and many openings are sealed here. Its unexplored. It was believed that it was a storehouse of grains during old days and the British destroyed this by burning it in 1818 , some inside rooms still contain a lot of ash.

Post some rest , we had a nice lunch of bread-butter, theplas et all and I lay down for sometime inside and slept for around 20-30 mins. It was decided than to take a round of the fort the see stuff. We started off for that. Some of the rock walls are amazing on top and still intact. There are a lot of ruins on top of structures. On the western side of the fort we can see Naneghat standing majestically and looks amazing. The Kalyan Darwaza (door) is on the western side of the fort and is another architectural marvel. I could only stare at these architectures which were built in the olden days when technology was not there.

Going ahead I saw the pinnacle of Vanarlingi (also known as Khada Parshi) , this pinnacle is seperated from the fort and stands at a height of 415 feet. It is an absolute delight for rock climbers and is quite difficult to climb upto the top. At its base there are many caves. This must have been part of the fort before I guess (nothing known though).

After seeing the pinnacle I could see a lot of monkeys near there hence I guess its known as the Vanarlingi. Coming back I saw Vik and Sharayu at the western side sitting on the rocks for the sunset. I too joined them and we sat staring at the amazing sunset , took a few photos. After sunset Vik and Sharayu went back via the hill and I went back round to the Kothi.

Post reaching the kothi we did some timepass and it was decided to have dinner soon as people were getting hungry. Post freshening up we sat on the open ground on top near the Kothi and had a nice time eating dinner and talking about many things. The topic veered towards animals and wild ones and how they come to drink water and they may also come here. People were getting afraid now as it was dark and the wild animal talk was going on :)

After a lot of discussions, singing and debates we finally set off for sleep inside the kothi. Post discussions everyone was in a state of fear thinking what if some animal comes in. We slept albeit that. Sleep was coming to me like anything as I was too tired. Others didnt sleep for sometime but eventually everyone slept.

Some or the other noise would make me get up and check what but it would turn out to be some one turning or some other noise. In the morning at around 5am , Vik who was sleeping by my side started shouting shuk shuk ... I saw someone standing in front and it was Som but he was having a shawl and looked at Vikram why he was shouting. Vikram was dreaming of "Stoneman Murders" before this and when he saw Som he imagined that Som was the character :). Post some laughs we slept again.

Everyone woke up at 6.30am to view the sunrise and fresh themselves. Post sunrise and snaps maggi was prepared hot and everyone gulped breakfast and packed things. Today we were to goto Naneghat and return back home. We started at 9.30am from the top , the sun was shining bright now. We got down to the Kalyan Darwaza and some others went to see the Vanarlingi pinnacle from the top. Post that we came to the Kalyan Darwaza and going ahead we started getting down. There is one small rock patch here about 8-9 feet in height but its ok. Everyone came down in about 20 mins with Sau and Sachin helping out the people. Going ahead there were broken steps and we need to turn left and go ahead on the trail.

The straight trail goes to the base of Vanarlingi pinnacle and there is a trail which goes down into the jungle below and towards Naneghat. Some enthu janta went to vanarlingi and some stopped at the turn including me. Others came in about 25 minutes and we started down via the rocky path and into the jungle below. It was still very hot and humid in the jungle even with a lot of trees. We came out of the clearing and started towards Naneghat , the sun was even brighter now and burning. We trudged towards Naneghat and reached there by 1pm and explored it.

Naneghat was a pass in the olden days where toll was collected and traders used to come into the region from Talkonkan. There is a well defined path which comes up. There are some caves with inscriptions at Naneghat and water tanks.

Post some snacks of bhakarwadi et all and drinking water we started for Ghatghar at 1.45pm , the sun was burning and we had to walk 4-5 km ahead to Ghatghar. I was tired but continued walking in the sun , we walked and walked and walked and reached Ghatghar at around 2.35pm. Post some freshening up at the handpump and collecting our bikes and some rest we started for Pune at around 3.30pm , the going over the bad roads was bad now as we were tired but we did it and when I hit the good road to Junnar it was like heaven. We stopped for 10 mins at Junnar for some cold drinks and started again at good pace for Pune. The highway was having too many vehicles on a sunday evening but we made good pace.

We stopped at Chakan for some chai et all and regrouping and after that bid farewell to all and i zipped off towards Nashik Phata. Reached Nashik Phata at 6.45pm and dropped off Som there who was to take a bus to Hadapsar from here. I reached home at 7.15pm.

This trek was amazing. Nice one but the climate is too hot now.