A TREK TO MANEKGAD

Date:30th September 2007

On a Sunday morning getting up at 4 am after a tough week was not an easy task. Nevertheless, I had been planning to trek to this fort since long. My self and Dinesh gathered at Diva station to catch the Diva – Madgaon Passenger which leaves at 6:20 am. We got down at Panvel station by 7:15 a.m. We had to catch the 7: 45 ST Bus to Vashivilli, which was the base village. We reached the bus stand by 7:50 a.m. There when we enquired about the bus to Vashivilli, we got to know that it was scheduled to arrive by 8 am. However it was 8:15 when it finally arrived.

The journey was pleasant running along the Mumbai-Goa Highway. We reached the village by 8:45 am. After taking the first right turn towards the mountain ranges we enquired with a villager for the route to Manekgad. He advised us to hire a villager as we were first timers and pay him something suitable. We agreed to hire a guide. Our guide was Manohar Waghmare. He informed us that we could reach the top in two ways. One which was a little difficult but a shorter route where there was a narrow stretch where one had to put only one foot at a time and the drop would prove fatal. The other route, the easier one was the longer one and would take 3 hours to complete. We took this route.

Around 10:30 am we came across an open plateau where we decided to have breakfast and refresh ourselves. All along the path we had come across many a village folk making the regular trips. Manohar informed us that there were lots of folk coming here for trekking this fort. This was news to me as I was of the impression that this fort was lesser known. We reached the top by 12 p.m. There a lone buffalo greeted us. Just before the Ganesh Patti or the Main Darwaza to the left we sighted a water tank full of moss. To the left of the Ganesh Patti there were some steps going down-hill. We could see the pinnacle of Karnala from the top. However Malang gad was not visible due to the dense fog. We went the south most point of the fort where a huge rock was there. We rested a while near this rock enjoying the beautiful landscape. We could see many chemical factories and industries down below. Some had shut down while some were coming up. I took some snaps of the valley below. We then moved in the north direction.

There was a Shiv pindi located in this direction. Just before this Pindi we encountered two more water tanks comparatively smaller than the one at the entrance. Manohar told us that there were some more idols but the villagers had taken them downhill so as to provide them with a better place for residing. We returned back to the Ganesh Patti. We moved towards the cliff to have a nice view of the valley down below. We saw two eagles hovering around below. Unfortunately due to the limitations of my traditional camera I was not able to take any snaps of the eagles. We decided it was time to return. It was around 1 pm when we started our descent down. We saw a group consisting of two foreigners coming towards us. It just affirmed my belief that the foreigners took more interest in such expeditions than us locals. By around 2:30 p.m. we reached a spot which had a water source nearby and decided to have our lunch there. It was around 4:30 pm when we finally reached the base. From here we finally walked towards Vashivilli Bus stop. As there was no signs of a bus we got into a 10-seater by 4:45 pm and reached Panvel by 5:40 pm. We caught a bus to Dombivli by 6 pm and reached home by 7 pm.

Reaching There:

Diva to Panvel Train fare – 8 Rs per head (From Dombivli to Diva fare is 4 Rs)
Or Else take a Bus from Dombivli to Panvel. Bus fare is 19 Rs.
Bus from Panvel to Vashivilli – 13 Rs per head

When to Visit:
Monsoons or post monsoons. This area has a different look during monsoons.

Important Information:
If going for the first time hire a guide and fix a price at that moment itself. Take water along as none of the tanks hold potable water.