Peth Fort (Kotaligad) Trekking – 9 th July 2006.

It was a long wait for a trek but worth it. Last we went on trek was during Monsoon season in 2005 to Naneghat. In 2006 due to 26/7 (heavy rains in Mumbai) we decided to stay away from trekking. A few cousins were supposed to join us but they backed out at the last moment. Nevertheless we were determined to do the trek all alone. I had read about trekking at Peth fort in Trekking holidays in India (A guide by Outlook traveler – book is def. Worth the money Rs. 225. – in fact all the Outlook traveler guides are worth their money) & also done a bit of research on the net.
We set off for the trek on Saturday evening, as we did not want to wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning to catch the first Karjat local. We went to V.T. station to catch a local to Panvel & from there took a rickshaw to Jai hill resort (at Chowk Phata – on the Panvel – Khopoli road). Our experience at Jai hill was very bad as we were offered a very ordinary room (a dingy room) with very dirty toilets. It definitely spoiled our mood. Still we managed to pass the night in the company of mosquitoes & other insects & early morning we left the resort.
We took a rickshaw to Karjat station & then the same rickshaw dropped us at a bridge from where we could get another rickshaw to Ambivali village (base of the trek). There we met a group of 5; boys & girls who were also heading towards the Peth fort. They were waiting for a ST bus, which would drop them to Ambivali village. We somehow managed to convince them to share the rickshaw with us. The driver agreed to take all of us at a fare of Rs. 250. So we started our journey at around 8.30 am. In around 45 minutes time we were there at the base of the fort.
A small eatery named hotel kotaligad run by Ganesh Sawant is located at the start of the trek. This is the last point where you will find packaged bottled water. It was around 9.30 am, we started our trek towards Peth fort. There is marked road till the Peth village, which is almost at the half way mark.
The weather was just right with clouds gathered all over. In fact throughout our trek we experienced showers, which lasted not more than 1 – 2 minutes. The climb up to Peth village was very easy & we enjoyed every moment of the same, clicking beautiful sceneries of plains & other mountain ranges at regular intervals.

There were one or two waterfalls also on the way. We took rest for few minutes at a plateau top enjoying the landscape around. As soon as we started again we saw a caterpillar & we immediately clicked its snap & also took a short movie of this creature (The same can be viewed by clicking on this link). http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2770908358896086272
This path is used by the villager to come and go, so we often came across villagers including little school going children. For us it was fun trekking on this route but for villagers it’s a daily ritual of climbing up & down. The other group with whom we had shared rickshaw were also following us & sometimes also taking the lead. After a smooth walk / climb of around 1.1/2 hrs we reached Peth village.
As we reached its outskirts, a small boy showed us the way towards the branch of Hotel Kotligad, which was at the base. In fact they run the same from their house. A small cannon of Brass lies just outside this hotel.
We ate some Poha there and also stocked up our water supply (no bottled water available) from this hotel cum house. The village does not have electricity or telephone connections. After taking rest for some 15 – 20 minutes we started off our final journey, the pinnacle was clearly seen from the village. The route now was a little bit tough with no marked roads leading us to the fort. We even went on the wrong way for about 10 minutes but realized the same when one of the girls from the other group pointed out (The girl had trekked the same route last year). The climb was a little difficult as compared to the climb up to the village.
We again took the wrong route and reached the backside of the fort. There were a few small ponds on the fort where we spotted a small snake & a frog. We them moved towards the front side where there is a small temple & a cave.
It took us 45 – 60 minutes to reach the fort from the Village. There are only some walls remaining at the fort. Trekkers who want to stay overnight use the cave. In this cave there are two rooms where we see lots of fruit bats.

After relaxing for some time we decided to go to the pinnacle, which is a hard climb from the cave. Although there are steps leading up the pinnacle but they are very high and some of them are 1.1/2 feet high. But the climb to the pinnacle was worth as one can enjoy fabulous views of the mountain ranges & the plains from there.
Also there is a small pond on the pinnacle. All this while we were with this other group & now all of us had become like one group. We were very excited reaching the top. We had some snacks there, which we had carried from home & spent around 45 minutes enjoying the cool breeze & occasional rain showers. This was the best time we had on this trek.
There was full mobile coverage on the pinnacle & after calling home we came to know about the disruption in train services by the Shiv Sainiks because of the damage caused to Minatai Thackeray’s statue. So we decided to climb down (all of us would have liked to spend more time at the top but couldn’t). Climbing down wasn’t that easy as thought as it was very slippery and one could even trip down hence we had to be more careful. It took around 30 – 45 minutes to reach Peth village where we again took a break. After Peth village going down was faster but since we were tired we were moving slowly. Also the rains had disappeared & we were feeling hot.
After reaching the base we immediately took the rickshaw to Karjat. This time the charge was Rs 300. We had generous talk with the rickshaw driver about their lifestyles & found that he had never visited Mumbai, which is just 2.1/2 hrs. from Karjat. The rickshaw, which is meant to be a six seater, manages to seat more than dozen passengers at a time. After reaching Karjat station we found that the first train to V.T. (after the disruption) was about to leave in 5 minutes. Hence considering ourselves lucky enough we rushed towards the train to go back to the concrete jungle called Mumbai.
View our entire Peth Fort Photo Album on http://in.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/shahronakm1978/album?.dir=5cacscd&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//in.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

Some useful information.
Ideal Season – June to March (Best during monsoons)
Time – 1 Day (2 days if you want to stay overnight in the cave)
Level – Moderate
Nearest railway station – Karjat.
Reaching base – Ambivli village from Karjat by rickshaw (28 Kms / 1 Hr)
Height – 472 Mtrs.
Where to eat – Hotel Kotaligad (Tel. 02148 224944 – Gopal Savant)