महाबळेश्वर

।। श्री आशापुरी देव्यै नमः ।।

हो, महाबळेश्वरला पण trek करतात

Vinayak had posted (and I had checked 😀) WhatsApp status about his recent adventure of trekking till Arthur's Seat.. is this even a thing?

Arthur's Seat is one of the most crowded and popular viewpoints in Mahabaleshwar 🐒, and tourists generally do not skip it on their trip to this hill-station.. it provides breathtaking views of deep valleys surrounded by multiple mountains.. and other than this, you see nothing.. then you come across such an update on social platform and first thought comes to your mind is 🤔 "is this even a thing?"..

unless you have (at least) heard of it, it's actually difficult to believe if trekking is possible in this region.. because we get so lost in wind 🍃, views and photos, that such a perspective is simply not possible / is beyond slightest of consideration..

Ever since then, was searching for an opportunity to strike-it-off my todo list 📔..

06 January 2019

starting at midnight ⏱️ from आपली पुणे, we reached ढवळे around 04:00 a.m... after some rest, morning rituals and breakfast, we had introduction round.. impressive was to learn, one youngster was trekking since 1993 😮.. gloomy was to learn, there is no water 🚱 on the way till बहिरीची घुमटी, which was at least another 5 hrs..

we started our first climb of the day to Chandragad 🌛.. it. is. steep.. the top is very small though and takes less than 30 mins to roam around.. after the group photo 🤳, it was time for some fun with the descend, which was expected to be on the other side.. it was loose soil and controlling self was very helpful 😉 in draining energy.. so, this was the first instance of mandatorily having to descend slower than what was needed to ascend.. 😲

one of us tore his knee ligament and few had to share his backpack 🎒, till the end.. kudos to those few.. 👏

all the gained elevation was lost, which meant energy will be drained longer.. good part being, next was jungle.. and came those sweet words from guide "आडवा लागेपर्यंत तुम्हाला जाणवणार पण नाही, परत सगळं चढले म्हणून" 😊 (by the traversing time, you will gain all this lost elevation without realisation).. ribbons 🎀, arrows 🏹, stacked stones helped a lot in identifying the right direction..

by now, it was well beyond noon and everybody was hungry and thirsty at the same time.. आडवा पण काही कमी होता का? 😥.. around 02:00 p.m., we reached बहिरीची घुमटी.. it has a perfect lunch saviour, sweet water 💧 cistern.. 8 hours in the game and we have not had any visuals of our today's destination.. isn't that just cool ! 😎

resting for more than an hour, all charged-up 🔋, it was time to ascend again.. from 🐴 गाढवाचा माळ, one can finally see Arthur's Seat, but still couple of mountains 🏞️ away.. thankfully, those had to be traversed..

then followed a steep climb with tourists 🎎 gazing at us, trying to guess, what were we doing on this side of the landscape? adding 10+ hrs in detailing the answer was a proud moment ☺️, while also pointing at the starting point..

to end it on a perfect note, sunset was just round the corner..

without any second thoughts, this instantly made to the list of most memorables..

15 March 2020

never had seriously thought of re-doing the same adventure but that was only until it got scheduled by another group.. and since then, could not hold back the temptation when the journey 🦋 was to be enjoyed from the other side 🧭..

today was time ⏱️ to re-live the best of trails so far.. difference was with starting location, being same as from the WhatsApp update, more than an year ago..

so, it was..

for another wish of happy feet 👣.. multiple mountains ⛰️ to greet.. from जोर till Arthur's Seat 💺..

that jungle walk 🐾 🍁 for the ultimate view of #Sahyadris 🏞️ in Mahabaleshwar 🍓 ranges is totally worth more after having earned it by not just driving your way through..

kudos to organizers, who encouraged participants from all age groups, for activity, known to be adventurous after बहिरीची घुमटी.. plants 🎋 outgrown in all directions, slippery red soil scree, that traverse without any appreciable buffer and more than half-n-hour spent negotiating the rock patch 🧗‍♂️ ..

special attraction this time was that eventful doggie 🐕, who followed / guided us all the way up.. and though it made it look like, it repeatedly failed the rock patch.. may be, it was just waiting for our whole batch to pass through.. 👏

that was also the last trekking activity before our entire planet was overruled by Covid-19 ⚛️

and I still have friends, who exclaim महाबळेश्वरला कुठे trek करायला जागा आहे !.. can't blame them 🙃