Thursday 19th April..Afternoon..Call from Abhishek.."Hi Harshad Many Many happy returns of the day. So what's decided for party?" I replied "Na re, till now nothing". Abhishek "So what do say about trek to Harishchandra Gad?" I replied"Great idea dude, let’s make it. I am in" and we decided on fri will leave for Harishchandra gad.

Upcoming Trek : Harishchandragad Trek (Pre-Monsoon - Indra-vajra Special) (26th May – 27th May 2012)

http://pre-monsoon-harishchandragadtrek.blogspot.in/

(Note : Below mentioned co-ordinates are tracked through GPS device while trekking. With Wikimapia,GoogleMap one can get exact location by entering below co-ordinates.)

Via Tolar Khind

Fri 10.10PM we meet at Kalyan ST stand. At 10.30PM we started our journey with last harishchandra trek memories. Around 1AM we get down at khubi Phata(19.3316424N, 73.8075269E). Without wasting time we headed towards Khireshwar from Pimpalgaon Joge Dam wall (19.3494153 N, 73.8105015E). At 2.40AM we reached Khireswar(19.3712019 N, 73.8093455 E). We decided to rest near Chintamani's home(19.3723887 N,73.8090585 E) and leave base village by 5.30AM. We spread carry mat on front yard of Chintamani's home and slept for couple of hours.

At 5.30AM in morning we wrapped our carry mat and headed towards Tolar Khind. (19.3741042 N, 73.8088895 E(well)-->19.3794406 N, 73.80702 E (small temple) 

-->19.3815635 N, 73.8068322 E(Last hotel  available on this route for breaksfast)).

Here after we entered into jungle.

 

After walk of 10-15 minutes we reached small tableland where one can see Nedh(small hole in mountain) to left side of mountain. 

Moving ahead before you reach Tolar Khind you come across a point where you have to choose one of the routes. Right side route goes up and left side(quite straight)descend bit. Though both rout meets again. But right side road goes through rock side where you get bit adventure feel (19.3909073N, 73.8052872E) and takes less time and left side route first descend and again climbs so it's easy but takes some 15+ min than other one. In next 10 min you come across one more rocky area,in rainy season you find small water spring flowing through these rocks.

  

After 30min more, finally we reached Tolar Khind.

We can see VyaghrShilp'(Image of Lion on Rock).(19.3956131N,73.8029725E) One route goes straight down which takes you to village called 'Lavali' and other one goes up, this takes you to Harishchandra Gad. We took rest at Tolar Khind for 10 min. and start climbing. In couple of minutes you come across big rocky patch which take you straight up on Harishchandra fort. (19.3959142N,73.8015322E)

One can see fort wall present on Harishchandra Fort. To the other side we can see big Mountain.

 Where on left side of mountain we can see tree shape structure which is known as 'Deepmal'(Tall structure of rock use to keep lights)(19.4051028N,73.8104103E).

Once you reach top,you can find cool lemonjuice or buttermilk to welcome you. We take rest again here and enjoy glass of cool lemonjuice(19.3953197N,73.8011459E)

We had small talk with Villager about treking on HarishchndraGad and its effect on Village. Villagers from nearby village like Lavali sell buttermilk, lemon juice at marginal price and earn money. On every sat-sun he wake up early morning and left his home at 5.30AM(19.414296N,73.8035706E), after 2 hours walk he reach at top(7.30AM). Further 1 hour he run to nearby water reservoir and come back with 10Litre of water. A thought runs through my mind how hard this life is.

Moving ahead we move through open land which becomes beautiful scenic beauty of various colour flowers in rainy-winter season. Now we come at spot to make decision again (19.3958092N,73.7999389E).Right side route takes journey through 7 hills(19.3972589N,73.794553E-->19.3979293N,73.789548E-->19.3963291N,73.7869436E-->19.3942748N,73.7873272E-->19.3935082N,73.78689E-->19.392653N,73.7857125E )

And left side route (19.3940521N,73.7972862E-->19.3933766N,73.7954865E-->19.3935233N,73.7921981E-->19.3928655N,73.788671E-->19.3930452N,73.78781E-->19.392653N,73.7857125E) takes journey from base of Balekilla(19.3913678N,73.7936813E).Both routes takes almost same time but road from base of Balekilla is bit steep and other one is bit easy.Now we can see orange flag and in next 10 minutes we come to 'Nageshwar rock engraving'.

Harshchandra Gad and one of most ancient temple

Moving 10 minutes ahead we finally reached to Harishchandra Temple by 8.30AM. History about temple-

 This temple is marvelous example of the fine art of carving sculptures 16m high made  out of stones that prevailed in ancient India. Around this temple there are  few caves & ancient water tanks. The river Mangal Ganga is said to originate from one of the tanks located close to the temple. The top of the temple resembles construction with the north-Indian. Here we can see many. There are three main caves near the temple. The cisterns near the temple provide drinking water. A short distance away, another temple called Kashitirtha is located. 

The fascinating thing about this temple is that it has been carved out from a single huge rock which has entrances from all four sides. On the main entrance there are sculptures of faces  of guards of the temple. On the left side of the entrance is a Devnagri inscription, about saint Changdev.

Facing towards temple on left side we can see Taramati Peak(19.3861861N,73.779133E). 
About Taramati Peak :

Also known as Taramanchi. This is the topmost point on the fort (1429 meters). Leopards are seen in the forests beyond this peak. From here we can have a glimpse of the whole range of Naneghat and the forts near Murbad. From this Taramati point, we can have a glimpse of forts till Siddhagad near Bhimashankar in the south and Napta twin peaks,Ghodishep (865 meters),Ajoba (1375 meters),Kulang fort (1471 meters)in the north near the Kasara region.At base of Taramati we can find 7 caves. This can be use for night stay. We took rest in cave and gathered wood and cooked maggi.

On right side of Harishchandra Temple, there is Kedareshwar Cave(19.3919952N,73.7796078E) -

There is a big Shivlinga, totally surrounded by water. Height from its base is five feet, and the water is waist-deep. It is quite difficult to reach the Shivlinga because the water is ice-cold. There are sculptures carved out here. In monsoon it is not possible to reach this cave, as a huge stream flows across the way.

Around 2PM we took bath from nearby water tank and visited all temples.

Finally something about Fort-

The fort is quite ancient. Remnants of Microlithic man have been discovered here. The various

Puranas (ancient scriptures) like Matsyapurana, Agnipurana and Skandapurana include many references about Harishchandragad. Its origin is said to have been in 6th century, during the rule of Kalchuri dynasty. The citadel was built during this era. The various caves probably have been carved out in the 11th century. In these caves are idols of Lord Vishnu. Though the cliffs are named Taramati and Rohidas, they are not related to Ayodhya. Great sage Changdev (one who created the epic “Tatvasaar”), used to meditate here in 14th century.  The various constructions on the fort and the surrounding region point to the existence of diverse cultures here. The carvings on the temples of Nageshwar (in Khireshwar village) Later the fort was under the control of Moguls. The Marathas captured it in 1747.

Place to see before I die – Marvolous,Spectacular and place that makes you feel heaven

Moving ahead we move to best part of fort i.e. Konkan Kada(19.3915499N,73.7706707E)-

The most interesting point on this fort is this cliff, which has always fascinated many people from many years. The cliff faces west and looks down upon the Konkan. From here one can have a breathtaking view of the surrounding region and the setting sun. This cliff is not just vertical; it is an overhang, almost like a cobra's hood. It has been climbed many times. Sometimes a circular rainbow 'INDRAVAJRA'(the Brocken spectre phenomenon) can be seen from this point. It can be seen only when there is a bit of mist in the valley, and the sun is right behind the person facing the valley. One amazing phenomenon that can be observed at this place is the vertical cloud burst, in which the clouds nearing the cliff get sucked into the pit fall area below are thrown vertically into the sky reaching more than 50 feet (15 m). It creates a magical wall that is rising straight from the edge of the cliff without entering the landmass area. The fog show and hovering clouds below the cliff complement the season if one visits.

We reached Konkan Kada, pitch a tent and then enjoy sunset. One of villager who came with us cooked a dinner for us and then we did sky-observation with a great round of discussion on trekking, historical places, forts and events celebrated at villages. Few of the festival i would really like to mention

Holi -

Here Holi celebration is bit different than our celebration. There are three peaks(Konkan Kada,Left Side Peak, Right Side Peak)where they first put fire on peaks once all u see fire from all 3 peaks then they put Holi fire in village. In old days this method was used to send message from one fort to other that enemy is coming and need help. By looking at fire other fort used to send help. Glad to here still we keep alive our culture through this kind of festivals.

Shiv-jayanti -

On shiv -jayanti villagers from nearby village gather on Harishchandra Gad in large number. They do lot of ritual things.

Honey Gathering Event-

In this event all villagers meet and few of them go for collecting honey. After collecting honey they gather all honey in one big vessel. Then villagers present at that location can enjoy as much honey as they want. Rest of money get divided among each of house present in village. Curiously i asked how much of honey every home will get having feast at event. He answered last time we distributed around 1.5litre of honey to every home. This is one best example for work together benefit together. Around 10PM we slept under beautiful sky with stars.

Via Sadhle Ghat

In morning around 6 o'clock we wind up tend and start descending. Last night we decided to descend via Sadhale ghat. This route is thought to descend and very challenging. 20% route remains same as 'Nalichi vat'. We have to move to rightmost point of Konkan Kada(19.395393N,73.7654135E-->19.3944367N,73.7638847E-->19.3955322N,73.7620286E).Here we come across first rock patch. This is quite tough and i would suggest for First time trekker Sadhale Ghat route is not advisable. While descending on one side we have cliff and other side we have open area. Once we cross rock patch we have to cross steep area and finally we reach to open area. At this point (19.234040N,73.455084E) we lose altitude from 1150m to 1090m in 20-25 minutes. Moving ahead in 10 minutes we crossed 2-3 small rock patches and keep losing altitude at same pace.

Finally we come to place ( 19.3955322N,73.7620286E )where left side and straight route go to Nalichi Vat and we take right turn and goes in Jungle. Soon while descending in 10-15 minutes we get river stream on left side. Following River stream for around 30 minutes finally we jump off the river and take route going to right side of stream. Keeping Konkan Darawaja to our back walk straight through Farms. To right side we can see Kalagad(19.422687N,73.759060E)and on left side we can see Sadhale Ghat Khind (19.407484N,73.752226E). After a walk of 45-55min. we finally reach to Sadhale Ghat Khind.

Now for next 2 hours we were just jumping through rocks in Sadhale Ghat Khind and loosing altitude at a speed of around 15feet/min(from 910m[19.407484N,73.752226E] to 400 m [19.4028619,73.7427315]).Once you reach at this spot, consider you have almost descended 90% of Sadhle Ghat. Moving ahead through rocks we come to a point (19.240335N,73.442925E). Here you will find plane rock which we have to descend from its right side. Further on next 10 min you will come across one more such place. In next 5 minutes you will find arrow pointing towards left side. (19.235411N,73.442481E)If you miss this arrow you will directly land to a village called 'Kelewadi'. We have to leave rocky canal at this point and then move ahead keeping canal to your right side. After 40-50 min of walk you will come across small water canal (19.391731N,73.740317E). Cross this canal and keep walking ahead soon you can find bullock cart road. We follow it keeping small hill(19.388764N,73.743560E)and water canal on right side. As you move ahead you can slowly see Konkan Kada hidden behind small hill. In next 5 minutes you can see water tank at 'Belpada' village(19.378114N,73.743310E) and finally at 1.15PM we reach Belpada.

If you can reach Belpada before 12PM then you can catch 12'o clock ST or you can find some transport till Moroshi. From Moroshi we have plenty of buses running towards Pune/Mumbai.