Adventures in India

Travelogue of an adventurous Bhairavgad trek by veteran trekker Sanjay Joshi. He speaks of an informal hike that moved him deeply and the history of the place that seeped into his imagination.

Mountains fascinate me. To climb o­ne is tough task alright. But if the trek involves some rock-climbing it is more tough and thrilling! o­n 08/02/2003, I decided to join a o­ne-day trek to Bhairavgarh.

Twelve of us met at Kalyan and caught a ST bus for Moroshi When we got down in the early mornig at around 7.30 AM, the mountain range surrounding us was spectacular and awe inspiring at the same time. The peculiar dyke shaped pinnacle of Bhairavgarh was very distinctive. After reaching the plateau o­n the upper level, we were surprised to see some people staying there! Mangesh and Mahesh went ahead to tie up the ropes. From here to the base of the pinnacle, we had to use our hands and feet to scramble ahead. After reaching there, we took to our left reached the ridge between Bhairavgarh and the main taller mountain range behind us.

The dyke shaped pinnacle looked impregnable from here! Mangesh was standing o­n the small ledge o­n the rock face and Mahesh was helping us to tie up the rope around our west as a safety line. The climb was about fifty feet. It involved some stairs carved in rock and some rock climbing. After reaching the ledge where Mangesh stood, we untied the rope and started to climb about fifty stairs carved in rock. We went up the small trail and reached the top. The panoramic view all around us was simply breathtaking! o­n the very narrow top we could see o­nly cactus trees. No ruins were seen! We came down the small trail and relaxed in the small shade.

Although all of us were happy that we had reached the top of this difficult mountain, everybody seemed bit worried as we knew that o­nly half the task was over! We had to still descend this difficult mountain! As the steps were carved in the sheer cliff-face, going down was going to be such an exiting and thrilling experience! We had to resort to rappelling (coming down with a help of a rope) to descend about fifty feet.

I saluted the people who had carved these steps in this sheer rock face. I also wondered what role this fort must have performed in the old times and who must have ruled here. The fort must have been of some importance as some people had taken lot of efforts to blast the steps off!

Only history knows!!

After having our lunch at about 2 pm near water tanks, Mangesh and Mahesh bid us good bye and started their way back. We also followed suit. Going down was also tricky because of loose rocks and lot of scree. We reached Moroshi in three hours. We had to resort to a ride in a tempo up to Tokavade to catch a ST bus for Kalyan.

I certainly must appreciate the help we received from Mahesh and Mangesh. Some of our group members were trekking for the first time. I take this opportunity to congratulate them in particular and everybody in the group o­n our triumph!

It was indeed a fascinating experience!!

Article by Sanjay