First hike of 2010 - Prabalgad and Kalavantin pinnacle

I might need to rename this blog since over the past two years I have done probably more winter hikes than monsoon ones. 2009 was particularly dismal due to my work schedule and erratic rains. However 2009’s late rains have meant that all winter hikes are turning out to be great.

The decision to go to Prabalgad was very last-minute. This decision was inspired by my friend Lobhus’ earlier solo hike to the place which in turn was inspired by my brother’s solo sojourn to another place. Since neither I nor my friend Shripati would ever go alone for a hike, just the two of us decided to do the hike.

Prabalgad is a great trek in the rains but most often I have been lost in the forests. So as a winter hike option it seemed right and we could study the directions properly this time. We set out to Panvel by train and then took a bus to Thakurwadi village which goes via the old Bombay-Pune road. (The first two buses leave Panvel at 5.20 and 7.00)

We alighted at Thakurwadi and had to move past various new constructions that have come out in the last few years including a Zola mountain spa and some aesthetically unpleasing houses built by Dharap associates (if you are planning to buy a place here, you should invest your money elsewhere; though the owners’ pads are better landscaped….) Even Salman Khan has a house somewhere around the area!

One has to walk on a private tarred road belonging to Dharap before the climb begins. The well-marked path zig-zags towards the northern end of the Prabal plateau or machi. One the top is the Prabal machi village which though is in nice surroundings, is quite dirty with plastic garbage. On the left is the Kalavantin pinnacle and next to it is the wide expanse of Prabal fort. About half an hour or so from the village one reaches the base of the pinnacle from where wonderfully rock cut steps climb steeply taking one to the top which is a final mass of rocks. The last rock climb is easy for experienced trekkers and the summit has a single flag and great views.

We started our hike around 8 in the morning and had reached the summit around 9:30. We made our way back to the village to tackle Prabal. The Kalavantin pinnacle sees more hikers nowadays; its thrills are easy and fast, kind of like trekking fast-food! The villagers seem to pronounce it more like Harish Kapadia’s book says- Kelveteen; I am not sure which nomenclature is right. Prabalgad on the other receives less visitors but its charms have to be hard-earned. A walk across the machi through bushy forest takes us to the centre of the massif from where a steep path arises. We lost our way once but had a nice walk on the machi, amidst flowering greenery. We had to retrace our path to find a bifurcation (near a large tree) from where thankfully arrows were painted on rocks. A sturdy climb (quite hot around twelve o’clock) took us into the fort. The top is a large plateau comparable to Matheran and is thickly forested. One can ramble around for hours; we went following the arrows to the northern end, where there is a water tank. One can see views of Matheran range and also sight some of the bastions of the fort. At the extreme end a fabulous view of the Kalavantin pinnacle is a must-do.

We started descending around two and had to hurry down to reach by four for a bus back to Panvel. The great thing about Prabal is that it’s so easy to reach from Bombay and yet the seclusion and wilderness at the top is so great. We did not see a single soul at the top of the fort but we did catch sight of a few birds, a couple of grey langurs and a lizard or two. Throughout the hike there were lots of flowers and blooms so that there were bees buzzing by and butterflies flitting about. Truly a great way to spend an idyllic winter day!

As usual photos are on Picasa at: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/upsidedownv/Prabal2010?feat=directlink