Saturday Special: Sagargad

Sagargad is a small fort near Alibaug. About 410m high it is an easy fort to climb and luckily does not see much traffic in form of trekkers compared to other places close to Bombay. But a temple and a waterfall nearby are liable to attract people on Sundays; since we had chosen a Saturday wisely we had some peace and quiet for most of the time.

We reached the fort by the way that most trekkers do. Take a train to Panvel (harbour line) and catch a ST bus to Alibaug (good frequency). Get down at Khandala village, about 7 km before Alibaug and start walking towards Siddheshwar muth. The route is mostly flat and partially tarred; cars can go a little further but only till the steps.

We caught our train at 6 and were on our way to the fort a little before 9. The area is quite beautiful; paddy fields give way to a verdant forest. It was cloudy and cool as we walked and on our way we saw a field full of cranes, several birds and colourful butterflies. The steps were easy but in absence of rain we began to sweat. Luckily we saw the beautiful Dhondane waterfall which involves a diversion. The route to the waterfall is along the edge of a hill which might be a bit tricky in heavy rain. The waterfall has a sharp drop and is dramatic. More drama happened when I realized I had lost my phone (for the umpteenth time!).

We returned to the main route that goes to the Siddheshwar muth which involved a little climb. We went beyond the temple to a stream that feeds Dhondane waterfall. Upstream we found another waterfall which was perfectly small and intimate and had a little dunking session. Wet and refreshed now we started towards Sagargad fort which is about an hour’s distance away.

On the way you come to Siddheshwar village but ahead the way is a bit confusing as there are too many trails and not seeing the fort anywhere around can be misleading. There are arrows marked on rocks to help but we still saw one trekking group lost. The fort is actually attached to the Siddheshwar hill at one end; we could soon see it separated by a valley. A beautiful walk lead us towards the fort.

A small climb leads to the fort where there are impressive remains of crumbling walls. One has to climb through a broken part of the wall to get inside the main fort area where there are crumbling structures, an odd water tank or two, crumbling walls and a temple. At the very end of the fort is the Vanartok pinnacle seperated from the fort. The peace and beauty of the fort in monsoon is enjoyable. Sagargad by its name evokes the sea of which you get fantastic views. We could even see an island or two.

The clouds started descending upon the fort soon and rain arrived as we made our way back. Finally a real monsoon hike! The rain died down in some time as we started descending but the mist still remained; luckily we had got all our views. On the way back it started pouring again. After the descent we had a flat long walk to Khandala village but luckily midway we got a small open air tempo that gave us a lift to Alibaug. We stood most of the way (to save our butts from feeling the bumps on the road) and it was a thrilling ride in blistering rain. From Alibaug we managed to change near the bus stop under a rickety shed (it was a feat in that heavy rain!) Dry and relieved I sat in a semi-luxury bus back home looking at the rain outside that had brought so much joy! Felt like a monsoontrekker again!

Pics at: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/upsidedownv/Sagargad?feat=directlink