SURPRISES AT SINDOLA FORT

After a spell of dry hikes in familiar places, it was time to venture to an unexplored place. Sindola fort is slightly off-radar and not known to many but its right on Malshej Ghat road, ahead of Khubi Phata – the famous signpost for the Harischandragad trek. So on an early Sunday morning, our trio of trekkers set out by car, speeding towards Malshej Ghat.

Sindola fort from base village Bagadwadi

The weather on route was fantastic, especially after Murbad. As we neared the hills, the rain gods delivered and how! The hills were festooned with white waterfalls, crashing and roaring in all their foamy glory. At times our car felt as if it was in the middle of a water explosion. After Khubi, the rain lessened and we could see Sindola fort half hidden in the mists. First surprise, this would be a very very wet hike!

Our destination was Bagadwadi, a detour from the main road. From here, the route gradually climbs up to a level, along a ridge parallel to that of the fort. This route then turns to the right onto the base of the ridge, moving up gradually upwards. The route is confusing and not too well trodden (villagers were also not a common sight but we were lucky to catch a shepherd or two).  A small pond on the ridge (only in rains) is a marker to start climbing. Up the ridge, the route comes in front of the Sindola massif. One has to turn slightly to the left from here (this route was faint while the wrong way that climbs upwards was clear) and traverse the whole massif. Second surprise we got lost (actually not much of a surprise since it happens often!)

The traverse is a bit tricky in places in the rain due to some exposure and wet rocks. The route passes three columns of the massif and then climbs up a deep gully between last two columns of the massif. It is a well protected entrance and a steep climb. Remnants of a wall and a vermillion smeared Ganesha announce entry into the fort. Due to the mist we could not see much of the top which is said to have some tanks. The most interesting thing about Sindola is the unique vegetation: the bushes at the top grow almost perfectly round. The whole top is covered with these bushes and it felt like I was in a tea garden in Darjeeling or somewhere!

We had lost our way while climbing but descent was more straight forward. On the way we had decent views of the mountains around (Nimgiri, Hadsar, Chawand); on the other side of Sindola however, everything was covered in mist beyond the Pimpalgaon lake. For all our predictions,  Sindola turned out to be tougher than expected due to confusing routes and decent amount of walking. It might be easier to approach it from the main road from Karanjale (next stop after Khubi). For detailed instruction refer to this excellent site (not that it stopped us from getting lost!):

www.shrikantescapades.com/2010/12/sindola-fort-trek-page-1.html

Photos at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/115394767952469723630/Sindola?authuser=0&feat=directlink

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