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| Chanderi (right) and Mhasmal (left) - the route to both rise to the 'V' point between the two |
The Matheran range and surrounding hills have been the usual
suspects for most of my monsoon treks. So its a surprise to find any trekking
point not visited in the vicinity. After an earlier trip to Irshalgad, it was
now turn of Chanderi – another mountain that I always had wanted to climb but
somehow just had not yet.
Chanderi fort has a sharp, squarish massif at the top which
requires technical rock climbing. Probably due to this reason, it was passed
over for other destinations. However its turn had come and on a Sunday morning,
I was waiting for the Karjat local from Dadar station. However I missed my
train and as a result we started the trek late at around ten.
The fort seems to be close to Bombay; after all you just hop
on to the local. But the base village of Chinchavli is far from Vangani station
where one alights from the local and even from Chinchavli its a half an hour
walk till the base.
Once the climb begins it is relentless as one has to ascend
to a col between Chanderi and Mhasmal. The route is beautiful as it skirts
around a waterfall, sometimes even going right through it. It was a cloudy day
with little or no drizzle but the waterfall was gurgling with water and just
the sound itself was refreshing. The feeling of being somewhere remote was very
strong as the forest around was very thick and verdant.
The climb was longer than expected and we rested at the col,
gazing at the view on the other side which looks towards Panvel. On one side of
the col, we could see the sharp top of Mhasmal but our fort could not be seen
yet, hidden as it was in the clouds. We took the left turn and began climbing a
sharp, steep ridge. Eventually we could the towering Chanderi massif with a few
trekkers dotted at its base. The views at the base of the massif were great; we
could see Prabal and Irshalgad and even Morbe dam backwaters.
We were famished and had lunch. We decided to have a look at
the cave on the fort; it was not the cleanest but it can house a good 10-12
people. We could see clouds charging towards us and soon enough it began to
rain. The rain died out after some minutes but it was misty and windy. Going
back, as we descended the ridge, we could feel the force of the wind; any
stronger and we could have rolled down into the valley!
The ascent took around three hours and descent was quick
though the gradient is steep and slippery. We could not resist taking a dip in
the waterfall. Even though this is trek route, there are enough private spots
in the cascades to enjoy. And somehow on this hike, despite presence of several
trekking groups one still felt alone and could enjoy nature peacefully. And
speaking of groups, one inexperienced large groups of college-going kids was
climbing up at three, still an hour away from the top and they had started at
ten like us! If you are newbie to trekking, give this one a miss! For those who
are seasoned monsoon trekkers, don’t let this one get away!
Directions: Catch the Karjat local and get down at Vangani station (before Neral - the stop for Matheran). An auto takes one to Chinchavli which is about half an hour away. Take the driver's number as there is no ST bus to the village
Pics at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/115394767952469723630/Chanderi?authuser=0&feat=directlink
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