November Rain: Panhala to Pawan Khind - part 1

What constitutes a winter hike? Would long showers, misty hills, green forests make up a monsoon trek? Lately it seems the definitions of seasons are getting blurred; what else could explain the continuing spells of rain this winter season. However I am not complaining! There were worries that a

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Last days of monsoon trekking

The Aug 15 hike is the peak of my monsoon trekking season; there are always few outings after that generally overwhelming experience. Personally end August and September are a wonderful time to trek when the flowers are out and crowds are thinning in the hills around Bombay. Nevertheless

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Mahabaleshwar on my mind: Pratapgad from Kshetraphal

the long ridge to Pratapgad After a gap of two years the August 15 hike took place this year; the choice as always was the Mahabaleshwar region in the rains. This time Pratapgad and Makarandgad were on the agenda though ultimately only one fort was conquered. I am

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Monsoon at Mahuli

Mahuli is synonymous for me with my college hikes when over-enthusiastic students were in the mood just as the colleges had begun and monsoon was unleashed on the hills around Bombay. Those hikes were over-crowded, hectic and tiring but every year that we went to Mahuli heavy rains

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The Awesome Beauty of the Bhimashankar trek

Bhimashankar cliffs from Khandas What makes a perfect monsoon hike? A great place, an interesting route with some thrills thrown in for good measure, great views, the company of friends and above all good weather with lots of rain. It all came together at the end of July

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Thrills At Karnala

Despite being close to Bombay Karnala always escaped my trekker’s radar and So when it turned out a simple trek was wanted, finally Karnala’s chance came and my small group of fellow trekkers boarded the six o’clock train to Panvel. We got an auto from the bus stand

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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

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Rajmachi version 4.0

It was my fourth time going to Rajmachi. We were just four of us finally going on this trek. Four is among one of my lucky numbers. Would it all come together and create a great hike? The sun that was shining through the windows of the Karjat

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Historic Strides

Pune is close to some of the most historic forts in Maharashtra. So its no surprise that many Puneites go often to Sinhagad fort, which is the closest to the city. Whats a lesser known fact is that many people fit it into their weekend fitness schedules; morning buses

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Walking in Matheran

A Colonial Relic at Matheran On the long Republic Day weekend instead of doing a long trek, I spent my days walking in Matheran. My trekking bible – Harish Kapadia’s “Trekking The Sayhadris” mentions Matheran as: “This is a well-known hill station and a paradise for hikers, particularly in

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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

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