My trip to Kalvantin Durg is a memorable one. Though I kept a few friends informed about my visit to Bombay and also my probable visit to Kalvantin due to pre-occupations no one could join me. Finally, I had to make it alone. I took the advice of my trekking guru Mr. Vagesh Kumar who suggested that I can happily go alone provided I take the service of some locals at Thakurwadi as guide. Thakurwadi is the base village for either Kalvantin durg and Prabalgad fort. I chose to visit only Kalvantin as I did not have sufficient time to make it to both Kalvantin and Prabalgad forts.
I took the local from from Mankhurd to Panvel (harbour line) and took a bus from Panvel bus depot which left around 1030 hrs. I was at Thakurwadi village by about 1130 hrs. The bus fare is only Rs.10/-. Thakurwadi is located at a distance of 17 Kms from Panvel. I purchased some snacks at Panvel and had stock of a bottle of water. After reaching Thakurwadi I was looking for a companion as I landed in that village for the very first time in my life span. I checked with a local fellow who gave me directions to Kalvantin Durg. I started my lone journey and after going for a small distance I found a guy and asked him the way to Kalvantin Durg. I also requested him if he can accompany me to the place for which he politely asked me to follow him. After entering the village he checked for some local people who may be free and was not successful. Finally he caught of two little girls who belonged to the village Prabal machi. He told me that these girls will guide me upto the entrance of Kalvantin. I was really astonished but followed them. The two little kids who were bare footed and in their school uniform were walking briskly and I followed them. Being locals and accustomed to climbing up and down everyday, these kids were damn fast. They took me in a jungle route which was almost steep. After trekking for more than an hour, we reached a plateau. I asked the girls to rest for a while as I was a little bit tired. Meanwhile I found two boys who were there and taking photographs. We exchanged enquiries with each other and in the meanwhile the two girls who guided me disappeared. After a small break our intimacy increased and we three started trekking together. After climbing a few steps we came across two idols of Lord Ganesha and Lord Hanuman carved out of a rock. As usual, we bowed our heads and started out trek again. We could not find any road except some fields. Suddenly, I saw a boy going that way. I stopped him and asked about the route to Kalvantin and I could not understand his reply. Thinking that he knows only Marathi, I called the other Girish who were with me to speak to the boy in Marathi about the route. After their talking I came to know that he is a dumb boy. We enquired about his name in the village and were told that his name is Khandu. He accompanied us upto the foothill of Kalvantin. The patch upto the foothill was through boulders and there was no regular/proper path. In case of heavy downpour, it will be very difficult to trek that patch as it will be damn slippery and you will be unaware where to put your foot. Finally, we reached the foot hill or where the rock cut steps of Kalvantin start. We paid an amount of Rs.20/- to Khandu for his services and there was a glowing smile on his face. We three started out climb to Kalvantin. Though it was not a difficult trek climing the rock cut steps the only fear is one side of the mountain is totally exposed and even a small slip is enough to call it a day of no return. There are very small water falls oozing from the mountain which makes it slippery at some places due to formation of fungus/moss. also, during the climb you will will come across two to three curves where one has to be extra cautious. I am not frightening the prospective trekkers but it not only a word of caution. After reaching the op, you have a small rock to be climbed. Though a little bit difficult we can make it to the top where again it is a plateau after the climb. We had some snacks that we carried and some photography session. We started our descent at about 1642 hours and reached Thakurwadi exactly by 1810 hrs where out bus was ready. We got into the bus and reached Panvel by 1900 and dispersed from there to our respective places with a very good memories of Kalvantin durg. My aim in life – Trek to your last breath.
For more pictures on Kalvantin Durg please visit the following site.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=23wcs169.920q7dv5&x=0&y=jqrn4m&localeid=en_US
Thks
Rajaram
