Ahupe
From Khopiwali head out south towards a group of clefts in the wall of
the Sahyadri (Ahupe ghat is unusual because this is a north-south pass,
instead of west-east passes like most other Sahyadri passes). From
the Khopiwali bus stop, the wall looks vertical, with a group of
clefts, and it is impossible to make out which one of this clefts is the
Ahupe Ghat (from a distance, all of them look unclimbable). But behind
the Khopiwali village, there is a route going south, which crosses a river
behind the village. This route soon starts rising, and leads up a nala
(the left most amongs the clefts). A useful rule is to head left, when
in doubt (while going up, of course). One should also ascertain the
route and the direction at the beginning from the villagers of Khopiwali.
But once you cross the river behind Khopiwali, and start climbing up the
nala-like cleft, the path is very well defined. In fact, this is the only
cleft which is climbable, the others soon get vertical. There is some water
available en route, in monsoons ( you are going up a nala and there is
clean flowing water) although in other seasons there may not be much. Further,
there are mosquitoes in the monsoons. It takes about two hours to
climb to Ahupe from Khopiwali. The route is nala-like for most stretches,
and climbs up steeply. It can be a little slippery during the monsoons
for the uninitiated. Khopiwali
can be reached from Murbad via Mhasa, as described above. Another possiblity
(esp. in the evening, if one is slightly late) is to take jeeps going towards
Dhasai, which is well connected by jeeps to Murbad, till 8pm.
The Khopiwali-Ahupe
route is nala-like for most stretches, and can be somewhat steep and a
little slippery during the monsoon for the uninitiated. For more information,
and also for some pictures, follow this link