We set off at 3:30am from TIFR, thinking the train was at 4:00am from VT to Karjat. Shrirang had goofed: it was at 4:17am which meant I could have slept something like 20 minutes more! He came and woke me up at 3:00am and I'd slept only 2 hrs. Ugh!

We got a cab from near the Navy Nagar bus-stop and the driver had this very casual air of 30 kmph on him until Roop asked him to speed up at which point we barely touched 45 kmph I think. Still, we made it in time for the 4:00am Kasara train, which we anyway didn't want to take. We had to wait until 4:17am for the Khopoli train via Karjat.

Roop was feeling so hungry, we had breakfast as soon as the train started. I wasn't very hungry but if they started eating, I wouldn't have any breakfast left to eat when I was hungry. So I ate too. Hostel psychology works in odd ways! Then we all slept until Karjat. We reached Karjat in 3 hrs, 20 minutes late! At Karjat, we got off and walked to the bus-stop and just managed to catch a bus to Kaashele. Thanks to the delayed train, we didn't have enough time to have chai at the bus-stop.

We reached Kaashele in about 45 minutes, around 8:10am. We had some vada-pao and chai there for proper breakfast. The earlier breakfast was just biscuits and a couple of methi theplas, hardly filling. We took a tempo (called 'vikram' here, for the specific company model) to village Ambiwali, about 10kms away. About 20 mins of a ride, which is partly bumpy, partly smooth, and very uppy-downy like a coaster-ride. All for Rs.5 a head, packed in like sardines, 14 of us! But it's about twice the size of a normal autorickshaw. We got to Ambiwali around 8:50am.

From village Ambiwali, we started the climb. It's fairly minor, along a nice and quiet path which goes up a minor hillock. In about an hour we reached a point where we had a breathtaking view of a valley on our right. The trail ran close to the edge of a cliff on our right. At some point, the cliff itself turns so we could see part of the cliff-face in front of us, as it veers off on the right, ahead. We stopped to eat a few oranges and drink some water. The sun was beginning to climb in the sky and it was a bit warm. Shrirang took a few photos. From this point, we got a lovely view of the Peth fort, which was about 1.5kms away (crow flight path) and appeared like a big mound from this distance, an overturned brown tumbler.

The conical hill of Peth with Kotligad pinnacle on top, seen while climbing from Ambiwali to Peth
village. This picture was taken on another trek to Peth in the monsoon.

Another 45 minutes walk, broadly skirting the cliff led us to Peth village, at the base of the climb to Peth fort. The overturned tumbler was a bit of an awesome height at this close distance since it rises quite fast and looks like a tough climb from here. We stopped and had nimbu- sherbet at a house in the village, chatted with the old man of the house and a dozen kids who were hanging around. We told him we'd be back to have lunch at his house: they cook for trekkers who visit the fort.

Peth hill and Kotligad pinnacle seen at close quarters from Peth village.

Leaving the village, we started the climb up the hill to the fort. Half the climb is straightforward to see, though a bit steep. At one point, we have to take a turn to the right and keep climbing until we get to a cave-like entrance in the hill. This is the most beautiful part of the trek. The route winds up stairs, INSIDE the hill, for the next 25 metres or so taking us right to the top. At the entrance to this tunnel is an old cave with a temple on the left and a tank with rain-water on the right. From the top, one gets a lovely view of all the surrounding hill faces.

The black massif is Kotligad pinnacle. This picture is taken while climbing up to Kotligad from Peth village.

A section of the funnel-shaped staircase inside the Kotligad pinnacle.

The steep staircase and the narrow gap in the rock face, just below the top of Kotligad.
Here, one enjoy a cool breeze and see Konkan below.

A bit of history. The cave and the temple carvings date back to the 13th century. Not much is known about the history until the 18th cent. In 1716, this cave was captured by the British. Then later on, on November 2, 1817, it was taken by the Marathas under the leadership of Bapurao who belonged to the second generation of Bajirao. It was recaptured by the British, on December 30, 1817, the very next month, under one Captain Brooks. The British had the fort till 1862; it served as an outpost for keeping vigilance on the surrounding valley and the hills all around it. Basically it's the only big peak in the middle of a big valley surrounded by many hills, which made it strategically important as a watch post.

We saw the entrance to the fort, with holes cut in the stone which we guessed were to stick in burning torches, to light the path. There were windows which served as watch-posts and one hole which used to serve as a cannon-point. There is also a tank on top of the fort which was for collecting rain-water. The Brits must have been completely mad to come so far away from home, to keep soldiers posted in places like this! Perhaps they had the Indians doing all this for them. I'm sure if someone in the Brit army had come up with an idea that the queen should visit all places in the empire that she ruled over, they'd have quit such places (and indeed most of India) long ago!

We spent about an hour on top, looking around, eating sandwiches and oranges and washing up a bit in the cool tank-water next to the temple, where the water was very clear and clean. Around 1:45pm, we started climbing down, took us about 20 minutes to get to the village. We found our old man, had a hearty lunch with rice-bhakri (they grow rice in the rainy season), potato-brinjal sabji, pitla and papad. Amazingly tasty food! Then we lay down and took rest for about half an hour. We then washed up a bit, to cool ourselves down, with water from a nearby well and started our return trip. This involved a long 1-1/2 hr walk in the hot sun back to village Ambiwali. Luckily, we'd taken caps along and lots of water. We reached Ambiwali around 4:45 PM. From here we got a vikram back to village Kaashele, had some cool drinks there and got a bus to Neral stn, about 25 mins away. From here we got a fast train back to VT and thence home. Phew! We had lots to eat for dinner and slept off. No after-effects this morning.

                                                                                                                     ----------- Arun Parmekanti