Mesmerizing indeed! What a place!!! It would be great to take off from the cliff with a parachute and glide your way down through the air currents!

There is no text. Would like to know more about how you got there. Who was riding which motorcycle. Do give us more updates!

Approved

Lot of green there! THE place to be, in monsoons. Thanks for sharing!

@Ken da: To go on these kind of treks, it is better to go by a public transport, so that you dont have to worry about your vehicle, as its not safe to park it & do a 8-10 hrs trek. + when you come back, you are all wet & soaked in mud, so better to colour a public TP rather than colouring your own private vehicle.
There are around 50 places/forts/peaks/waterfalls/etc. to trek near Mumbai & Pune, but sadly its only fun during monsoons & sometimes in winters.

@Shivanshu: What Himalayas is in this season, Konkan & Sahayadris are in Monsoon. The Greenery + Rains here make a deadly combo, both for Treks & Rides. Amboli Ghats is your destination, if you love greenery & waterfalls, and its just 80 kms away from Goa

@Rony: Next time you decide to go, just gimme a call. My last was Harishchandra gadh in November last year.

Indeed dude. The same thought of paragliding crossed my mind when I reached the top place which resembles a helipad with deep valleys on all the three sides !! But I am not sure if any one has tried it out there

Since it was just 3 months b4 this trip that I had purchased my first bike, I had no guts to take it out there !! We opted for local train from dadar station till Asangaon station. From there we walked all the way till we reached NH3. We found a good restaurant just on the opposite side of the highway where we had our breakfast. Then somehow we managed to catch a rick which took us to the foothills of this fort via Shahpur (Another great destination during monsoon .. esp for jain ppl coz there is a huge temple complex and a small but beautiful lake .... will share those pics also soon) ......... Then we asked the rickwala to get back by evening to pick us up again and also took his contact no.

It took us 4 hours to climb the mountain (1 hour more thn avg time taken by other trekkers since it was our first time and we were busy capturing pics after every 10 mins or so ) ...... This trek is categorized as "Medium Difficulty" which we came to realise as we neared the peak ....... the road (if at all u can call it so) worsens as u near the peak often marred by spots where u need to climb a rock face twice ur height head on !! ....... But as in all treks one tends to forget all the pain and difficulties faced once u reach the top ........ The view is just mind blowing accompanied by strong gusty winds (I will share a video soon which will prove this) ....... we took some rest there and then continued our journey deep into the grasslands to explore the fort !! ..... Then after another 3 hours we started our journey down the mountain which we thght would be more difficult as compared to climbing up but it turned out to be a very smooth and easy way down barring some spots where we encountered near to death situations (just got saved from slipping down into the deep valley twice) ... but then its part and parcel of the whole enchanting and adventurous package that this trek offers !! ...... We also took bath in that river (seen in one of the pics above) on our way back to clean our selves and get rid of sweat all over our body ..... once we reached down (in 2 hours or so) we took some food (we had request a local person dere to prepare food and keep whn we started our journey upwards) ....... after that our rick wala came and we headed back to asangaon station to catch the local train back to our destinations !!

You should give it a try dude ....... and yea dont forget to click pics when u do so

PS : I forgot to mention about the waterfall nearby (up the river stream) which we missed that day !! ....... I have heard its one of the best in that area with ppl engaging in water rappelling and stuff !! ..... Will surely visit it next time around

Mention not ..... Its surely one of the best places near mumbai to visit during rainy season ~!


Yes, as spidy rightly said the whole stretch of western ghats is covered under a fresh lush green carpet for three to four months from July onwards !! ... Its next to only heaven ....... Nature at its best !!

You can surely bring in your vehicles out there but be ready to wash all the mud and dirt on it the next day ........ things get quiet messy during these treks and so one should use the public transport preferably !!

And Spy-D, I will surely contact you b4 I take up treks this monsoon

i could feel the chill watching your pics... very nice..

-Ananth

Thanks for the compliment !! ......... btw such pics are a real treat to eyes especially in sweaty and hot summer days which we mumbaikars are currently subjected to ~!

And dude i have become a real fan of yours after reading your prize winning thread about your Leh tour......... I could feel myself in your place while reading it !! .. and kudos to you for being a non-smoker (which i feel is rare quality that bike riders share) and still enjoy your wonderful journey to the heaven on earth ;-) ....... count me in for your next endeavors if any .... would be honored to be a part of it ~!

Kudos to the DOG !!

Hey I forgot to mention one thing funny about the trek without which our experience would have been incomplete. There was a dog (seen in some of the pictures above) who met us at the foothills while starting our trek...... My friend fed him some biscuits which we were eating........ In turn the dog accompanied us all the way till we reached the peak !! ....... He also guided us midway when we lost the track and were kinda lost !! ..... kudos to him (her actually) ..... Dogs are indeed man's BEST friend !! ........We even named him after one of our senior colleague's name (who was the TL of one of my colleague and was very dominating ) .... Will upload his exclusive snap in my next batch of pics coming soon ~!

thanks buddy..... btw where in mumbai do you live... my home is at Navi mumbai....

I stay in Andheri West, just besides the railway station ....... btw where do u xactly stay in Navi Mumbai?

now treks are part of tourer section too -- excellent

btw :no amount of "care" or fear of coloring your bike can take away the sheer pleasure of riding across sahyadris,konkan etc in monsoon

AGREED
this year lets again hit Bhandardhara, but late to catch the Waterfalls

Nerul.. but sadly i dont spend much time in mumbai as i work here in Hyd.

- Ananth

I second that !! ........... Thats y i mentioned that one be ready to wash it the other day .......... after all bike is for riding only and not showcasing

Ohh k .......... I got few friends from Nerul who used to study with me in my engineering college.........and I was in Hyderabad for 6 mnths from Sept 08 to feb 09 to pursue my Post Graduate Diploma in Embedded Systems Design from C-DAC, Hyderabad in Ameerpet ...... btw did you have 70mm dosa ?? ....... Im missing it

Dude....thats the thought which comes to every person's head, i'll show you a couple of pics at mahuli where its perfect, but sadly, its in middle of no man's land, so difficult for parachutes...

+1. Its 30 mins walk from Asangaon station or 10 bucks per person in a shared ric. Also makes it cost effective. I have done this trek from thane and back in 45 -50 bucks including food.

I have some pics of this place during monsoon, will surely go home and share today.
Arre bhai log, this monsoon i hope you guys come for such trips after getting your pockets emptied for Leh ride.

+1

@Rony:

1 Suggestion (dont mind). Try to cover the entire leg, foot during treks, you never know what kind of plants, insects and animals are around. Anything can scratch you legs while walking and anyone can land up in trouble.Specially during monsoons (being the breeding season for many insects).

Just FYI, in monsoons, there are a different breed of mosquitos at mahuli which are really small, like the size of 2-3 mustard seeds but if they bites, it creates a bad red patch on ur skin which would not go for atleast 5-6 hours.