River rafting in Kundalika river - part 1

"Thanks to the mega NH-4 highway, one can travel from Mumbai to Banglore without seeing anything !"

Every time I hit this road, such thoughts come to my mind. Thankfully, today we had nothing to do with this road. A brief encounter at Chandani Chowk and that's all.

We were on a different track. On the Mulshi Road.

Mulshi road is amazing. It takes you to ghat sections, water bodies, forts, hills, valleys and last but not the least, the hill stations for the rich (Lavasa and Amby Valley). Yes, one can go to Amby Valley from Mulshi Road by taking the Ghusalkhamb road. But being rich is not enough on this 'Ghusalkhamb' road. You need to be adventurous. Even with your SUV's. But that's a separate thread. Coming back ..

Mulshi road is a fantastic road for photographers, bikers, trekkers, investors and prospective civil engineers ("How not to build roads for Dummies"). I have been all of them, one at a time, excluding a prospective civil engineer. Today I was in a different role. The role of an adventurous guy. White water rafting is an adventure in itself, the bigger one is to take your spouse & her relatives, especially when they dont know what white water rafting is. Brave guy (I mean yours truly) !

Kundalika river offers a unique white water rafting experience for rich enthusiastic people. Its the only place in India to support river rafting 365 days a year. And that's because of the hydro power generation plant by Tata Power that pushes lots of water every day in the Kundalika river at around 8:30 AM. The water is discharged only for two hours and that's the time to do water rafting in the fast moving river. Which means one should reach the starting point before 8:30 AM.

It is almost impossible to convince IT folks to get up early & start moving at 5 on a Saturday morning. But Smita (wife), Ashwini (Smita's sister) and Ganesh (Ashwini's husband) know enough about my planning & were eager to follow the instructions. After all, the day was going to bring up some surprise for all three of them.

At 5 AM we were in my car. Chandani chowk at 5:15, Pirangut at 5:30, Paud at 5:45, Male at 6:00, Nive at 6:40, we were doing pretty good on the time front. Time for the breakfast in the Tamhini Ghat at 7:15. A seasoned trekker can spot Kailasgad, Raigad, Telbail and Ghangad on this way. We reached the main office of the rafting agency at around 7:45 & parked the vehicle.

The starting and end point of the river rafting session are different & are typically 10-15 km away from each other. I mean its not like boating where you board the boat at some point and the boatman takes your for a ride :-) and drops you back to the starting point. River rafting is different in many ways including this one. It starts at higher elevation, uses the natural (and fast moving) flow of water and takes you downstream. This poses a commute problem. There are two solutions for this at Kundalika.

One is to get a chauffer driven car. The other is to park you car at the office (which is yet another place @Sutarwadi), get a 6 seater (taxi, AKA Tumtum). The 6 seater will drop you at the rafting start point and will pick you up later (in time and space, both) at the end point. They charge a fixed rate per 6 seater (Rs.700).

River rafting was adventure for us & business for locals. And the meeting point was money, I mean Sutarwadi :-). The moment I parked the car, a 6 seater suddenly arrived from nowhere. I confirmed our booking at the prevailing rate. I was told to show the rafting booking challan in the office. (BTW, you need to pre-book your rafting ride through internet). The rafting folks were preparing their rafts for the session. A quick exchange between the 6 seater driver and the rafting agent was overheard.

"Kitne aadmi hai" (how may people have booked the ride for today), the driver. "Sirf 22" (Only 22), the agent. "Pawasalyat khari gardi honar" (monsoon is the peak time), both at the same time :-). Suddenly they realized that I was party to their discussion. Without sounding offending, they suggested me to have tea. Thats when I realized that the three co-passengers had opted for a quick walk around the small village. While they all liked to see 'village life', having a tea at the local tea shop was not their cup of tea. I went to the chai shop and got a special cup at Rs.12. Business is flourishing in Sutarwadi :-)

It was time to board the Tumtum. The journey started. The road was scenic, going up and down. A quick 30 minute drive took us to the starting point.

To be frank, the scene was disappointing. There wasn't much water in the river. Reminded me of mutha river :-( Believe me, it was that bad.

Within few minutes the 3 rafts arrived. The rafting guides and the agent were looking comfortable. They told that within few minutes the gates will be open and the Bhira dam will push gallons of water in the river. At that time an alarm was heard, which was apparently the indication that the water will be released in 15 minutes. 

In few minutes 3 other groups arrived. With each raft carrying max 8 people, accommodating the 4 groups without disturbing the groups was a (routine) challenge for the Lead guide. He decided to take 4 of us + a mother & daughter pair + 2 members from another group in his raft. Each one of us was supposed to carry helmet, life jacket and a pedal. That's when most of the folks realized that its not just a ride, but "do it yourself" sport ! That was the moment of truth for some of them.

While we did a round of introduction with the fellow passengers, I realized that the mother-daughter pair was supported (from outside) by father-son pair. It was really amazing to see the father (middle age) and the son (youngster) were not participating in the adventure while the mother & daughter were into it ! 

'Living young & living free' has nothing to do with age or gender or for that matter anything. Its an attitude. Gifted to me by my Guru.

At around 8:45, another alarm was heard. The gates of the Bhira dam were opened and within 15 minutes the dry river was converted into a flooded river. The guides took the rafts to the flooded river and we started our journey. We were total 9 people on the raft. 8 passengers and 1 lead guide. The first 15 minutes were spent on hands-on training.

Within 15 minutes the guide made all of us comfortable about how to paddle, instructions to follow, safety measures etc. BTW, the instruction were simple, clear & countable on fingers. FORWARD, BACKWARD, DO NOTHING, JUMP INSIDE THE RAFT, that's all.

'Living young & living free' is all about simplicity, clarity & keeping things minimum.

And then we were into the wild kundalika river ... the fun began.

Within few minutes we encountered our first rapid, 'Good Morning'.

The guide was extremely capable person. He gave us instructions, made us feel that we were driving the raft in the right direction, ensured that all of us got a chance to face the white water waves on our faces, and made if appear as an extremely simple and exciting thing.

What followed next, for 180 minutes, was a life changing experience. The river was flowing through a dense forest and hillocks on both sides. Rafting through the flooded waters was an unparalleled experience.  There were grade 1, 2 & 3 rapids on the way. After couple of rapids we came across a patch with deep waters. The guide asked us to jump into the river to get a comfort feeling about the life saving jacket. I was waiting for this opportunity (I am told that cancer is a 'water' sign, what an easy to way to find my own sun sign. If you get it, laugh ! Else forget it, it's not worth figuring out).

Swimming / floating in the flowing river is always fun, especially when you are sure about the safety aspects.

It was time to float on the back, eyes closed. Anyone who has done this in a fast moving flooded river would know what that means. Going with the flow requires much more than 'knowledge'  (swimming in this case or for that matter the knowledge that the safety jacket is safe).

There is something more  ...

It requires a strong belief that the flow will take you through the path of least resistance. 

It requires a strong belief that the flow knows the destination, much better than you.

It requires a strong will to go with the flow rather than clinging to the known safe river bank.

Elemental forces & nature have always been my best friends, philosophers & guide. Winds, storms, rains, dense fog, rivers, forests, hills, valleys, they all have something to teach.

River is all about life & flow.

Go with the flow ... live free .. each breath is new ... and is reminding the existence of time. There was no raft, no guide, no fellow passengers, nothing. For a split millisecond (or second ? minute ? minutes ? .. who knows ? .. and who cares ?) there was nothing.

Life is all about flow. Once you are 'one-with-the-flow' nothing matters.

While clinging to the river bank was a bad idea, clinging to the raft was not so bad, after all I was in a fast moving river. After floating in the river for some time, I came back to the raft.

Flowing in the river is different than

clinging to the raft while you are in the flowing river , which is again different than

being in the raft which is moving in river, which is again different than

being on the river bank, which is again different than

being in a city like Pune.

Wow, one can exist at so many levels and can experience so many different things, all of them being unique. 

The next section of rapids was going to start in few minutes. Now the entire team was assured about the safety. The confidence level was high. And then we were into the main stretch of the rapids.

Still interested in what happened next... check the next blog (available at http://thefortsofsahyadri.blogspot.in/2014/08/river-rafting-in-kundalika-river-part-2.html) that covers the unforgettable experiences including a break on the isolated river bank, catching mangoes while rafting through the river, and some real philosophy that a river had to teach that day.

By the way, photography during river rafting requires a water proof camera. I don't have one :-(  So no real photos while rafting. There are few photos and videos that cover the river. 

Rafting distance & time	12 KM (1 hour in monsoon, 3 hours in other seasons)
Difficulty Level	Easy
Endurance Level	Easy in monsoon / medium in winter / high in summer (during summer you need to paddle a lot in the last section where the water is not moving so fast)
Adventure Level	High
Fun Level	Great (In monsoon it is Great++)
Ideal for	* Young people willing to experience nature. * Monsoon is an ideal time, but expect crowd during monsoon. * Summer is an ideal time for a great inner dialogue. * Its many times better than going to a water park. * This is a sport activity and not suitable for physically disabled people.

Fine print: Don't just tell me that you like my blogs. Add your comments, and pass on the link to your like-minded friends. 

A quick trek to Pratapgad

“At 4 AM, most of the people who are driving a vehicle on the Pune-Satara road are the ones who HAVE to. I am a different case. I WANT to.” Self dialog, at 4 AM. Early morning is a good time for self discovery, and self dialog.

Believe me, 4 AM is not a great time to be in the drivers seat, even for me. But then there was the next challenge waiting for me. Now that the challenge was accepted, the only way I could have kept my focus on the drive was to think positively.

The challenge was CRAZY.

Pratapgad

  Start from Pune at 4 AM, reach Pratapgad by 7 AM, see the entire fort, capture snaps, capture video, talk to locals, start the return journey at 10 AM, take a break at Mapro garden, and reach Pune by 1 PM. And find out at least one water body in the Jawali forest that will be worth visiting in the monsoon. In short, in 9 hours, do an amazing drive and a trek. That’s CRAZY.

All CRAZY things are like that. When you say you will do it, people think you are CRAZY. Then you do it, and people are convinced that you are CRAZY.

Does that matter? Probably not!

In this case I was convinced that if I had to do a quick trek to Pratapgad, starting from Pune at 4 AM was the right choice. This way one can avoid the early morning rush from Mahabaleshwar to Pratapgad. And then during the return journey one can avoid the traffic jams in Wai, and Pachgani. In the end, starting from Pune at 4 AM turned out to be the right choice.

I like travel in the dark. And it’s a loaded statement. If you want to do something that you believe you can, probably you don’t need to see everything that’s out there. Darkness is better. You just need enough light to see the next step (for a car probably the next 50 ft, for a startup it’s probably the first version of the product, for someone who wants to write a book it’s the first blog). And that’s all. Darkness gives you the focus. Sunlight does not. It shows you things that you don’t NEED to see.

Enough of philosophy for now, interestingly these thoughts visit me every time I start for a early morning trek. I am back to the steering wheel. Toll plaza at 4:20 AM, Shirwal at 4:45. Khambataki Ghat crossed at 5:00, a right turn at Surur at 5:15, Wai at 5:35 AM and the ghat section started.

Note: All the videos are converted to low resolution to reduce network traffic.

 

The fun began. Pandav Gad was seen on the horizon in the morning twilight. 'Harisons folly' would have been a great place for a nice photo shoot. But that wasn’t in the plan. The journey continued. Pachgani at 6:00 AM and Mahabaleshwar at 6:30 AM. I was doing the next patch of the ghat section for the first time. Each turn was new and driving (fast) was fun. I was looking out for a perfect place for the Monsoon season. Place found. During the monsoon, it might look as serene as the other one I had seen during the last monsoon. The downhill journey was over. A left turn towards Pratap Gad at 6:50. The last section was a narrow road. Suddenly from no where three Indica's arrived. And they all overtook me in the narrow ghat section. I hate to be overtaken but they were apparently in a hurry, so I gave them way forward. It was anyway only few minutes of drive remaining. At 7:00 AM, sharp, I was at the parking lot. 

On the way to Pratapgad

 

The final stretch

Pratapgad is a big fort. Luckily the parking lot is very close to the main entrance of the fort and the rest of the uphill trek is slightly more than Parvati hill, an easy climb.

The main entrance to this fort is 300 meters from the parking lot. The entrance is typical Maratha style one. It’s around a curved surface, similar to many other well built forts.



Out of the 300 odd forts that Shivaji Maharaj had under his control, he acquired a lot of forts (e.g. Purandar, Sinhgad, Panhala) , renovated many (e.g. Torna, Raigad) and built some. Pratapgad is one amongst the built ones. I entered the fort and went directly to the Afzal buruj. From here one can see the place where Shivaji Maharaj had a famous encounter with Afzal Khan.

The fort is divided into the lower fort and upper fort.

The lower fort is around 320m long and 110m wide. It is located at the southeast of the fort, and is defended by towers and bastions. Tulaja Bhavani Mandir is located in the lower fort. The shrine is made of stone. The folklore says that Shivaji Maharaj brought the stone from Nepal.

Canon's outside the Tulaja Bhavani Mandir

The upper fort is built upon the crest of the hill. It is roughly square, 180m long on each side. It has several permanent buildings, including a temple to the god Mahadev. It is located at the northwest of the fort, and is surrounded by sheer cliffs. There is a huge statue of Shivaji Maharaj at the top.

Statue of Shivaji Maharaj

One can go along the edge of the fortification of the upper fort. I walked along this route and did some photography and video shooting. 

Madhu Makarand Gad on the horizon on the left side

While doing that I came across an old resident of the fort. Apparently for last several generations his family was residing at Pratapgad. I like talking to these people. These kinds of people have a great pride and they know some interesting things that you may not otherwise know. A smile & "Jai Bhavani, Jai Shivaji" was the ice breaker. No formal introduction was needed. He showed me an interesting map. It was a typical war map indicating positions of key knights on both sides for the famous battle at Pratapgad. Then he showed me all the places, out there in Jawali forest. History and geography should be learnt 'on-site' with a teacher like this old man. The interaction lasted for few minutes but had a great quality in it. While I had all the tools to capture the video, audio and photo, I intentionally avoided capturing any of it. Such moments need to be LIVED, right there.  

It was 9:30 AM in my mobile :-) Time to say good bye. 

My return journey had to start at 10 AM. I started climbing down. In flat 30 minutes I was in my car. Return journey started at 10 AM, as per the plan. 

Cheese cubes, an apple, and one full glass of milk was the breakfast menu. Good food after the trek and easy to consume while driving.

The traffic was OK and three hours was enough time for the safe return journey. 

Overall it turned out to be a great experience. 

Elevation	3,454 ft
Difficulty Level	Low
Endurance Level	Low
Adventure Level	Low
Fun Level	Great
Ideal for	Family outing, coupled with Mahabaleshwar. Best season is monsoon.

 

A quick trek to Rajgad

First week of June always starts with an expectation. Heavy winds, rains, traffic jams, road blockages, pot holes, interrupted power supply, that’s what an ordinary citizen of Pune expects during this month. Thanks to the rains, and of course the local governing body, all expectations were met in the last few days.  The rains were pouring; the roads were blocked, what else I could plan for a Saturday morning, a TREK!

I started early in the morning, at 5 AM. It was dark outside. I like travel in the dark. Yes, it’s a loaded statement. If you want to do something that you believe you can, probably you don’t need to see everything that’s out there. Darkness is better. You just need enough light to see the next step (for a car probably the next 20 ft, for a start-up it’s probably the first version of the product, for someone who wants to write a book it’s the first blog). And that’s all. Darkness gives you the focus. Sunlight does not. It shows you things that you don’t NEED to see.

Enough of philosophy for now, I had to pickup Sagar.  Dr. Sagar Sabade, an old friend of mine (I mean the friendship is old, we are young!) is back in India for a few weeks. He wanted to confirm that my treks are as exciting as I portray them in my blog.

Uphill climb

At 5:14 AM Sagar was waiting outside his house. A quick handshake, and a smile, that was enough to bridge the 18 months gap after which we were meeting each other. We have been friends for last 22 years, and out of that we spent just 3 years together, during the engineering days. But real friendship is beyond time and space. I guess most of the things that really matter, like friendship and love, can’t be constrained by time and space.

In-spite of the close friendship, we had not done a single trek together. So this was a special TREK for me. I was hoping that it turns out to be the same for Sagar.

The first few minutes were spent on talking about routine things like work, family and other usual matters. By the time we reached the tunnel on the Katraj bypass, we had started our discussions about purpose of life.  One can discuss such matters with very close friends like Sagar. 

Rajgad in the Clouds

By the time we reached toll plaza, our discussion again moved on to WORK. Somehow in the last few years ‘business’ has changed. Life has become very fast, for everyone. And it has started impacting our daily life, relationships, and the way we live. Look at it, close friends like us, when we got a chance to talk, spent almost an hour on discussing WORK. For a moment I thought life is HARD. Yes, and it has started impacting me. Something is wrong.

While we were busy discussing WORK, the car had reached the destination. A left turn from Margasani and we were at Gunjavani, the base of the grand Rajgad. The fort was covered in all green (trees, bushes, grass) and white (clouds). We parked the car in the Gunjavani village and started our trek. It was 6:30 AM.

Rajgad literally means king of forts and fort of the kings. It is a great fort. This was the capital of Shivaji Maharaj for a long duration, before he shifted it to Raigad.

Lake on Padmavati Machi

It’s a long trek from Gunjavani. With moderate speed, without a break, it takes around 80 minutes for me. I have seen people taking 3 hours as well. But that’s not fun. TREK should be quick, fast and adventurous. In 40 minutes we were at the wind point. If you want to experience WIND, this is a good place in the Sahyadri ranges. There are other places too (like Rohida, Torna, Kaas plateau). Beyond this point, it’s a steep uphill trek. During the entire trek, Sagar was leading the way and I was following him. We reached the rock patch at 7:40 AM. Rock patch is a great place. Sagar was thrilled to go through this patch. The last 80 minutes had brought a change, a welcome change. We were both talking about LIFE and forgotten WORK. Body was sweating and mind was fully charged, fresh.

Rajgad Citadel

At 7:50 AM we had entered the fort through the Chor Darwaza (a small escape route meant for emergencies). After a short break of 5 minutes, and some chikki’s, we started moving around. We saw Saibai’s Samadhi, the remains of the royal palace and the sadar. I was planning to keep this trek a short one and wanted to start the return journey immediately. But Sagar wanted to see the fort, at least some parts of the fort. We had three choices; we could have visited the citadel, the sanjeevani machi and the suvela machi. All three places are great. I chose suvela machi as it could be done more quickly than other places. The walk from padmavati machi to suvela machi is great during monsoon. We had enough clouds around and there was wind. We were feeling fresh. Soon we reached the chilkhati buruj of suvela  machi. The fortification of this machi is amazing. We climbed the stairs of the buruj and decided to have the breakfast there.

 We had shira and some biscuits. Then we proceeded to the ‘Nedha’, a natural needle hole

Suvela Machi

carved out by wind on a vertical cliff. It’s around 20 ft in diameter. The route to Nedha includes a vertical rock patch. This patch does not have railings and hence climbing it is some risk and great fun. Check the photo below to sense the challenge. Try to find Sagar in the photo and you will see how big the 'Nedha' is! The view from the ‘Nedha’ was amazing. We rested there for 5 minutes and then started our return journey.

Sagar sitting in the Nedha

The return journey from suvela machi to padmavati machi was like walking in the clouds, literally. That was refreshing. At 10 AM, we were back to the Chor Darwaza. While we were planning to start our descent, some trekkers were arriving. Those folks had apparently started from Pune at 4 AM. God knows what they were doing for last 6 hours.  

We started our return journey. Walking down the rock patch was a great experience. Beyond that we had some easy patches and some steep patches. Overall it was fun. At 11:30 we were back to the parking lot. Drive back to Pune was a non-event. At 12:50 PM I dropped Sagar to his place and came back to my place at 1:00 PM.  .... The trek was strenuous, challenging and fun. In short it was EXCITING.

The trek was over on Saturday, but it had initiated a deeper thinking, within. What makes anything EXCITING? Is it the joy of achievement? Probably anything that is strenuous, challenging and fun may qualify as EXCITING?

How about WORK? Why is it not EXCITING for me right now? Is it not fun for me? Nothing could be further from the truth. Software development is FUN.  Is it not fast enough?  Is it not strenuous? Is it not challenging? Where is the catch?

The answer arrived on Sunday, I mean today. Now that the flow of thinking has started, it’s not allowing me to take a break. I need to write it down, right now, at 11 PM. While I am writing, one of my colleague pings me on a communicator tool. He is still working and shares some test results.

One quick question comes to my mind. Why is he working right now at 11 PM? Is it fear (don’t lose your job in a tough economy), is it greed (get more pay), or is it something else.

Probably it’s something else; it’s the joy of achievement.

Like many other things worth doing, software development is strenuous, challenging and fun, and is EXCITING.

For that matter driving is EXCITING. But for whom? Obviously if you WANT to drive, then any strenuous, challenging and fun DRIVE will be EXCITING. But what if you HAVE to drive rather than you WANT to drive? Will the drive be EXCITING?

That’s the answer.
If you are doing something because you WANT to do, it’s EXCITING. But if you are doing something because you HAVE to then it’s not. Period.

What is EXCITING for me? What do I WANT to do?
I see that and I get the answer. The answer lies within.

Am I doing Software development because I HAVE to or is it because I WANT to?
A direct question like this deserves a direct answer, and a real answer that comes from within.



I WANT TO!
It’s 11:22 PM, and I am sensing something. It’s the moment of awakening. It’s the time to internalize ….

If you are still reading this stuff, and interested in the journey (I mean the journey to Rajgad, the inner journey is a different matter, find your own directions!) … here is some information that might help. 

Citadel from Suvela Machi

Elevation	4,324 ft (1,318 m)
Difficulty Level	Medium
Endurance Level	Medium
Adventure Level	High
Fun Level	Great
Ideal for	Everyone who has a great respect for Shivaji Maharaj should visit this place at least once. Best season is monsoon. To see the entire fort, you need 2 days.
Routes	Gunjavne Darwaja or Chor Darwaja both on Padmavati Machee from Gunjavne Pali Darwaja from Wajeghar-Pali Alu Darwaja on Sanjeevani Machee via Dhanghar Vada, Bhutunde

A quick trek to Tung aka Kathin Gad

Being in Software Product Development field, most of my weekdays are spent in an AC office, with no connection to nature. I mean we do have plants in the office but I still wonder whether they are real or artificial.

Not that I don't like well maintained AC offices, but its kind of artificial world. You get used to it, but then your mind and your body needs a CHANGE. Open air, strong winds, water bodies, mighty peaks, deep valleys, rising sun and a fast drive into wilderness is something that defines CHANGE for me. 

It was a Friday evening, again, and time for me to plan the next trek. I had captured the images of Tung from Tikona and Lohagad, during my earlier treks, and I had decided to visit Tung at least once. Saturday morning was free, the car had enough petrol and the camera was waiting :-) What else do I need? BTW I have heard that some married people need approval from their better half, luckily I am not one amongst them. So no approvals!

Tung is an amazing fort. If you see it from a distance, say from Lohgad or 

Tung from Lohgad

from Tikona, you may not believe that it can be climbed without equipments. I knew that it might be one of the more adventurous treks, and hence decided to do it alone :-) BTW, I personally prefer to do a trek alone OR with someone who is interested in nature, physical exercise, quick trek, long drive and most importantly +ve attitude. Some of the people who fit in this include an entrepreneur, an MBA who doesn't want to fit in the corporate culture, a gifted guitarist, and other exceptional ones.

On a side note, I became a people manager recently and the first thing I realized is when you appreciate someone, others feel they are ignored. But that's not all. The other part is the one who gets appreciated, forgets that in next 10 minutes. My sincere request to all of you, who have been with me for such treks, is to include yourself in the list of "exceptional ones".

This time it was going to be just me.

Tung from Tikona

I started at 5 AM in the morning. There are multiple advantages of starting early in the morning. First and foremost, you are out of the city in no time. But there are others too ! You can breath fresh air, see sun rise, hear birds music.

I decided to take the least recommended route, Pune-Pirangut-Paud-Javan-Shilim-Morve-Tung Wadi. Note that the route till Javan is the same as the one for Tikona. Also note that this route, especially beyond Javan till Morve, requires a four wheeler with enough ground clearance, a decent car insurance, and driving skills.

When I reached Javan, it was around 6 AM. The sun rise was expected in few minutes. The morning twilight and the panoramic view of Pavana Dam, Tung, Lohgad-Visapur range was amazing.

It was time for some quick photographs

Sun rise in a water body!

and prayers for the 'Sun' God. With that I began the next part of the journey. The next one hour was spent in search of a 'tar road'. I mean there was some 'tar' and there was something like a 'road', and  I was driving and covering the remaining distance, but there was no 'tar road'.

When I reached Shilim, a small village, a villager asked me to stop. While driving through the interior parts of Sahyadri I have learnt that one should obey such instructions. When I stopped the car, he requested me to take his kids to Morve as they had to reach there in 30 minutes and the next ST bus was yet to arrive. 

At least once in your life you are offered "Ummeed Se Dugana" (twice than your expectations). This was that moment in my life :-). Even before I accept the proposal, 9 kids came from nowhere, opened the three doors of my car and jumped inside.  I had no other choice than to take them to the next village Morve. Even with the additional load, the car was doing decent. Within 15 minutes we reached Morve and by the time I stopped the car, the doors were opened and all the kids were out of the car.

From Morve to Tungwadi was a great drive. Once could see Pawna backwaters

Tung as seen from the Morve - Tungwadi road

and the majestic Tung fort. I reached the base of Tung fort at 7 AM. BTW, there was free covered (by trees) parking available at the base. A rare case indeed (as a second thought, Purandar fort also offers free & covered parking at the base, provided you reach early).

The climb from here is decent, definitely not steep. Its narrow and the path is rocky. In 15 minutes I was at the main entrance of the fort. The real trek continues for next

Tung fort - Entrance

15 minutes till you reach the peak. The remaining climb, again, is not steep. But as you reach the peak, the route become narrow, slippery and the valley is deep enough to scare a novice.

Compared to many forts, this is a easy and simple trek, except for this last patch. That's why I don't want to recommend this as a family trek. 

When I was very close to the peak, I could see the path becoming narrow and slippery. 'To do or not to do' was the question, I mean to attempt the summit or not was the question. It was the fight between my bulky body structure and crazy mind. Guess what, in this case, mind won over matter :-)

The Valley

It was 7:30 AM in the ... mobile ! I have stopped using a watch from the time people invented mobiles, now I am waiting for the next invention that replaces mobiles :-)

Tung was historically a watch tower due to its structure. It's just 10x10 feet platform at the top. And there are deep valleys on all side except the narrow route to the top. From here one can get a 360 degree view of Sahyadri. One can see Morgiri, Lohgad, Visapur, Bhatrashi, Pawana Dam, and Tikona fort. It was windy. Due to the 30 minute climb, the body and the mind were in refreshed state.

Don't ask me where are the photos from the TOP. When the mind won the game, the body asked me to keep at least the back pack and the camera SAFE. So I kept the bag at the decision making point. Next time I am going to take a brave person with me who can accompany me and carry my bag to the TOP at least for the last patch.

During all my treks I follow a ritual of eating a decent breakfast and drinking enough water when I reach the top. As my backpack was not with me, I had no other choice than to start my return journey without breakfast at the TOP. A few minutes of descend and I was SAFE again, with my back pack.

After a quick breakfast (including an Apple and chikki) I started my return journey. At 8:15 AM, I was back to the 'covered parking'. 

For the most 'normal' people, 8:15 AM on a Saturday morning is the time to have bed tea or probably the break fast. When people were busy doing that, I had finished a great trek,a long drive and enjoyed an "Ummeed Se Dugana" event. The body was refreshed, the mind was refreshed, and I still had the rest of the day for the 'business as usual'.

Now was the time to decide the route for the return journey. Technically there are many ways of driving from Tung to Pune. I had short listed two options. One was the route that I had taken in the morning and the other was a safer and easier one, Tung-Morve-GhusalKhamb-Lonavala-Pune. I chose the first one ;-)

There were no events during the return journey. The traffic in the city added 15 more minutes to the drive. At 10:30 AM I was back to home, ready to do all the weekend tasks that a caring husband has to do !

Elevation	1075 m (3527 ft)
Difficulty Level	Easy
Endurance Level	Easy
Adventure Level	Medium
Fun Level	Great
Ideal for	Drive and trek in 6 hours ( avoid July & August months )