Katraj to Sinhagad night trek

Katraj to Sinhagad, night trek! Had been hearing about this trek for a long time. Used to think.. what's the big deal here.. why would anyone want to do that.. is it safe? Out of habit I never read about a location unless I am planning to do it, so the above said was the only information I had about this.

Anyways, 2 weeks before the trek, a friend of mine added me to a WhatsApp group K2S. I am not a big fan of short forms, so K2S was completely alien to me. Back to the grind next day in office he called me and asked, "Are you in for K2S?" Busy with some work, I replied in positive, not even knowing what on

 Earth was K2S!!! And then it was business as usual for the next few days wherein we met, but hardly discussed about K2S.

2 days before the trek when the final preparations were being made, I realised I had said Yes to something. That's when it dawned on me.. K2S is the Katraj to Sinhagad night trek!

Night of the trek we had an early dinner so that our tummies could rest prior to the daunting task. Warje was our starting point. We took a rickshaw to Katraj. We were a group of 7 and the rickshaw was dragging itself along the road and making a honest attempt to reach Katraj. At Katraj chowk we stopped a passing good carrier and told him about our destination. Most of the small goods carriers know where people head to from Katraj on a full moon night so we hitched the ride in the refrigerator filled cargo area right upto putt starting point. 

The starting point of the trek is just beyond the old Katraj tunnel. Thanking and paying the driver we took the mandatory selfies at the staring point and started off on the journey. The start is pretty easy.. guess why because we are fresh. The road leads upto Waghjai temple. We took the blesings of the goddess and then started our journey.

Usually you will find a lot of trekking groups who advise people that once you start the trek, there's no going back! Got this beautiful photo of Pune City from the temple.

The trek is not marked, but you can easily figure out the road, so don't worry about getting lost. Still.. we missed a turn and got lost. We ended up going on the side of the mountain instead of going up. The best thing about the trek is that since there are a lot of groups going, the moment they figure out that someone is going off track they guide using torches. That got us back on the track! Torches are important in this trek. Even though the full moon lights up the track pretty neat it's better to have the torches to navigate slippery descends or hard ascends. 

The full trek route is below.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1KuxvrxDrXsUhszDsyWE-8yeR41c

The trek passes over the new Katraj tumnel.

We have to traverse through a huge mountain range almost 15-16 mountains up and down. Again the chances of getting lost are slim due to the presence of other trekkers. 

The trek is a test of patience, physical strength and very important.. mental patience too. You need to be in the best frame of mind to take this trek up. The trek qualifies into a moderate to tough category. There are quite a few slippery places, so ensure that you have good shoes with good grip. Initially we were counting the number of times a person fell, considering my fitness level, I had soon stopped counting for myself :P.

We had a call sign amongst our group where we had assigned numbers to each person 1-7 and after 15-20 mins we would just shout out our numbers to ensure that no one is left behind and/or we are traveling with our group.

There are quite a few small plateaus on most of the hill tops where we can catch our breath. Regular trek groups knew which were the best places. You can lie down and enjoy the beauty of the full moon.

The trek as I mentioned earlier is a test of physical and mental fitness. You get tired towards the end of it. The final part or frontier are 3 hillocks. I mention hillocks because we are already on the top of a mountain.. he he. These "hillocks" you would easily figure out that that's the final section. You will find youself suddenly entering a valley and then suddenly climbing up a zig Zag path. This is a tiring part, more tiring as you can see and feel the presence of the fort. So near yet so far :)

Here is your best chance for you to the rest of the trek if you want to catch 6AM PMT bus to the city. On top of the 2nd hillock you'll see a village to your left. You can skip the final hillock and go to the village. That's what we did. Again there are quite a few trekkers (like us) who decided to take the route. There's an arrow marked in the soil which points in direction of the "bypass" (that's what it is called). This bypass will lead you to a shack where you can get warm pohe and hot tea. A few vehicles top here to ferry people to the village where the PMT bus starts from. They charge a hefty amount of ₹60 per head, but after doing this trek, you are like.. just get me there. 

There quite a few like-minded trekkers there. Each group was trying to figure out who was the guy who draaged them into the trek ;) Honestly that how we felt while eating the pohe. After thought while writing this, I am now feeling accomplished and pretty good about the trek. Something that we can boast about.

Here are a few Do's and Don't's as I see them

1) Make sure your shoes are comfortable and have a good grip. By the end of the trek, my finger nails were screaming at each other

2) Carry lots of water (2-3 litres per head) 

3) ORS, Glucon-D ; whichever you prefer; STAY HYDRATED

3) Snacks: Chikki, Khajur, Parle-G. These are quick energy bursts. Yes it makes the sack heavy, but eventually it's going to get lighter as you consume everything

4) Don't be ashamed of you have to slide down certain slopes. Safety first!!!

5) Torches are not mandatory but a good to have.

6) Do not litter. There were a few bottles lying around which we picked up and brought down to the base village

7) Preferable season for trek is Winter. Mid Jan toid Feb might be best as the cold nights are on the waning end and breeze is pleasant.

8) Start the trek around 10-10:30 PM

9) Thumb rule of the trek: 90% of the times you are going up-down a mountain, so if you are going along the sides, you may want to "torch-out" to other trekkers to check.

Enjoy the trek!

It is one of a kind experience and definitely something which you can boast about.

A video link from a friend's channel with tons of information about Sinhagad

https://youtu.be/TiPNFsaMnHE

Feel free to let me know if any other information needs to be added so that it might benefit others :)

Anjaneri trek

This was our first trip/trek for 2020 and while the spot was decided almost a month ago, we went with almost zero planning.

Overall iternary was

Pune - Lenyadri - Anjaneri - Pune

Why we chose this iternary? Based on information available on Google, Anjaneri is a medium level trek so we wanted to start early to avoid the heat, hence had taken a hotel in Nashik for an overnight stay so as to start the trek early.

For the sake of this article, I'll assume that we are having a trip from Pune-Nashik-Anjaneri

Journey

Pune to Nashik to Anjaneri

Road from Pune to Nashik is great after Alephata. It changes to a 4 lane road (2+2) and the traffic really eases out due to that. Upto Alephata the road conditions are ok, but construction work is in progress for road widening. 

Toll booths along the road encourage fasttag, so if you have one, you are luck!

Anjaneri is on Nashik-Trimbakeshwar road which also is a nice stretch of road. We had stayed in a hotel (Hotel Ibis) in Nashik with the expectation of starting early, but didn't 😣. 

Breakfast

Nashik-Trimbakeshwar road has a lot of hotels where you can have breakfast. We had our breakfast at Hotel Sanskruti. Pretty nice hotel with a lot of variety and good taste. Service is also fast. 

Having stuffed our tummies with food, we started our journey again. Do follow Google maps and take the directions as maps shows to reach the base destination..

Anjaneri parking lot

Anjannary Hanuman Janmabhumi Rd, Maharashtra 422213

https://maps.app.goo.gl/oSVNWkV1v3f8Lgtb9

You will see a board which says Anjaneri to the left, don't take take, maps guides us via a different route just about 100 mts from this board. The road turns into a non paved road, but don't worry about it, you can drive a car right up that road. I have a dzire and was able to drive it right upto the mentioned parking lot without any bumps underneath. 

Enroute you will see a temple for Anjani mata.

Beautiful temple showing Her holding Hanuman on her shoulders 🥰

There is a parking lot just a few meters up route from the temple. Parking here is free. Or you can drive your vehicle right upto the earlier mentioned parking lot. You have to pay a meagre fee of ₹30 per car + ₹10 per adult. Don't fret about the road conditions even though you are paying a fee. The road falls in the forest department and per the forest officials, the road cannot be paved. Having said that because of the road conditions it gives you the opportunity of check out the surroundings as you crawl at a slow pace, else you might be zipping past the nature.

Up near the parking lot, there are forest officials instructing on vehicle parking. Don't expect a fancy parking lot, it's pretty much roadside. Beware of monkeys, they tend to sit on the car and fiddle around with the mirrors 😒.

The forest officials check your bags and belongings for any food items before you start on the trek. It is advised not to feed the monkeys but people still do it. 

Anyways.. let's split the trek into 3 parts

1st part. 

This is a series of steps, easy to tiring ones. The steps start easy and then get a bit tougher as the altitude increases.

This portion is really tiring if you are not a regular trekker (like me). Pace your climb so you don't find yourself rushing in thr easier steps and then rushing for breath in the steps in the 2nd photo. Beware of monkeys in the area in the 2nd photo, they tend to jump on your bags here. Set your sights on the railing that you see up as your small goal to meet. This climb will lead you into a plateau. You can have your first pit-stop here are a small shack which sells Lemon juice, water and maggi.

Part 2. 

This is a plateau. Almost a flat land with light trek, with very little climb. This gives you the opportunity to grab your breath. There are a few trees which can give you a much needed respite from the sun. The inspiration here is a temple that you see as your next destination. That's another temple of Anjani mata. There are 2 shacks here which sell lemon juice, water, tea, maggi and cucumbers. If you call upfront (a day prior) one of them would even set up lunch for you.

Here's the number for one of them (provided with his permission). This is for a big green shack near Anjani mata temple

Pappu: 9011848220

Part 3. 

The final section of the trek which leads to Hanuman temple. The final series of steps starts beside a small lake. This is another strenuous trek for people like me. The rate of climb is pretty good and has steps, so you would not find yourself struggling with loose soil slipping beneath your feet. 

The lake below looks like Hanumanji's foot as you look down towards it.

This climb will lead you to another plateau on the top of the mountain. Follow the trail it'll lead you to the temple. The trail if you think is small.. nope it'll still take a good 10-15 mins before you reach the temple as it emerges into the view as you make your way towards it.

Another shack up there, selling same stuff as earlier ones. Take darshan where you see Anjani mata holding Hanuman in Her arms. Soaking in their blessings makes your feel energized again. 

Further you can proceed to get a bird's eye view of the valley below and enjoy nature's beauty.

The climb down is easy as we expect it to be.. but... Here's the twist, again for people like me whose muscles get tired with the climb and sometimes you feel your feet shaking or feel the pressure on your knees with every step down.

Overall a nice trek with a climb of around 2-3 hrs depending on your capabilities and a return trip of 1-1.5 hrs.

Start the trip early in the morning at 7 or 7:30 as the sun and the heat really gets to you. Monsoon or Winter would be the best time avoid Summer time for sure.

Have a safe trip. Feel free to convey your comments or if there is any more information that you feel I might have missed.