Rajmachi Trek - An Unforgettable Journey

Rajmachi Fort (Killa) is one of the many historical forts in the rugged hills of Sahyadri mountains (Western Ghats). It consists of two twin fortresses Shriwardhan Ballekilla and Manaranjan Balekilla, with a wide machi (plateau) surrounding the two Balekillas. Udhewadi is a small village of about 22 houses situated on the machi, at the southern foot of Manaranjan Balekilla of Rajmachi Fort.

After the trek to Kalsubai, I was very much excited to continue doing such treks. In the span of 10 days I completed nearly 3 treks. Rajmachi trek being the second one. Trek to Rajmachi will always be a lesson for me as it tested a lot of strength, patience, stamina and endurance.

This was in the month of July, where Me & a group of 3 friends (Pradeep, Uma & Sneha) decided to do the trek of Rajmachi. I was actually quite excited about this trek as during my trek to Kalsubai I heard about it a lot. So we searched about the Rajmachi for and how to reach there & it seemed very easy. Little did we know that “The Things that look easy are actually the most difficult Ones.”

So we decided that we will meet at 5.30 and take the Borivali train to Dadar & from Dadar we will catch another train to Karjat and meet another Sneha at station. What followed was nothing more than a worst start possible.

The next morning, I failed to wake up early. Pradeep & Uma were calling me & I already had 20 missed calls. I dint woke up until my Pradeep showed up at home. I woke up & God knows how I managed to get myself ready in 15mins. We took an auto for borivali and from there took a 6.22 train for Dadar. On the way, I got a lot to hear from my friends. But what’s fun if someone doesn’t get late.

We reached Dadar and from there we boarded another train to Karjat. As it was early morning, trains were sparsely crowded. We reached Karjat around 8.40. Here we met Sneha. We completed our breakfast of Samosa & then looked for transportation to Kondavane Village. We got a rickshaw which charged 250/- for us. As we were already late we decided we won’t do any kind of bargaining. We got in to the auto and our journey towards Kondavane village started which was the start point for our Trek.

It started drizzling a bit, but all in all it made such a great view to watch. mountains covered with grass and fog covering it. The journey was around for 20mins. It was a very bumpy ride as roads are not at all great. There are very big pot holes on the road which makes it very difficult for smooth rides. We reached the foothills.
At 9.30 we started the trek. As we were hiking from Karjat region, we had to climb the height of whole Borghat. Along the way, we planned to visit Kondavane Caves. Soon after starting the hike from Kondavane village, we came across a small ticket counter en route to Kondavane Caves. The trek to Rajmachi is a jungle trek & the path is very difficult which is covered with huge rocks in between which we need to climb. Also there is a steep ascend with no support. Also there are sharp & upward climb.

We started our journey joking around and reminiscing our school memories. It was kind of a different type of a get together though. After half an hour or so, Sun started to show its true power. But it was also that kind of a day where it was raining as well sun was showing some mercy on us. After an hour or so, we took our first break where we seeped some water and hydrated ourselves. We started again for the trek. But just after 15mins we took another break because of the extreme heat and all of us being no fitness freaks. But I was too damn excited to watch what I came for & carried on motivating others. We started again and after sometime we came across a waterfall. There were a lot of waterfalls even after that. The season being monsoon, water was gushing down with a tremendous force. We clicked some pictures, refreshed ourselves in that cold water which was very soothing. We started again with renewed vigor. Helping each other climbing down the rocks and cutting the bushes that came In our way. Some stretch of the trek is filled with scree which makes you lose your footing and slip. Being a jungle, there were a lot of mosquitoes (I will advice you to carry mosquito repellent lotion). One can easily get lost in the dense jungle here as there are no proper paths and signs. Some trekkers though have managed to put signs by hanging a bottle or a shoe pointing in the direction to proceed or with markers, but they are very few.

After crossing 3 waterfalls & 1hr 45 mins, we reached Kondavane Caves. Kondane Caves happened to be built by Buddhist Monks who us to live here. Watching these caves reminded me a lot of Kanheri Caves in Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The entrance to the caves looked so Majestic & Huge. Though it’s in a terrible condition, it looked strong. Beautiful carvings & sculptures makes this place very beautiful. It made me realize that these monks have really done a lot for this country & for the youths of today to trek such places and learn more about our history. There are water cisterns and stupas here. Right from top of the caves there is a waterfall. Waterfall Rappelling happens to be one activity that is carried out over here.

We then moved on from the Kondavane caves and started for Rajmachi. The scorching heat made us sweat profusely and the sharp pathways were making it even more difficult. We were getting tired & weary. After more than 1hr of travelling, we noticed some people coming back from the trek. We asked them as to how much far is the for. Its then that they told us, that Rajmachi is not any fort. Instead Rajmachi is village, from where we need to travel for another 90 mins to reach the two forts - Shriwardhan and Manaranjan. And to reach Rajmachi, we need to travel another 1hr.

Hearing this, I consulted with my friends. I was ready to go out to complete the trek. But my friends were not in a position to walk more. So we decided that we will reach Rajmachi village & take a halt there. One thing I learned was , No matter how much fit and enthralled you are about completing the trek. If your fellow trekkers are not in the position to go further never take a step ahead and abort it. With a heavy heart, I had to make up mind of leaving the trek midway.

So after deciding that we will not complete the trek, we walked for another half hour, and reached Rajmachi. One can catch a glimpse of the forts from here. More than that was the view it offered from there was just enthralling & beautiful. We could see the waterfalls, the dense jungle. It was too good. Even if we dint reached the destination we were quite satisfied of what we got to see. While trekking for Rajmachi, there is one consistency that after a period of climbing, there is a stretch of grass plains. So after reaching, we opened our lunch. The aroma of ‘Biryani’ could not have been better as we were more than just hungry and so all 4 of us pounced on it. Fresh lime juice completed our lunch. We rested for a while, with cool breeze just making us to stay more & enjoy the view of Matheran.

After sometime we realized that it was almost 2.30pm, and we had to trek back before it gets dark. As we were in the jungle, it gets dark even more early and if we lost our path, we would be left stranded with 2 girls with us. So we quickly gathered our stuffs, took a good look at the fort and set off.

Our first target was to reach kondane caves. As the path till there was dense and could get easily lost. We started our way back slowly but steadily. Descend started to look even more difficult than the ascend because of the slope and there was no proper foothold. So it was getting very difficult to go down, but then we had to make our way out. That’s the beauty of trekking. In the worst of scenarios, one can find a way out of a difficult path. Teamwork is the key during such period. Around 4.30 it started getting cloudy and started to rain. On one plains, we saw that a herd of cows had taken a shelter as it was raining. We were able to see from a top view. But just when we came down, the cattle had disappeared as if there were no one.

By every passing minute, it started getting darker and we started getting anxious. And so in that time frame, we lost our way. We realized that as we were moving further the trails were not visible, and no proper path was there. It was covered with wild & densebushes. Also we realized that as we kept on moving on the sound of waterfalls were getting lower and the rains started getting heavier. We stopped there and started moving in the direction of running water. In around 10 mins we reached the proper spot of where there was a bottle sign and took the right path. In no time we got the waterfalls and reached the Kondane caves. We were pretty much thrilled to see that now there is not a lot to be covered and so that increased our speed. On the way we met a group of girls. who were coming to watch the Kondane caves. We advised them that this is not the right time to go there. As it will be very difficult to get back from there during night time. We carried on with our journey back and reached the village in around 45 minutes.

We called up the auto driver who had agreed to carry us back to the station, which we later on thought was the correct decision. He came in no time & we reached the Karjat station. We were so tired, that we didn’t even eat anything. We reached home at 11.30pm.

All in all, Trekking through the dense forest with many streams crossing our way, visiting absolutely stunning Kondavane Caves, trekking down the wrong route, those anxious moments, the majestic view from the top was the highlight of this trek. The lesson I learnt was there needs to be proper plans while hiking through this unknown territory and so Rajmachi trek will always be a memorable one,.