TRAVELLUST

One of the toughest trek in Maharashtra as said, Kalavantin Fort is located on the outskirts of Panvel. Located at a height of 2300 feet, it is one of the most enduring and thrilling Trek. One cannot lose his patience or take a peaceful breath until he reaches the pinnacle. Steep Climb, Huge steps makes the Climb even more difficult. October to February being the most favorable period for trekking this place. The best way to complete this trek is in two stages. First reach Prabalmachi by night and then start further ascend to Kalavantin Fort. Base village to Prabalmachi is Thakurwadi. There is a tum tum service for Thakurwadi village. The hike from base village to Thakurwadi village is easy. But if trekking in the night, need to be extra careful. This hike involves 2-2.30 of trekking. Prabalmachi provides the best that nature has to offer. From fantastic weather, lush green slopes to fresh air, you will get a unique experience at this hillside village. Laid with u

There are many forts in Maharashtra, but not a lot in Mumbai. Though Bandra & Mahim fort can be counted as forts, but these forts are not that significant for obvious reasons. Bandra fort being crowded anytime of the season and the condition of Mahim fort is very poor. In addition to that, these forts cannot be called as places for trekking or hiking. But one fort which caught my eye was the Arnala fort. First reason was that it was a sea fort which is located on an island. Secondly the fort looked enormous and massive and looked in good condition. Before going to the Arnala fort, I had done a solo to Bassein fort, which was in a very sorry state. But when I searched for Arnala fort It looked as if it was very well maintained. As it was nearby & easy we decided to hike this fort. Arnala fort – It is built on an island of Arnala, which is located In Virar. Me & one of my office colleague were going to hike this fort. But it so happened that while discussing the

Lohagad or as it is popularly known as Iron Fort is a part of the western ghats of Maharashtra . One of the historic forts of Maharashtra & all the more important during the rule of Marathas. Located closely to lonavala, it is almost 52kms to the northwest of Pune. Lohagad has an elevation of 1033m. Visapur is another fort just opposite to Lohagad. As this fort is very easily accessible, we decided to trek this fort. Lohagad trek was done with the help of my office colleagues. We actually wanted to visit Devkund waterfall. But due to heavy rainfall we had to cancel Devkund and we planned for Lohagad. A group of 15 people were going to complete this trek. We were supposed to meet at 6am in the morning. Everyone reached at the meeting point at 6am except me. As usual I had to bear the brunt of coming late, as I reached at 7am. The purpose of leaving early was to avoid traffic. So at around 7.30 we started our journey towards Lohagad. Keeping the mood enlightened,

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