Kudpan- Bhimachi Kathi- Pratapgad Trek. This trek was long
due. I had been planning for it for the last two years, but somehow it did not
materialize until now. A bit of research
showed that a visit to Kudpan village was a high point. The village consists of
three separate wadis, the first of which itself is about 6 kms from
Kshetraphal.
We decided to board the Bus at Thane and reached Poladpur at
3 AM. The First bus to Kudpan which is the base village was at 8:30 AM. Me and
Utkarsha asked some local guy for private vehicle but no one agree to drop us
at Kudpan. No other option left. We have to wait at ST Depot till the bus
arrive. We done our breakfast and Catch the bus for Kudpan at 8:30 Am.The
morning shone through cloud and mists while our sumo roared away into smoky
bends. The whole time went in gasping and gazing at the sudden mountain beauty.
We reached the first wadi of Kudpan at 10:15 AM. We met one villager who offer us tea and then
we proceed to भीमाची काठी with him. A kilometer of walk
on the tar road and we could see the भीमाची
काठी and also the Gigantic
waterfall. Outside the village, past the rice fields we walked to a gloriously
scenic valley; this is where the Mahipatgad range joins the main Sahyadri
range. At this valley lies a beautiful waterfall from where water crashes down,
carving out a gorge in the steep valley. From the same valley rises Bhimachi
Kathi – a tall column of rock that rises from the valley completely detached
yet close to the main wall of mountains. These were sights to remember;
absolutely breathtaking!
Then we came back to the village. Villager show us route and
from here on the real trek started and it was a steep climb through jungle for
almost 30 min before we reached a plateau. The ridge continued up to a high
point where another route came from an adjoining mountain. Here we met one
villager, we asked him about route he said “Jaa hya rastyane saral..” We continue with that route and after 15-20
mins came to realize that we were on wrong path. Somehow we manage to come back
on right path.Now we could see a long ridge that connected to the far-off
citadel of Pratapgad which was obscured in misty clouds. However it was to be
clear day; no much more rain but endless views of valleys on either sides. The
route is clear cut but very slippery and hence a bit tricky.
We walked for almost three hours on the grassy ridges as they
meandered towards the fort. After this all beautiful ridge walks and hence
tiring walk on the tar road after we reached Kumathe Village. The next stop was
the base village of Pratapgad with historical significance Pargaon. From here we
started our final climb to Pratapgad base was just about to 1/2 hrs walk.The walk through the jungle is easy to
remember. Just follow the pipeline till top. Here we had to detour as there was
Police Bandobast near Afzal Khan's Kabar. For obvious reasons.
After 6 hrs we reach to Pratapgad was engulfed in thick fog which was melting into heavy downpour every now
and then.Due to very very thick cloud cover it was impossible to view the fort
properly. We had to contend with Bhavani Mata Mandir and Majestic statue of
Shivaji Maharaj.
The return ride back was mostly uneventful because everyone
was dead tired and asleep and mainly Paranomal. but thankfully there was
nothing major and though very late ,we reached safely back Mumbai late night.
