Sandhan Valley Trek

Sandhan Valley is a part of the beautiful Sahyadri mountain range, which is located in Nasik , in the Indian State of Maharashtra.

We started our journey from Mumbai on 12th December midnight to explore Sandhan Valley.  We all gathered at Kasara Station at around 1.30 am  and took a jeep to Samrad village. The 2 hour jeep journey uphill having narrow roads and curves, was not all comfortable. 

We reached Samrad village at around 4 am. The atmosphere was extremely cool . We rested in a temple complex nested by houses.  At the crack of dawn, we strolled around the place. The early morning was magical - village life, beautiful  sahyadri mountain ranges and sunrise. There was a primary school near the temple. I stood there for some time watching children coming to school and the children in turn were curiously watching us, in our trek dress.

Beautiful view of Sahyadri mountain ranges

After breakfast, we moved to Santhan valley. After 2 kms of walk, we reached the entrance of the valley. There were other large groups already on the trek. There were few rappelling patches in Santhan Valley trek and it would take more time for all trekkers to descend . So we changed our plan. We further planned to trek the Ratangad fort via Trimbak Darwaja. Three months back, I had gone for a trek to Ratangad fort via Ratanwadi.

Ratangad fort

We walked through the  forest, green valleys and  grass lands. We lost the way in between. Luckily, we met some villagers and they showed us the actual trek path. The group had already splitted into small groups.  After few hours, past beautiful terrains, we entered the fort via Trimbak Darwaja .

After exploring the fort, we started descending. We took rest under a tree, waiting for other groups to join  us.  We  reached  Samrad village by about 6:00 PM for night camping. The sun had just began to set. In the distance, the sky turned in a blaze of orange and red shade as the  sun set behind the hills.

We had a tiring day but we decided to make the rest of the day enjoyable. Before the night set in, we collected enough firewood from the surrounding area. We set a campfire, sat around it and had fun. 

Camp-Fire



We had to spend the night in the village houses.  We had our dinner and went to sleep so that we can get up early  next morning to begin our Sandhan Valley Trek. Few of us accomodated to one of the village house and rest of the team adjusted in the temple complex. I selected one bed in the house and drifted into sleep.

Day 2:

We bid farewell to the villagers and started our trek in the morning at around 8 am. After a few minutes walk from the village, we reached the entrance of the valley. The actual trek starts from here.

Entrance of Sandhan Valley

Sandhan valley is 15-20 feet wide route, which is carved by water flowing between two huge mountains.  Every year, hundreds of trekkers brave the tough route in the valley, trek through huge rock patches to cross Santhan valley that is 200ft deep and about 2 km long.

One of the interesting experience in this trek is that one can actually feel that he is in a valley of shadows and  as one looks upward, one can see the ray of sunlight falling through the darkness.  After crossing some big rocks, we found a small water pond . In Sandhan Valley trek, you have to cross 2-3 water ponds.  The water level changes according to season. Each one of us crossed the water pool with luggage stuck to their back . This made the trek more exciting.

After continuous trekking (for more than 3 hours), we reached the first rock patch in the valley. The height of the rock patch was 80ft and there was no option but to rappel down. This was my first rappelling and I completed the task with no hurdles.

When light rays fall on the valley walls from different  angles and intensities, they create some beautiful shades on the rocks and walls. I was surprised to see these unspoilt manifestation of nature.

Before others reach, we started our journey towards the 2nd patch .  The descending is not that simple as it appears.

Soon we passed  the 3rd patch with help of a log of wood.

After crossing the second water pool we  headed towards end of the valley. Soon we reached the exit point of the valley.

At the end of the valley,  taking rest becomes a must. The place is in a heavenly spot. There was a big water body and we enjoyed some time there.

The last and final challenge is the long walk through the end of the valley to Dehene village which marks the end of the trek. Dehen village is around 6 km away from here. The trail is along the side of a dry river bed.  Some of us were singing songs which made us feel refreshed.

Soon our track changed to narrow tar road. We sat on a small bridge for rest and had some photographs and fun time. The sun was about to set.  We got a spectacular view of the sun setting down behind the countryside hills, making the evening landscape look serene.

On reaching the Dehene village, we changed our dress and had tea and biscuits. Our jeep was waiting to take us to Asangaon station.

A memorable trek that can be cherished for long.