Prabalmachi is an old village near Panvel, Navi Mumbai and trekkers use this place as a base-camp to trek up the Prabalgad fort and Kalavantin Pinnacle. Prabalmachi offers beautiful view of Panvel outskirts along with breathtaking view of both Prabalghad fort and Kalavantin Pinnacle. Kalavantin Pinnacle is a steep hill and trekkers consider it as an ultimate destination for their trekking journey.
Day 1:
We started our trek from Thakurwadi Village at around 7.45 PM after an introduction session and reached the top of Prabalmachi at around 9.15 PM with few breaks in between. At night, we could not see anything including valley on one side, so people climb easily without fear. From the top, we got the beautiful view of sky with full of stars.
At the plateau there is a small hotel which offer trekkers with food such as breakfast, lunch, dinner at reasonable rates. Also Accomodation, tents and bonfire services can be availed from them. Our dinner was arranged in the hotel and they served Peethla, Peas, Brinjal, Dal Rice with Rice Bhakris. Everything served was hot and fresh. After having dinner, we had fun time with campfire, barbeque and games. You will get an expansive view of Panvel skyline as the property sits on a hilltop. And I felt twinking stars beneath to me. You literally feel like you’re living in the clouds, supervising Earth from up there.
Day 2:
After having breakfast we started our trek to Kalavantin Pinnacle at around 7.30 AM. The initial trail goes through rocky terrains and steep climb. There is a cave on the way towards up, it is a small cave, and some meters long.
Further trail was the real challenge and risk. When I searched Kalavantin Pinnacle over internet, it looked like a steep hill but in real it is not that steep. Stairs are carved in double steps and there were no stair rails so there is some amount of risk involved for climbing. It is advisable to climb the steps holding both the hands and legs and crawl upstairs.
After having breakfast we started our trek to Kalavantin Pinnacle at around 7.30 AM. The initial trail goes through rocky terrains and steep climb. There is a cave on the way towards up, it is a small cave, and some meters long.
Further trail was the real challenge and risk. When I searched Kalavantin Pinnacle over internet, it looked like a steep hill but in real it is not that steep. Stairs are carved in double steps and there were no stair rails so there is some amount of risk involved for climbing. It is advisable to climb the steps holding both the hands and legs and crawl upstairs.
After one and half hours trek, we reached the top. The view from the top was fantastic. You will get a view of the deep valley between the Prabal fort and Kalavantin fort.
There is one rock patch at the top and climbing to this final summit requires little climbing technique or you need someone's help to reach the top. As we don’t have any ropes with us, one of our organisers ascended ahead and the other one was below, guiding one by one. Thus all of us reached the top.
Climbing that small rock also give you thrills. From the top, we can enjoy the beautiful view of Mumbai as this is located in Mumbai Pune Express Highway.
It was becoming exceedingly hot and humid. After spending few minutes with photography, we started our descend at around 9.45 AM and reached Prabhalmachi at around 11 AM. Ascending path is quite steep and dangerous but exciting and thrilling at the same time.
After having lunch and a few photographic sessions, we started our descend at around 12.30 PM. Descend was quite easy. We stopped at a stall for nimbu pani. At around 2 pm, we reached the base village.
A memorable trek with pleasant hike during the night, camping and games, spectacular view from Kalavantin Pinnacle and walking in the hottest month of March.
A wonderful weekend escape from Mumbai. I enjoyed the dark nights and bonfire.
ReplyDeleteCampsite near Mumbai