Andharban Valley Trek

Andharban means a dark dense forest.  It is situated in Mulshi Taluka of Pune district, Maharashtra , India.

We started off our journey from Mumbai to Pimpari village by around 12:30 am .  It is almost 150 kms journey to reach the place in the early morning.  After breakfast and a brief introductory session, we headed towards the valley. There was a small dam with beautiful hills in the background.

Small farmlands and wild flowers captivated us as we crossed the small paths that lead to the hills. The trail continued to Independence Point along the valley sides. After a few minutes of walk, we reached the mouth of the valley.  Actual Andharban trek starts through the right side from here. But we decided to move ahead with a sudden descend into the valley.

The view coupled with wild flowers,  Bhira Dam at the end point, sky high mountains and tranquility  will surprise you.

Andharban has good flora in monsoon and there are  lots of things to see around.

It is a descend trek, where you are already on height and you will be descending till the end.  It is one of the most beautiful trek with lots of things to explore. The real test of endurance begins now.  There were few rock patches  and all of us crossed it without major hurdles. Then the group continued the walk through the rocks by climbing and jumping.

The light rays falling from different directions into the valley created some beautiful shades.

There were few more rock patches without a proper path and were difficult too. Not many trekkers would have chosen this path for Andharban trek before.  Volunteer's helped others to descend.  Those who had already crossed, got an opportunity to take some rest. It was somewhat difficult for first time trekkers.

There were small waterfalls on our way and we took few minutes break to click photographs. There were few rappelling patches and it took more time for all trekkers to descend.

The rock patches were difficult and there were no steps or hand rails to descend. The  descending is not that simple as it appears.

After crossing some big rocks, we reached a vast area with 2-3 waterfalls . The continuous sound of the waterfalls started hitting our ears in the silence.  The we walked towards the waterfall.  After a nice bath, we opened our food packets.

As you walk forward, the mountains slowly open up and start giving you a glimpse of the valley ahead.

Soon we reached the exit point of the valley. We were in the middle of nowhere. There was no proper way to descend and a huge valley was ahead us. We did not have proper equipment or guide to rappel down and we decided to stop our descend. 

The trek  took 4 hours altogether. It was around 3.00 PM when we started our ascending. This was new in this particular trek. By around 7 PM we reached the top of the valley. The last and final challenge is the long walk through the end of the valley to a village which marks the end of the trek.

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Summer Waterfall Trek to Canyon Valley, Khandala

On the way from Mumbai to Lonavala, there is a ghat section near Khandala with hills on one side and deep valley with waterfalls on the other.  Ulhas river originates from this valley and thus called as Ulhas valley or Canyon valley or Tiger valley.

With a height of 320 feet, Canyon Valley Waterfall happens to be one of the most beautiful waterfalls located close to the city and is the only waterfall seen during summer.

Canyon valley trek surprises you with its features. Unlike other treks,  you descend first , cross the river and then ascend . Descend is from Lonavla and the trek ends at Khandala near Kamat restaurant.

ENROUTE TO LONAVALA

We started from Mumbai by Indrayani Express and reached Lonavala at around 8.00 AM. Our meeting point was near ticket counter at Lonavala Station. There were participants from both Mumbai and Pune.

THE TREK

After a brief introductory session and breakfast, we headed towards the valley. After 45 minutes of walk we reached the mouth of the valley. The trek starts with a sudden descend.

There were small crystal clear water ponds on our way and we took few minutes break to click photographs.

Then the group continued the walk through rocks by climbing and jumping.

And then the first rock patch appeared and all of us crossed it without major hurdles.

The next rock patch was a little difficult. We passed the bags and then the participants crossed one by one. Volunteer's helped others to descend. Those who have already crossed got an opportunity to take some rest. It was somewhat difficult for the first time trekkers.

Finally we reached the base of the valley. We walked towards the waterfall. The continuous sound of the waterfall started hitting our ears in the silence.

The water is mixed with  sewage from Lonavala,  so not really clean and refreshing. But visiting  this ones all season this waterfall  is worth visiting. There was a big pond under the falls and most of us  jumped into it. After a nice bath, we opened our food packets. That was our lunch for the day.

It was around 1.00 PM, we started our ascending. This was new in this particular trek.


There was a stream and water pond to pass and  hardly one person can walk through the edges by catching the rocks. The beautiful view of the water stream was worth spending the time just looking at it and relaxing.

Then we continued our climbing. There was one small waterfall and we filled our bottles.  After 3 hours of trek, we reached the top of the valley. After few minutes of rest, we moved towards the highway to take a rickshaw to Lonavala.

Surely, Canyon valley trek is one of the most exciting trek I ever had .

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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.

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