Trek To Rajmachi...!

18 july 2009 was a day to remember the rest of my life...
It was a trip to Rajmachi.. a fort near Karjat... it was a gruelling trek, so to say.

We started at 6.30 in the morning and boarded the 6.45 karjat local from kalyan; reached Karjat by 7.50 AM... we had a bite at the very famous "Karjat cha Vada Pav"... the took a rik and reached the village named Kondhane. Now, it was the time for the real trek! we had to climb for a span of 4 hrs! There was one fear in ours minds; the fear was of getting lost in the forest..So we hired a village boy named "Sunil". He agreed to guide us till the top for rs.300. At the end of the trek we realised that rs.300 was worth !... chances were very high that we could have lost the track to the top.
We were 10 guys. Started the climb uphill. In less than an hour, we passed through a patch that was heavily infested by mosquitoes! Big rocks, small streams, marshy patches, heavenly greens and mild-to-heavy rains - we faced all this. after some 2.5 hrs of gruelling climb, we took rest for some 15-20 mins at a small hutment where we replenished ourselves with some "Kokam sherbet" or "Nimboo Sherbet" or "chai". needless, to say we clicked N number of photos; especially some "orkut" photos to impress friends!
After this small hiatus, we commenced our journey and reached the village at the base of the fort in 30 mins. We decided on the menu for the lunch and then kept our belongings at one of the houses where we fixed we would have our lunch. The fort didnt SEEM too far from this place! but it took us atleast 45 mins to reach the top. This patch, i should say, was a bit dangerous. One needs to be vey cautious while treading this patch. The view from the top of the fort was ineffable! Cold winds, rain and the thrill of being AT THE TOP of the world was just amazing!..
You got to be there to believe it!
We clicked a few more pics and then came back to the base of the fort. The lunch that ensued was one the best lunches we had ever had!(except for the chicken) . The 'Bhurji' and 'Andakari' were class apart! The time now was 5.00 PM.
We had 2 options to go back - 1) retrace the path by which we came. 2) follow a trail of 4.5 hrs and go to lonavla and then take train or some transport to reach mumbai!.
The second option seemed more logical. We started at 5.30 walked for 4 hrs and reached Lonavla at 9.30 PM. The trail was amazing! No lights from 7.30 to 9.30 PM. we had to rely just on torches we had brought and on the strong lights emanating from the resorts nearby!
Somehow we reached Lonavla. We heaved a sigh of relief. And concluded that this trek was one the most difficult that most of us had ever been to!..
We then booked a Qualis and reached mumbai at 12.30 AM... and reached home at 1.20 AM!
For facts about Rajmachi, Google should be of more help!..this article was more about the experience than about Rajmachi!... happy trekking!


http://picasaweb.google.co.in/dipenambalia/TrekToRajmachi