‘There is something about these mountains that I am addicted to. Every step I take, every pain I encounter, gives me sheer pleasure of doing it more. The drug of climbing is addictive. It is not just the views, but the nature that calls me, every time when my soul gets polluted of city lights. I thank the god of nature to give me a chance to encounter such beauty. And I wish that as long as my breath last, I keep hiking and watching the miracles of nature’
Every time I think about Vikatgad, I cherish the adventure and moments I spent there. This trek is unique for its hiking trail. It is steep enough to make one exhausted, but gentle enough for the first timers to conquer it. It was one of the monsoon days when I decided to go for this trek with my best friend Natesh. Vikatgad comes in the Matheran range of mountains. It is also called Peb Fort. We got down at Neral station early morning to have our chronicles with Chai. We asked the Chai wala about the trek. It is the best way to know everything about the area from a local.
We walked the 3 Kms to its base village, Fanaswadi through the lone houses shedding fired smoke. Its vast fields and tall grasses covered the beautiful flowers. The villagers were doing their daily chores. As we enter the base village, the way straight goes to the veranda of a huge temple surrounded by the red roofed huts. The curious staring eyes of the villagers make you feel like an alien. But you ask them anything, and they are ready to help you.
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We started our trek from the backside of the temple, entering a murky green jungle. Our ears were soon pleased to hear the roaring rhythm of a waterfall. It was a little dangerous as we walked on the slippery path of green algae till the waterfall. When the fierce force of water dropped on the top of my skull, all my thoughts vanish. And suddenly I felt so light and happy. We further exited the jungle and cross the small stream of the river, entering vast open meadows. The green empty patches surrounded by mountains are so picturesque that you just can’t stop yourself from getting clicked. The gradual incline walk is the most pleasant part of the trek. And then the real adventure starts!
We start hiking the steep terrain of the mountain. No, it’s not that hard, tiring or scary. A climb through the path surrounded by green trees, its fallen dried leaves, few drops falling through its edges, the scent of the wet mud and the vast ground landscape on the back side. All this is enough to forget the pain and make you want to climb for more. As we reached to a top, exiting narrow paths, Jaw dropping views awaited us. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Not that I haven’t seen it before, but it felt so like the first time.
The vast blanket of forest spreads like an ocean. There were no open fields for farming, only the dense, dark green jungle as far as my eyes could reach. The cotton white fog floated on it like a sailing ship. It virally spread covering half of the landscape. Its greenery dotted with silver pond and covered with dancing fog made a sight to behold.
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I couldn’t hold my excitement and burst on my friend telling him “just look at this view man! Wow! It’s so beautiful! Damn! I can’t believe this!” And he acknowledges it with a big smile. Next, was the most daring part of the trek. A 10 foot rock exposed from the both sides was supposed to be climbed to go further. With utter care, and holding the right patches, I pulled myself up. It took 4 men to push my friend up. As soon as you climb up, you are greeted with a cave temple on the left side. Obviously left, because there is only a deep, deadly valley to the right! The small temple in the cave makes you wonder whether pilgrims would like to climb so much for their faith in God? The water dripping from the rooftop of the cave makes the entrance edge slippery.
We were further greeted with a fort wall. We climbed the rustic stairs to reach the top. It shacked so much, felt like a mini earthquake. After this there is a section which needs to be climbed to go up. There are 2 ways. You either go left climbing the fully exposed and dangerous natural rocks or go straight entering room like structure from where you can take left to go up. Take the straight path which is much safer. By this time I realized that we had already entered Vikatgad fort. Exploring the corners of the fort, we went further up the jungle as the trek was not yet over.
We climbed the slippery mud and gravel to reach the top, there was again a temple. There was only the temple and nothing else. 360 degree panoramic views surrounded us. Rain started pouring vigorously and that’s when the shelter of the temple came to our rescue. While I am writing my experience sitting with all the comforts, it is thrilling to imagine that I was standing on a lonely mountain. Devoid of anything or anyone, bombarded with clouds and rains.
We then started to descend from the other side of the peak, which connected to the main hill station of Matheran. Due to the rains and fog, the view was almost blocked. We could barely see what was ahead of us. And as we descended from the temple amidst the fog, it felt as if we were entering heaven. Just few minutes after we started descending, we encountered a small ashram. It was run by a Baba that lived there all alone. His calm and composed figure showed his years of experience. He made lovely tea for both of us. He told us lots of stories. One thing that fascinated me is that he made a rope way to Matheran hill station so that he could bring supplies at his ashram.
We then descended, traversing through the mountain. You could see the Vikatgad fort, clearly left behind. We then reached the railway tracks of Matheran. It is always fun to walk on them. It connects to the road from where you get jeeps taking you till Neral station. They charge 70 bucks per person. We had some delicious food before leaving from Neral station.
“Travelling leaves you speechless, and then it turns you into a story teller” – IBN Bhattuta.
