Pali Darwaja shot from Bale killa
Pali Darwaja shot from Bale killa |
Anyways I joined Giridarshan Trekking Club this time as my very own group Trekdi was doing only Torna. All new faces to me gathered on the Swargate ST bus Stand for the 0800 hrs ST bus to base village Pali. I have probably done Rajgad 'n' times and atleast 5 times from Pali. Though the Pali route is not at all tough and does not require any skilled climbing it is one hell of a climb especially if it 1200 hrs and just after monsoon. The humidity will drain all your salts and in the next hour you will be dying for water. From Pali a very well beaten path climbs up through pretty dense vegetation, into the Pali Darwaja and awesome site. A huge rocky entrance still standing tall and while climbing it the feeling that the great Maratha Leader Shivaji once climbed the very steps makes you feel different. This entrance is the Raj Marg as they call it so the rock build steps are still intact and strong. Once you are in the fort just turn around and the spectacular site of fort Torna to west makes you feels GRAND. The site is really awesome.We reached the top in around 2-2.5 hrs, the next on the charts was lunch and relax. After that we got introduced to the group we started towards the famous site seeing spots of the King of Forts. |
| "Bale Killa" is the most fantastic of them all This is the highest point on the fort and all the three arms of the fort are visible from her. So this is the forts watch tower. This small fortlet is so big that there is a small palace built here and 4-5 water tanks an Shiv mandir and bastions on all three sites. Its a strong fort inside the big fort. The weather had changed by the time we reached the top and the views from here are just too good to describe. Every time I come here I enjoy the views with same interest and just staring in the valley makes you feel free like a bird. Theres nothing on your mind and you are just looking at antures grandest light show. The sun peeping through the clouds and litting up the different spots on the colourful ground making it look green at one place and greener at the other. As the wind blows the clouds the spots keep changing, if one of them lands on you, you feel like God himself is blessing you. I am getting emotional here but I am sure the views make you think this way. MESMERISING is the word. I wish I could write good english. I clicked lots of fotos and as we started going down the dark clouds started drizzling.... light drizzle gave way to heavy showers in the next 15 mins and we had to drop our Suvela machi visit. The rains stopped and the sky some what cleared to restart the grand show again. I was hoping a rainbow somewhere but it was not to happen. The setting sun on Torna was yet another hypnotising effect on all who were watching every moment with content. I took around 30 snaps that evening.We cooked Khichadi for dinner, and slept at around 2130. Very few knew we were going to have a long day ahead. | ||
 Bale killa |
 Padmavati water tank |
 Fresh green morning |
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The trek starts from the very famous Sanjivani Machi's Alu Darwaja. I have always wondered why the "Alu" there isnt a village name Alu at the base? Anyways the route is very clear and if you have binocular you can actually trace it till the Budhla machi on Torna. Offcourse you should have a clear non cloudy day. We packed our bags and started towards Torna, some tips
1. There is no water on the way so fill at least 2 lit of water per head. Only a small hut may offer water, but in summers its actually asking them too much.
2. Start as early as possible from Rajgad to cover most of the distance in less heat.in summers you can even strat like 0500.
The trek will definetly eat up 6-7 hrs so if you strat early like 0600 then also the last Torna climb will be at noon. We started at around 0700 and I was the first man to reach Torna top at 1245. Almost 6 long hours of WEARY trek.The route basically keeps climbing up and down the small hills all the way. The chances of loosing the way are minimal as the route is well beaten and Torna always is in site. The best option is to avoid traverses and keep doing the roller coaster ride over the hills. If you are confident about the traverse make sure you dont enter the valley on the true right at any moment of time, this will make you off course. If in any doubt try to locate Budhla it should always be in straight line or on ur right. The last climb up the Budhla Machi is pretty heavy and comes at the worst part of the trek. On Budhla there a small rock patch that is ok and not exposed, but will difficult in rains and just after. Take care while climbing this, if the shoes are slipping the best way is climb bare feet. Once on Budhla, starts a long walk towards the main frot area. This walk takes longtime especially because you are already dead tired and you havent drank water for a long time. There is a water tank on Budhla but there is no garauntee you can reach the water level a rope and bucket will help. Even just after rains the level was pretty deep this time. I remember reaching Tungai Mata Mandir at 1245 where I was greeted by Manali & Date along with the trekdi batch. I had some sandwiches and then we had great lunch sponsered by Giridarshan Trekking Club, Poli bhaji and Shrikhand that was simply great. I ate 2-3 chapatis and drank almost 2-3 lit of water. because the group was very big and I had to reach to a party at my in-laws I decided to start climbing down early along with the trekdi folks. We araam se reached the base village Velhe in an hour and boarded a Pune bus at around 1730. We reached swargate at around 1930hrs. It was a great open circuit trek after a long time, especially when it was between the best forts in the shayadris.
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 Spot light on Padmavati |
 Suvela Machi |
 Suvela Machi from Bale killa |
 Team getting down sanjivani machi |
 Ever strong Sanjivani Machi |
 Prachandgad - Torna |
Location : Pune Getting there :(ST bus) Pune - Pali Best time to visit : Avoid Heavy Rains,harsh summers, carry ample water, almost no water on the route More Photos : Rajgad to Torna |
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