Trekker

Sahyankan 97 - Reminescences The route : Jungli Jaigad, Helwak’s Ramghal, Bhairavgad, Prachitgad, Mahimatgad Our Sahyankan-97 circular describes the route as “The route encompasses the Koyna-Warna Basin , starting at Koyna Nagar and ending at Kundi, a village around 16 kms from Devrukh in the Konkan. The entire region is covered with dense and yet unexplored forests and boasts of a variety of animal and bird life. Animals like the Bison, Sambar, Bhekar (barking deer) and some other species of the Deer family, Wild Pigs, jugle fowl, rabbits and specially the Bear inhibits these forests. We often encounter herds of Bison taking to flight as we approach them. The important predators include the leopard, tiger, panther, etc. It also has its share of the flora and fauna as well as the creepy crawlies including snakes, chameleons, scorpions, etc. The route includes Jungli Jaigad, Helwak’s Ramghal, Bahiravgad, Prachitgad and Mahimatgad. Most of these areas have been dec...

I had never heard the word trekking till quite late in life..being a laid back guy who was not very much interested in outdoor activities, it was quite by chance that I got hooked to trekking and backpacking...which has now become one of my major hobbies. It was first in Hindustan Lever that I heard about trekking. Dr. Siddheswaran used to lead quite a few people and go around the Sahyadri visiting the innumerable forts and spots and enjoy the outdoors. One such monsoon weekend around 13 years back, we had all planned a "trek" to Ajoba or Aja Gad near Asangaon. It was also supposed to be a nite trek, where one could specifically see bioluminosent algae on the trees which used to glow in the dark. Being a lover of birds n gardening in general (we had umpteen potted plants in our terrace), i pitched in for the trek. We left late evening by train and reached Asangaon by around 8.00 pm to catch the last bus to Dhene, the base village of Ajoba. "Ajoba" mean granpa ...

The Himalaya is not the only place where trekking takes place in India, though its the most popular among the foreign tourists. We have other mountain ranges in India where trekking takes place more actively by the local people. One such mountain range is the Sahyadri which runs parallel to the western coast of India right from Gujarat down to Maharashtra, Goa to Kerala. It is also known as the Western Ghats. There are also off shoots of this range which have more trekking routes in them. The best part of these ranges is that they also house some 400+ odd forts built through the centuries and which had been used both to defend the land as well as monitor enemy movements around the areas of control, both inland and on the coast. Though these mountain ranges are not as high as the Himalaya, they encompass in themselves one of the most sought after biodiverity spots in India and the world. There are many species of birds, animals and insects found here. There are also quite many s...