Peb Fort
The Date: 22nd July 2007
The Place: PEB Fort, also known as ‘Vikatgad’
The Height: 2100ft
The Way: From Neral to Fanaswadi
The Weather: Hot, humid (in July)
The Trekkers: Soppa (the every-hungry kid), Sanjay (the young uncle), Anup (the sub-broker who got a reality check) and Dhaval (me, the one who underestimated Peb)
The experience…
Green. That’s the word. The grass was green. The mountain was green. The trees were green. The Tang sachet was green. The spider was green. Even the rocks were green. And that’s when reality finally sank in. The trek’s was going to be one slippery trek. Yeah that’s the trek to Peb fort on 22nd July 2007. The caves on the fort which were primarily used as silos for grain storage by the great Shivaji Maharaj.
It was Sunday and the weather in Mumbai was perfect. When I reached Dadar around 6.40 am it had just started raining. I thought great, if it’s raining here in Mumbai then it’ll be raining twice as heavy at Peb. With this happy thought in mind, I started my journey to Neral by 7:03 Karjat local with Sanjay and Anup. The train was jam packed, with mostly trekkers or waterfallers. Little wonder, the regular travelers had a harassed expression on their face and some even vented out their frustration on each other. We reached Neral around 8.45 am. Shamir along with his friends and Soppa were supposed to join us from Pune but that never happened. Shamir forgot his cell phone at home and so none could reach him. He also Add to that Soppa missed his train and reached Neral only at 11.10 am. Since it was too late to start, we decided to take a rick till the base village or Fanaswadi of Peb.
By 11.30 the four of us were treading along the path and asking for directions. There are huge electricity towers on the mountains. The locals directed us to follow the towers and they’ll lead us to the top. Luckily this time, unlike Raireshwar, the locals were right. Probably because there was no woman in them (no disrespect meant). However, there was no sign of rain gods blessing us. Instead the sun was blazing down upon us with all its might. At various points we could hear the chorus of ‘Mama khau de kinwa paise de’ (Mama, give us food or money) from groups of children from the wadi. This was the first time I had heard the local children begging for money so shamelessly. Usually they are a very dignified lot and take great pride in their surroundings and the fact that they hail from that region. Also they are very hospitable. Sadly, not so at Peb.
After around 15 min. of climb we reached the first tower. The first thing that caught our eye was disfigurement. One angle bore the names of various miscreants who’d been there. Slightly away, in red paint was written, ‘I love you’ and so on the disfigurement was spread all over. That was just a trailer of what we were to witness once up. By now the sun was burning our skin. Being close to Mumbai, the humidity quotient was abysmally high. We were hot as well as wet. Anup was already feeling the heat and in the heat of the moment proclaimed that he was a 70% spent force whereas we had covered just 10% ground. Nevertheless we carried on. Within the next 15 minutes we entered the dense forest cover and, to our great delight, our fortune changed. Till a few minutes back what was peak summer was now a rainy season. Lo behold, it had started raining! The rain drops were like energy boosters and we decided to cover as much ground while the weather was good. Though it was July there was no sign of the famous Peb waterfall anywhere.
A number of groups had decided to trek Peb on the same day. Some groups were already ahead of us while we could spot other groups way below, starting their climb. On our way we met a group from L&T. One was a lady in her 40s and one Mr Arun whom we saw resting whenever
we saw him. We indulged in an interesting conversation which started with Sanjay’s ICICI Prudential Tee. Soon we came to the rock patch which is a bit difficult to climb. Already there was a queue at the patch. But because there were so many people around, the climb didn’t feel much. The rocks were getting slippery as we gained height. Green moss had engulfed most of the rocks, especially so where there was deep valley on the other side. So we had to tread carefully.
By 1.30 pm we reached the Swami Samarth cave along with the 28-member group from Kshitiz. The caves are twin caves and are in a well-kept condition. They are clean, airy and with ample light inside. The outer walls of the caves bore the signs of the sad state of our society. Not some but many assholes had written their names all over the walls, proclaiming love for their unfortunate ones. As we were witnessing this sorry sight, few enterprising individuals tried using a banana shaped leaf as a funnel to channel water in the empty bottles. But with little luck. The sun had really sapped every one of their body fluids.
The caves marked Phase I of the trek. The real fun lied ahead. Anup was exhausted and decided to stay put in the caves. While Sanjay, Soppa and myself proceeded to the Paduka. We encountered another traffic jam at the first and only ‘shidi’ at Peb. It’s a strong, reassuring metal shidi that’s fastened to the rock with steel clips. The real difficult part of the trek began just after. To the left was a rock patch with water running over it and black-green moss lording over it. To the right was the way which all other trekkers took except us and few other like-thinking souls. The patch was tricky as it was very slippery. Slip and you go straight down the 2214 feet valley. W
The Date: 22nd July 2007
The Place: PEB Fort, also known as ‘Vikatgad’
The Height: 2100ft
The Way: From Neral to Fanaswadi
The Weather: Hot, humid (in July)
The Trekkers: Soppa (the every-hungry kid), Sanjay (the young uncle), Anup (the sub-broker who got a reality check) and Dhaval (me, the one who underestimated Peb)
The experience…
Green. That’s the word. The grass was green. The mountain was green. The trees were green. The Tang sachet was green. The spider was green. Even the rocks were green. And that’s when reality finally sank in. The trek’s was going to be one slippery trek. Yeah that’s the trek to Peb fort on 22nd July 2007. The caves on the fort which were primarily used as silos for grain storage by the great Shivaji Maharaj.
It was Sunday and the weather in Mumbai was perfect. When I reached Dadar around 6.40 am it had just started raining. I thought great, if it’s raining here in Mumbai then it’ll be raining twice as heavy at Peb. With this happy thought in mind, I started my journey to Neral by 7:03 Karjat local with Sanjay and Anup. The train was jam packed, with mostly trekkers or waterfallers. Little wonder, the regular travelers had a harassed expression on their face and some even vented out their frustration on each other. We reached Neral around 8.45 am. Shamir along with his friends and Soppa were supposed to join us from Pune but that never happened. Shamir forgot his cell phone at home and so none could reach him. He also Add to that Soppa missed his train and reached Neral only at 11.10 am. Since it was too late to start, we decided to take a rick till the base village or Fanaswadi of Peb.
By 11.30 the four of us were treading along the path and asking for directions. There are huge electricity towers on the mountains. The locals directed us to follow the towers and they’ll lead us to the top. Luckily this time, unlike Raireshwar, the locals were right. Probably because there was no woman in them (no disrespect meant). However, there was no sign of rain gods blessing us. Instead the sun was blazing down upon us with all its might. At various points we could hear the chorus of ‘Mama khau de kinwa paise de’ (Mama, give us food or money) from groups of children from the wadi. This was the first time I had heard the local children begging for money so shamelessly. Usually they are a very dignified lot and take great pride in their surroundings and the fact that they hail from that region. Also they are very hospitable. Sadly, not so at Peb.
After around 15 min. of climb we reached the first tower. The first thing that caught our eye was disfigurement. One angle bore the names of various miscreants who’d been there. Slightly away, in red paint was written, ‘I love you’ and so on the disfigurement was spread all over. That was just a trailer of what we were to witness once up. By now the sun was burning our skin. Being close to Mumbai, the humidity quotient was abysmally high. We were hot as well as wet. Anup was already feeling the heat and in the heat of the moment proclaimed that he was a 70% spent force whereas we had covered just 10% ground. Nevertheless we carried on. Within the next 15 minutes we entered the dense forest cover and, to our great delight, our fortune changed. Till a few minutes back what was peak summer was now a rainy season. Lo behold, it had started raining! The rain drops were like energy boosters and we decided to cover as much ground while the weather was good. Though it was July there was no sign of the famous Peb waterfall anywhere.
A number of groups had decided to trek Peb on the same day. Some groups were already ahead of us while we could spot other groups way below, starting their climb. On our way we met a group from L&T. One was a lady in her 40s and one Mr Arun whom we saw resting whenever
we saw him. We indulged in an interesting conversation which started with Sanjay’s ICICI Prudential Tee. Soon we came to the rock patch which is a bit difficult to climb. Already there was a queue at the patch. But because there were so many people around, the climb didn’t feel much. The rocks were getting slippery as we gained height. Green moss had engulfed most of the rocks, especially so where there was deep valley on the other side. So we had to tread carefully.By 1.30 pm we reached the Swami Samarth cave along with the 28-member group from Kshitiz. The caves are twin caves and are in a well-kept condition. They are clean, airy and with ample light inside. The outer walls of the caves bore the signs of the sad state of our society. Not some but many assholes had written their names all over the walls, proclaiming love for their unfortunate ones. As we were witnessing this sorry sight, few enterprising individuals tried using a banana shaped leaf as a funnel to channel water in the empty bottles. But with little luck. The sun had really sapped every one of their body fluids.
The caves marked Phase I of the trek. The real fun lied ahead. Anup was exhausted and decided to stay put in the caves. While Sanjay, Soppa and myself proceeded to the Paduka. We encountered another traffic jam at the first and only ‘shidi’ at Peb. It’s a strong, reassuring metal shidi that’s fastened to the rock with steel clips. The real difficult part of the trek began just after. To the left was a rock patch with water running over it and black-green moss lording over it. To the right was the way which all other trekkers took except us and few other like-thinking souls. The patch was tricky as it was very slippery. Slip and you go straight down the 2214 feet valley. W
e negotiated the patch without any incidence. A bit ahead the pathway suddenly disappeared. The 
area looked like a mudslide had recently occurred. Nevertheless, a note said that it was the way and we also saw one arrow, hence we proceeded. Ahead was a steep, slippery mud incline with literally no
footholds or rocks. It was like climbing over a plane, smooth surface. We accomplished the climb with some difficulty. The path ahead was more difficult. Luckily for us and all other trekkers who tread by this path, we spotted ropes hanging. Some noble souls had tied ropes to facilitate, rather enable, the climb. Within next 15 minutes we emerged on top, right next to the Paduka. That’s when we realized that we had taken a shortcut which cut a straight vertical line from the shidi. From that vantage point we could clearly see the toy train tracks winding up the mountain. At one point we could see that the tracks had completely disappeared under a landslide. Yet to bring the toy train and lay the tracks at such a height is an engineering marvel in itself.
The sun was too much to bear on top so we cut short our stay and beat a hasty retreat. Some regulars there advised us not to go down the same way we came up as it was too slippery and dangerous for descent. So we went the regular way. Just then we spotted a temple perched in the valley on the other side of the mountain and we automatically headed that way. On the way we came to the hut where the ‘sadhu’ stays. At the Shiv temple we encountered the next traffic jam. A big group who had come from Matheran, the other side, was already there. There’s a water tank next to the temple. After filling the bottles and taking darshan we turned back. It was 2.15 pm. After being waylaid by a group of local boys, we finally hit the right path. Just then we saw two cow bulls approaching us; rather we were heading in their direction. The boys shouted and told us that these cows charge at people. True to the word, the next moment one of the bulls came charging at us. We immediately ran in different directions. Luckily the bull gave up the chase and left us alone. The regular path was a fairly straight one and we reached the cave in half an hour by 3.00 pm. Anup was dutifully waiting for us to have lunch.
Soppa was hungry ever since we started our trek. So without wasting any time we sat for lunch. And what a lunch it was! Sanjay had brought home made delicious ‘thepalas’ and mouth watering Masala rice/khichdi. It was nothing less than lunching at a premium restaurant but with a breathtaking view of the valley which no restaurant will offer. Soppa laid down for his customary nap. One by one the other groups had started going down. At 4.00 pm we too packed bags and headed back, only to find ourselves in yet another traffic jam. With such slippery rock surface, it was always going to be difficult descending. So everyone was proceeding with caution. One by one, step by step we slowly made our way back. Often, using hands for stability.
We encountered an unexpected menace on our way. Mosquitoes. They never let go of a single opportunity to suck our blood. The mosquitoes used to attack us with full vengeance the moment we stopped or slowed down to catch our breath. With some non-stop descending we
reached the tower by 6.00 pm. and the base Fanaswadi by 6.30 pm. Anup had proceeded ahead and was looking bubbly after a refreshing bath in the malnourished river. Soppa, who was stuck up in traffic and his sleep, soon joined. Even on our way back, as we approached the wadi, groups of children started pestering us with their chorus ‘Mama khau de kinwa paise de’. A real disappointment that was.
Back at the wadi we met a young guy from Thane whose native village was the wadi and owned land here. As we got talking, he informed us that couple of days back a couple with their 8-year old son had come to enjoy the waterfall on Peb fort. While enjoying the wonderful waterfall, the man got carried away and slipped over the slippery rocks. But in panic, while slipping, he caught his wife’s hand and dragged her down the valley. In the melee their 8-year old son who was holding his Mom’s hand also got dragged down. Unfortunately, all three lost their lives.
Listening to this sorry twist of fate, we reached the village. Luckily we got a rick to Neral station. That too in merely Rs.20/-. While the ‘chor’ rick in the morning had charged us Rs.70/- and taken us through a different path. As soon as we got in the rick it started raining cats and dogs. We glanced back at Peb fort and a sheet of white clouds had engulfed it. The rains, for which we desperately kept praying for the whole day, finally arrived just when we had departed.
Today, sitting in my comfy office chair, when I look back I realize that the trek to Peb fort was full of unexpected happenings. And that’s what makes it a memorable one for me. To begin with Shamir never joined us and vanished into thin air. Don’t even want to know how and why. Second, it was a hot and humid day what was supposed to be a cool, rainy day. And last, I had underestimated Peb, but still had a great time negotiating the tricky terrain. I’m sure, Sanjay, Anup and Soppa, all will agree!
Photos link: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/560003858hQCTyg
area looked like a mudslide had recently occurred. Nevertheless, a note said that it was the way and we also saw one arrow, hence we proceeded. Ahead was a steep, slippery mud incline with literally no
footholds or rocks. It was like climbing over a plane, smooth surface. We accomplished the climb with some difficulty. The path ahead was more difficult. Luckily for us and all other trekkers who tread by this path, we spotted ropes hanging. Some noble souls had tied ropes to facilitate, rather enable, the climb. Within next 15 minutes we emerged on top, right next to the Paduka. That’s when we realized that we had taken a shortcut which cut a straight vertical line from the shidi. From that vantage point we could clearly see the toy train tracks winding up the mountain. At one point we could see that the tracks had completely disappeared under a landslide. Yet to bring the toy train and lay the tracks at such a height is an engineering marvel in itself.The sun was too much to bear on top so we cut short our stay and beat a hasty retreat. Some regulars there advised us not to go down the same way we came up as it was too slippery and dangerous for descent. So we went the regular way. Just then we spotted a temple perched in the valley on the other side of the mountain and we automatically headed that way. On the way we came to the hut where the ‘sadhu’ stays. At the Shiv temple we encountered the next traffic jam. A big group who had come from Matheran, the other side, was already there. There’s a water tank next to the temple. After filling the bottles and taking darshan we turned back. It was 2.15 pm. After being waylaid by a group of local boys, we finally hit the right path. Just then we saw two cow bulls approaching us; rather we were heading in their direction. The boys shouted and told us that these cows charge at people. True to the word, the next moment one of the bulls came charging at us. We immediately ran in different directions. Luckily the bull gave up the chase and left us alone. The regular path was a fairly straight one and we reached the cave in half an hour by 3.00 pm. Anup was dutifully waiting for us to have lunch.
Soppa was hungry ever since we started our trek. So without wasting any time we sat for lunch. And what a lunch it was! Sanjay had brought home made delicious ‘thepalas’ and mouth watering Masala rice/khichdi. It was nothing less than lunching at a premium restaurant but with a breathtaking view of the valley which no restaurant will offer. Soppa laid down for his customary nap. One by one the other groups had started going down. At 4.00 pm we too packed bags and headed back, only to find ourselves in yet another traffic jam. With such slippery rock surface, it was always going to be difficult descending. So everyone was proceeding with caution. One by one, step by step we slowly made our way back. Often, using hands for stability.
We encountered an unexpected menace on our way. Mosquitoes. They never let go of a single opportunity to suck our blood. The mosquitoes used to attack us with full vengeance the moment we stopped or slowed down to catch our breath. With some non-stop descending we
reached the tower by 6.00 pm. and the base Fanaswadi by 6.30 pm. Anup had proceeded ahead and was looking bubbly after a refreshing bath in the malnourished river. Soppa, who was stuck up in traffic and his sleep, soon joined. Even on our way back, as we approached the wadi, groups of children started pestering us with their chorus ‘Mama khau de kinwa paise de’. A real disappointment that was.Back at the wadi we met a young guy from Thane whose native village was the wadi and owned land here. As we got talking, he informed us that couple of days back a couple with their 8-year old son had come to enjoy the waterfall on Peb fort. While enjoying the wonderful waterfall, the man got carried away and slipped over the slippery rocks. But in panic, while slipping, he caught his wife’s hand and dragged her down the valley. In the melee their 8-year old son who was holding his Mom’s hand also got dragged down. Unfortunately, all three lost their lives.
Listening to this sorry twist of fate, we reached the village. Luckily we got a rick to Neral station. That too in merely Rs.20/-. While the ‘chor’ rick in the morning had charged us Rs.70/- and taken us through a different path. As soon as we got in the rick it started raining cats and dogs. We glanced back at Peb fort and a sheet of white clouds had engulfed it. The rains, for which we desperately kept praying for the whole day, finally arrived just when we had departed.
Today, sitting in my comfy office chair, when I look back I realize that the trek to Peb fort was full of unexpected happenings. And that’s what makes it a memorable one for me. To begin with Shamir never joined us and vanished into thin air. Don’t even want to know how and why. Second, it was a hot and humid day what was supposed to be a cool, rainy day. And last, I had underestimated Peb, but still had a great time negotiating the tricky terrain. I’m sure, Sanjay, Anup and Soppa, all will agree!
Photos link: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/560003858hQCTyg
