Height : 3750 ft.
Region : Malshej ghat
My trek date(s) : 13-Jul-2013 / 29-Dec-2013 / 06-Dec-2014
Images from the trek :
Pointers :
How much wow? : Simple yet satisfying is how Pumbaa would put it. The descent from Jivdhan to Ghatghar is thrilling; for inexperienced hikers, it's scare-the-s-out-of-you thrilling.
Difficulty : Easy up to caves at Naneghat. Moderate (strain + some exposed climb) up Jivdhan; risky in monsoon owing to scree on exposed part. (For inexperienced hikers, the Jivdhan climb is difficult owing to a tricky 15-foot climb.) The descent on the Ghatghar side is definitely risky.
Endurance : 2 hours of low/medium climb up to Naneghat caves. 2 more hours of steep climb up to Jivdhan. (And thereabouts to climb down.)
Travel mode : Local + bus (+ local transport like auto/tempo)
Cost : Rs. 250
Travel mode : Local + bus (+ local transport like auto/tempo)
Cost : Rs. 250
Region : Malshej ghat
Trek route : Naneghat gate near Vaishakhare -> Naneghat -> Jivdhan -> back to Naneghat gate (or to Ghatghar)
My trek date(s) : 13-Jul-2013 / 29-Dec-2013 / 06-Dec-2014
Images from the trek :
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| Top: Naneghat covered in clouds at noon (July) Bottom: The same place in winter (December). Nanacha Angtha is seen clearly in the left picture. The way to the plateau is through the gully beside it. |
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| Left: Ghostly electric wires going down from Naneghat Right: Road from Naneghat to Ghatghar disappearing into the mist. Low visibility makes it impossible to see Jivdhan or find the way to its base. |
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| Cliffs on the southern (Ghatghar) side of Jivdhan |
Reaching Naneghat gate
The first bus from Kalyan towards Naneghat gate (- any bus going towards Ale phata, Malshej ghat, Junnar, Nagar) starts at 5:30 AM. Get to the bus stand by 5 if you don't want to make the journey standing. You could talk to the conductor, who might agree to stop at Naneghat gate if you buy a ticket for the next stop (which could be Savarne or Moroshi (?)). Alternatively, you could get down at Tokavade (~Rs. 50), which is the stop just before Naneghat, and take a local ride (~Rs. 10) - auto, taxi, truck (which, apparently, isn't legal) - up to Naneghat gate. Tokavade is 1.5 hours from Kalyan, and Naneghat gate is another 10 minutes further. The gate is on the right side of the road and is clearly marked (- see picture at indiahikes). You need to keep an eye out for it after Tokavade so as not to miss it. As a landmark, you'll see a decrepit restaurant on your left just about 2 minutes before the gate, in a village called Vaishakhare.
Trek to Naneghat
Naneghat is a pretty simple and straightforward trek; once you're at the starting point, it's difficult to lose your way or be unable to climb to the top. http://indiahikes.in/naneghat-trek has a decent description of the trail. http://www.geocities.ws/drchengalva/maps/Naneghat.pdf is an excellent one slide ready reckoner. You essentially walk on a flat muddy trail, cross a stream (or two?) and then start climbing when you reach another stream (or the same one again?), to reach up to a small flat open area in about one hour. The trail thereafter is boulder-strewn and the climb is a little strenuous unless you've been exercising. In another hour or so, you'll see the famed Naneghat caves and reach the plateau.
A couple of home-restaurants have come up on the plateau, where you can even get a room to stay at night, sharing it with other trekkers who may already be holed up there. Apparently, there's no electricity (so, no light at night) in these places.
Walking along a run-down tar road from here, you can reach a bus-stop at Ghatghar in under an hour. Another not-so-clear trail goes up Jivdhan.
Trek to Jivdhan
Very few write-ups about this trail, http://kpy2.tripod.com/sahyadri/malshej/jivdhan/jivdhan.html and http://www.hikesandtreks.com/jivdhan.html being a couple of decent ones.
This is a no-no in the rains - visibility isn't more than 20 feet in the dense clouds and it's practically impossible to find your way.
From Naneghat [#1 in the picture below], you need to walk in the general direction of Vanarlingi (also known as Khada Parsi, which is a thin tall pinnacle almost reaching up to the top of Jivdhan) until you reach the forest at the base of Jivdhan. The trail going inside the forest starts at a point [#7 in the pictures] about 50 metres from the edge of the plateau. Once you find this point, there isn't any scope for confusion going forward. An easy way to find it is to start walking to the right along a tiny stream (or what looks like a tiny stream bed - [#4 to #7]), which you'll find a few metres before the forest. Keep looking for a narrow passage opening between the trees on your left. The passage is very clearly defined once you enter it, so in case you enter the trees and you don't see a very obvious trail ahead of you, know that you're not on the right path. The trail taking you to the stream goes from behind a small hut near a pucca house (called something like Shanti Sadan - [#3]), and is about a 100 metres from the edge of the plateau.
After getting out of the trees on the other side [#8], you have to climb up rock-cut stairs, walk towards your left [#9 to #10 in the picture below] until you get to a small narrow gully almost at the center of the Jivdhan wall, and then climb up along it [#10 to #11]. There's an interesting 15 ft. vertical rock climb in this gully that quite a few people find difficult to tackle.
You could choose to skip Jivdhan and just go to the base of the Vanarlingi pinnacle - do a little rock climb from #9 to 10a, and walk to 11a.
Word of caution - although it's not difficult, most of this climb is exposed and covered with scree, so you're advised to exercise caution!
Unless they're washed away by rains, you'll find arrow marks along the trail on the top of Jivdhan as well. You'll see some impressive cliffs on the southern side of Jivdhan once you're at the top. The total trek will take you about 2 hours - about 30 minutes to the beginning of the forest, 30 minutes across it, and another hour's climb to the top.
Some fellow trekkers advised us not to descend towards Ghatghar as there's a small patch in the beginning where you have very little foot space and handholds. Not sure how difficult it really was. Anyway, we didn't descend on that side because we couldn't figure out exactly where the downward trail started!
But we did, a year later, when some folks in the group refused to climb down from the Naneghat side owing to the 15-ft rock patch, arguing nothing could be more difficult. That sort of conviction usually makes for an interesting retrospective :).
[Addendum from Dec-2014] To get to the beginning of the downward trail, you have to walk down from a granary, which is not difficult to find once you're at the top, and then follow trails to your right. If you come to a dead end and don't see the trail, walk back a little, cross the big rock that you'll likely see to your right, and check on the other side. If you still don't see it, walk back to the granary, start walking parallel to your earlier trails (west, if you will), but at the same level as the granary. In a couple of minutes you'll be able to see the first rock-cut steps below. Figure out how to get there. After the initial rocky descent, the next part is less risky, but slippery nevertheless due to scree and some steep rocks, which you'll have to tackle sitting. There are white arrows on the way pointing towards Jivdhan. Even if you miss them, go by your instincts. Novices, and in fact everybody, should be careful during the descent. It will take you anything between 2-4 hours to reach Ghatghar.
Return
Option 1 - End the trek at Ghatghar. Take a bus to Junnar, which is almost an hour away, and then another bus to Kalyan, Pune or wherever you're going. Kalyan is 3+ hours from Junnar. The last bus from Ghatghar to Junnar is at 4:15 PM or so, and the last bus from Junnar to Kalyan is at 5:30 PM or so. Note: Even if locals tell you the last bus is at 5:15 PM, after the road between Ghatghar and Junnar was repaired, buses have started running ahead of schedule and the last bus still leaves by 4:15. If you miss the bus you could request a local to take you to Junnar or to some point on the highway (Madha or Pargaon) in a jeep. Could charge you anything from 250 to a 1000 depending on how late it is and how desperate you are. Wait for a bus on the highway.
Option 2 - End the trek at Naneghat gate. Hope that a bus going to Kalyan will halt to pick you up. Or walk for an hour to Tokavade, which has a bus stop; you might have to go standing all the way till Kalyan, especially on a Sunday evening. Alternatively, you could hitchhike to Kalyan.
Alternatives
You could also do this trek the other way round - climb Jivdhan from Ghatghar, descend on the northern side (towards Naneghat), and go further down to Naneghat gate after walking along the plateau.
If you're too tired, you could just do one leg of the trek - [Naneghat gate -> Naneghat -> Ghatghar] or [Ghatghar -> Naneghat -> Naneghat gate] or [Ghatghar -> Jivdhan -> Ghatghar]. Or maybe just park your car on the Naneghat plateau (- you need to drive from Junnar), walk down halfway from Naneghat (up to the first flat clearing) and climb back up again.
The first bus from Kalyan towards Naneghat gate (- any bus going towards Ale phata, Malshej ghat, Junnar, Nagar) starts at 5:30 AM. Get to the bus stand by 5 if you don't want to make the journey standing. You could talk to the conductor, who might agree to stop at Naneghat gate if you buy a ticket for the next stop (which could be Savarne or Moroshi (?)). Alternatively, you could get down at Tokavade (~Rs. 50), which is the stop just before Naneghat, and take a local ride (~Rs. 10) - auto, taxi, truck (which, apparently, isn't legal) - up to Naneghat gate. Tokavade is 1.5 hours from Kalyan, and Naneghat gate is another 10 minutes further. The gate is on the right side of the road and is clearly marked (- see picture at indiahikes). You need to keep an eye out for it after Tokavade so as not to miss it. As a landmark, you'll see a decrepit restaurant on your left just about 2 minutes before the gate, in a village called Vaishakhare.
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| Naneghat and Jivdhan as seen at the onset of the trek. Naneghat (and Nanacha Angtha) is in the left half; Jivdhan (and Vanarlingi/Khada Parsi - the pillar) is in the right half. |
Trek to Naneghat
Naneghat is a pretty simple and straightforward trek; once you're at the starting point, it's difficult to lose your way or be unable to climb to the top. http://indiahikes.in/naneghat-trek has a decent description of the trail. http://www.geocities.ws/drchengalva/maps/Naneghat.pdf is an excellent one slide ready reckoner. You essentially walk on a flat muddy trail, cross a stream (or two?) and then start climbing when you reach another stream (or the same one again?), to reach up to a small flat open area in about one hour. The trail thereafter is boulder-strewn and the climb is a little strenuous unless you've been exercising. In another hour or so, you'll see the famed Naneghat caves and reach the plateau.
A couple of home-restaurants have come up on the plateau, where you can even get a room to stay at night, sharing it with other trekkers who may already be holed up there. Apparently, there's no electricity (so, no light at night) in these places.
Walking along a run-down tar road from here, you can reach a bus-stop at Ghatghar in under an hour. Another not-so-clear trail goes up Jivdhan.
Trek to Jivdhan
Very few write-ups about this trail, http://kpy2.tripod.com/sahyadri/malshej/jivdhan/jivdhan.html and http://www.hikesandtreks.com/jivdhan.html being a couple of decent ones.
This is a no-no in the rains - visibility isn't more than 20 feet in the dense clouds and it's practically impossible to find your way.
From Naneghat [#1 in the picture below], you need to walk in the general direction of Vanarlingi (also known as Khada Parsi, which is a thin tall pinnacle almost reaching up to the top of Jivdhan) until you reach the forest at the base of Jivdhan. The trail going inside the forest starts at a point [#7 in the pictures] about 50 metres from the edge of the plateau. Once you find this point, there isn't any scope for confusion going forward. An easy way to find it is to start walking to the right along a tiny stream (or what looks like a tiny stream bed - [#4 to #7]), which you'll find a few metres before the forest. Keep looking for a narrow passage opening between the trees on your left. The passage is very clearly defined once you enter it, so in case you enter the trees and you don't see a very obvious trail ahead of you, know that you're not on the right path. The trail taking you to the stream goes from behind a small hut near a pucca house (called something like Shanti Sadan - [#3]), and is about a 100 metres from the edge of the plateau.
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| Approximate trail on the plateau from Naneghat to the base of Jivdhan. You don't necessarily have to follow this route; walk any which way you want, but make sure your destination is as marked - that's the only point from where you can cross the forest (- see image below for greater detail). |
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| Approximate trail to Jivdhan (continued). Whatever route you take, you must reach #7 - that's where you enter the forest. |
You could choose to skip Jivdhan and just go to the base of the Vanarlingi pinnacle - do a little rock climb from #9 to 10a, and walk to 11a.
Word of caution - although it's not difficult, most of this climb is exposed and covered with scree, so you're advised to exercise caution!
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| Approximate path to Jivdhan from its base |
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| Top-left: Partially blown out rock-cut stairs just after the forest at the base of Jivdhan Top-right: Trail up to the beginning of the gully Bottom-left: The gully Bottom-right: On top of Jivdhan. Naneghat's to the left; Ghatghar to the right. |
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| 15-ft rock patch on the Naneghat side of Jivdhan (view from the bottom and top) |
Some fellow trekkers advised us not to descend towards Ghatghar as there's a small patch in the beginning where you have very little foot space and handholds. Not sure how difficult it really was. Anyway, we didn't descend on that side because we couldn't figure out exactly where the downward trail started!
But we did, a year later, when some folks in the group refused to climb down from the Naneghat side owing to the 15-ft rock patch, arguing nothing could be more difficult. That sort of conviction usually makes for an interesting retrospective :).
[Addendum from Dec-2014] To get to the beginning of the downward trail, you have to walk down from a granary, which is not difficult to find once you're at the top, and then follow trails to your right. If you come to a dead end and don't see the trail, walk back a little, cross the big rock that you'll likely see to your right, and check on the other side. If you still don't see it, walk back to the granary, start walking parallel to your earlier trails (west, if you will), but at the same level as the granary. In a couple of minutes you'll be able to see the first rock-cut steps below. Figure out how to get there. After the initial rocky descent, the next part is less risky, but slippery nevertheless due to scree and some steep rocks, which you'll have to tackle sitting. There are white arrows on the way pointing towards Jivdhan. Even if you miss them, go by your instincts. Novices, and in fact everybody, should be careful during the descent. It will take you anything between 2-4 hours to reach Ghatghar.
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| Lower half of the rock patch on the Ghatghar side of Jivdhan. The patch starts about 15 ft above the top of what you're seeing. It's risky and should be avoided if it's raining or if you don't have anyone with relevant experience in the group. |
Return
Option 1 - End the trek at Ghatghar. Take a bus to Junnar, which is almost an hour away, and then another bus to Kalyan, Pune or wherever you're going. Kalyan is 3+ hours from Junnar. The last bus from Ghatghar to Junnar is at 4:15 PM or so, and the last bus from Junnar to Kalyan is at 5:30 PM or so. Note: Even if locals tell you the last bus is at 5:15 PM, after the road between Ghatghar and Junnar was repaired, buses have started running ahead of schedule and the last bus still leaves by 4:15. If you miss the bus you could request a local to take you to Junnar or to some point on the highway (Madha or Pargaon) in a jeep. Could charge you anything from 250 to a 1000 depending on how late it is and how desperate you are. Wait for a bus on the highway.
Option 2 - End the trek at Naneghat gate. Hope that a bus going to Kalyan will halt to pick you up. Or walk for an hour to Tokavade, which has a bus stop; you might have to go standing all the way till Kalyan, especially on a Sunday evening. Alternatively, you could hitchhike to Kalyan.
Alternatives
You could also do this trek the other way round - climb Jivdhan from Ghatghar, descend on the northern side (towards Naneghat), and go further down to Naneghat gate after walking along the plateau.
If you're too tired, you could just do one leg of the trek - [Naneghat gate -> Naneghat -> Ghatghar] or [Ghatghar -> Naneghat -> Naneghat gate] or [Ghatghar -> Jivdhan -> Ghatghar]. Or maybe just park your car on the Naneghat plateau (- you need to drive from Junnar), walk down halfway from Naneghat (up to the first flat clearing) and climb back up again.
Other references :
Here are some brief summaries you could refer to:
http://www.oocities.org/trekforts/f_nane.html
http://thesahyadriresource.blogspot.in/2012/02/naneghat.html
http://deepabhi.tripod.com/jivdhan.html (- mentions of a difficult rock patch on the trail from Ghatghar)
And some detailed write-ups not already alluded to above:
http://ratangadbhandardaratrek.blogspot.in/2010/10/nane-ghat.html
http://rohanrrao.wordpress.com/2007/04/13/naneghat-atreasure-house-of-history http://itrekz.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/jivdhan
Here are some brief summaries you could refer to:
http://www.oocities.org/trekforts/f_nane.html
http://thesahyadriresource.blogspot.in/2012/02/naneghat.html
http://deepabhi.tripod.com/jivdhan.html (- mentions of a difficult rock patch on the trail from Ghatghar)
And some detailed write-ups not already alluded to above:
http://ratangadbhandardaratrek.blogspot.in/2010/10/nane-ghat.html
http://rohanrrao.wordpress.com/2007/04/13/naneghat-atreasure-house-of-history http://itrekz.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/jivdhan
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