Sandhan Valley

Height : Not quite relevant; this one's more about the terrain. You actually climb down all the way, from about 700 m. to about 200 m.

Wow factor : Offbeat - probably the only ravine trek in the region. Ghostly (especially if you don't make it out of the jungle by dusk), and adventurous if you like bouldering.

Difficulty : Moderate with a few difficult / puzzling patches, up to 3 of them technical (- rappelling involved). Lots of bouldering involved. Practically impossible in the rains.

Endurance : 5-8 hours (depending on the number of people, and breaks) of downhill bouldering and rappelling, followed by 2 hours of flat walk.

Travel mode : Local (+ bus/jeep)
Cost : Rs. 1100+ (- we had a professional group manage the entire trip including the jeeps, the snacks, and the rappelling)

Region : Bhandardara / Igatpuri / Kasara

Trek route : Samrad -> Sandhan valley -> Varpadi/Dehane

My trek date(s) : 27-Apr-2014 / 22-Mar-2015

Diary (of 27-Apr-2014 dotted with updates from 22-Mar-2015) :
Overconfident after a few independent treks last year, I was contemplating doing this trek similarly - without a professional group. Thought I'll buy myself some rope, learn knots and rappelling from Youtube, look up the trek route on blogs, and just get going. Turned out that it wasn't a tough trek, but in retrospect, I'm glad I didn't give in to my foolish ideas. Here's how our day looked:

Kalsubai - with a twist

Height : 5400 ft. (- highest peak in the Sahyadris; the typical trek starts from about 2700 ft.)

Flavor : Butterscotch if you add the twist; plain vanilla otherwise.

Difficulty : Easy (- would have labeled it moderate for the strain had it not been for the tens of kids and grand-moms we saw climbing effortlessly); not risky/scary.

Endurance : 2-3 hours of medium/steep climb and 1.5 hours of descent. (Total time : 1 day ex-Mumbai)

Travel mode : Train + bus (+ jeep)

Cost : Rs.250 per person

Region : Igatpuri south

Trek route : Jahagirdarwadi (/ Bari) -> Kalsubai from the east -> walk around ridge to southern tip and west -> walk back and descend to Bari

My trek date : 7th Oct 2013

Experience :

It's 3 o'clock in the afternoon. You think you're on your way back to civilization when your trail abruptly ends and you realize you're lost. You remember that this is precisely what the locals had warned you about - there is no human defined trail where you're going. You're not worried; you think you have a general idea of the right direction, so you can back up a little and get on track. But precisely at that point, a thick cloud cover descends around you and visibility drops to 5 feet; it becomes late-evening dark. You recall that locals had told you it's an animal trail and that tigers and wild boars frequent the area when it gets dark. You try to keep your mind clear and not to panic.