Harihar Trek Memories
Sharing the experiences of our trek mates who took some time out to pen down their memories with our team
HARIHAR FORT – THE THRILLING EXPERIENCE
”A Journey is always soothing when you plan it with your family. But if you are looking out for an adventure, the journey has to be with friends who can fuel up the adrenaline rush !!!”
Mere jaise Kisi acche bande ne kaha hai “Nothing good happens after 2 am”. Nahh, I took the first step of this trek after 2am & believe me this was worth every moment. I, Deepesh, Punit & Chaitanya were reminiscing about our lives, cartoons, school, maths, and what not. Chatting up to the present, I spoke about my wish for a trek. Out of the blue Chaitanya said, “Bhai pehle kyu nahi bataya?”and sent the pic of Harihar Fort Trek 8th-9th July. I was amazed to see that picture itself. Thank You so much Chaitanya..!!!
I wasn’t going to let go of this opportunity. With no adieu I hit google searching for the videos and pictures of the place I was astonished and excited. My desire to trek Harihar just kept getting stronger. I dialed to one of the contacts from the picture – MIHIR MAPARA. I introduced myself to him and inquired about the plan further. Yes, with no second thoughts I booked my seat for the trek. Trek to jaana hi hai boss!!! They added me to a WhatsApp group where I got to know about all the people who were about to come to the trek.
8th July- 9:17 pm – Bedekar College Over excited about the trek, I could barely wait to start the journey. Undoubtedly, I was the first at Bedekar College (the meeting point). After 10 – 15 minutes wait, I saw people in trekGYneerz t-shirt, I waved at them. They saw and approached me. Dimple correctly guessed my name right at the first instance, thanks to the WhatsApp group. After about 20 more minutes all of us (around 26 I guess) had gathered. Most of the people knew each other and I was the odd one out. Hahahaha…!! New one!!
I then met Mihir, Pratik, Tanmay, Tushar and Naresh. Then we just talked about our experience, and all other things. One thing to note was that all were talking in Marathi, a language that was least understandable to me. But, I could understand some words over which I can laugh with all. I could understand the gist though not the entire stuff.
Vroom… at 10:30 pm our bus arrived. The wait was finally over. All the girls just ran towards the bus to occupy their favorite seats. After we all were seated, the head count began we had to wait for 2 people. Soon after their arrival our journey began around 11 o’clock .
The entertainment began with Viraj and Tushar’s crazy conversation and comments. Soon they asked each one for an introduction as there were many new people like me in the group. Journey continued with lots of laughter and fun. We had a halt at a petrol pump. Then I fell asleep in bus. We had a second halt for tea, that’s when I woke up. Soon after the break I got indulged in deep sleep. I slept for around 3 hours. Finally we reached the destination which was a base village. All the arrangements from getting freshen up to filling our empty stomach was done. Lazy as I am, I rested in bus for another half an hour. I then got down, freshened up and had breakfast, poha and chai. It was truly a Desi Chai- perfect Indian tea!
After having breakfast, all of us gathered on the road and the senior members divided us into teams headed by Viraj, Tushar and Mihir. I was there in team Viraj with Komal, Tanmay, Vikas and 3-4 others(excuse me for my bad memory of remembering names). After the basic safety measures and some clicks, we began our trekking with a local guide Tukaram.
Initially, we walked into the fields and woods and then our main trek began from the base of the hills. It was not just raining, it was po
uring and winds added to that. The weather was so much cool, the scenery gave me a heavenly feeling. Yes, like heaven. Fog, breeze, wind all the things were just motivating us to move ahead. Tukaram was climbing so fast that we had to stop him after every 2 minutes of walking in order to get the entire herd going together. As we were reached higher altitude, the environment got immensely foggy. Rain started playing Hide and Seek. In fact, whenever we took a halt it started raining heavily. After climbing / walking for about an hour, we stopped on a flat hill. And yes if it is a stop, it’s time for some pics, especially for gals..!!! Lot of pics, lots of talking and yes the heavy winds and rain. Then we had those illusionary pics of us flying over the ground (actually jumping insanely), clicked by Mihir. And we started moving ahead once we had the right pics clicked 😛
As we resumed climbing, the challenges began. The first one was walking on the hill edge. The beauty of nature left me spell bound. No words to describe the beauty of nature. This can be only felt. On one side there was a hill and the other side nothing, no support. That was really amazing. It was majestic. With fun, joy and of course safety we reached the base of the vertical hill, the 80 degree stairs.
One would think that it’s impossible to climb those stairs as you view it from the base. But the real thrill, excitement and adventure was about to begin. The wind was gushing and rain was lashing and the partial view of the stairs due to fog was remarkable. I was truly amazed to see the nature at one of its best. After admiring it to the fullest we finally we started climbing The 80 degree stairs. Each step was smaller than the size of my foot. I helped a few people to move ahead of me on the stairs. While I was on middle stairs, I turned around to have a view, and yes it was ultimate. I stood in the middle of the stair length. I turned back holding a firm grip at the space between the stones. I was in the middle of clouds. I couldn’t see anything but fog. I couldn’t feel anything but embraced by Mother Nature. Rains and breeze. Fog and clouds. Nature and me.
Moving up and finishing the stairs, we entered into the base of the fort via a small orange colored entry. Rested a while there, waiting for others to come. We then moved towards the fort, there comes another beautiful scene, the spiral stairs and yes it is natural. We moved there safely. We were unstoppable against the rain & the wind. Lekin, Bajragabali ke pehredaaro ne rok liya. Luckily we had some biscuits left. Hide and Seek did the trick. Those monkeys allowed us to seek our path to the top. And after a slight walk, we reached the pinnacle…
The Lord Hanuman statue was looking really nice. Again it started raining heavily, very much heavy rain and wind. We sat there; people had their snacks with rainwater, biscuits with rainwater, theplas with rainwater and water with rainwater. Everyone enjoyed the way they wanted to. After around half an hour it was time to descend, return. While returning towards the spiral stairs, the monkeys awaited us again. Pratik gave me a stick to shoo them away. I did manage to do keep everyone safe from the monkeys. Yes, yes, you are welcome cause I know you will thank me. 😉
Safely coming down from the spirals, we were there at the most difficult place to descend, the vertical stairs. People were moving very slowly as the winds were gushing in from various directions. We had to take each step with uttermost care. The thrill was now doubled. In the middle, I again turn around just to get the same heavenly feeling once again. That was the best moment of my trek. Viraj, Pratik and Tushar were there to help people move safely during descent. And behind me were only Naresh, Mihir and Poonam. After I came down from stairs, on to the base, I sat there with Sailee, Tushar, Tushar’s wife, Naresh, Shruti and 2 more people (I am bad at names, sorry guys). We ate chips and biscuits as we waited for Mihir and Poonam to come down. The wait there was the 2nd best moment of my trek. Because of the winds and the location was awesome at that time, satisfying the internal Feelings. Inner peace. The climate and nature were bliss. It gave me the feeling of nirvana. HahaHa..! After sometime, we began to move down. Further descend was easy. We took a little rest in between. Coming down, towards the plains, our paths crossed over a flowing stream. It was clean transparent water. We all sat there, keeping our feet in water. Relaxation… Rest… And Rain…!!!! Few girls began to play in water, after capturing some moments in our cameras we then started moving towards the base village via woods and fields. Finally, reached back at around 3:00 pm, where our trek ended. 
I just removed my wet heavy shoes, washed my hands, changed my t-shirt and directly sat for lunch. Damn! I was so hungry. We had roti, bhaakari, pitla, dal and rice. Roti were comparatively too large. But it tasted really well – a satisfying meal after a blissful trek. After lunch, we headed back towards Thane (Mumbai).
Just like the organizers the arrangement was great. The experience was amazing. I never felt like a newbie anytime. I enjoyed the company of each and everyone. All of you were simply great. No words can quantify the wonderful experience I had. Thank You Pratik bhai, Tushar bhai, Viraj bhai and Mihir bhai..!!
The experience was ultimate, Thank You God for the great opportunity!!! I secretly know you are going to present me with more of these frequently 😀
Awaiting for the next journey.. Till then..Njoy..!!
– Rishabh Bhatia
Thank You Rishabh Bhatia for sharing your experience with trekGYneerz team
HARIHAR FORT – A TREK TO PARADISE IN MAHARASHTRA
Our trek to Harihar fort was scheduled on 8-9th July’16. Initially Purva & I confirmed our names for the trek. But later on one of my cousins, Poonam told me that she too was interested in coming along, so on availability of seats, her name was also confirmed. Even before confirming my name for this trek, I had asked Ridhi to come with me, but she backed out on seeing the trek video on YouTube. On 4th July, another cousin of mine Divya and Poonam’s sister arrived at Mumbai from Qatar for her vacations. She too wanted to join & she somehow convinced Ridhi too. So I asked Mihir, one of the organizers of trekGYneerz, for availability of seats, and I’m really grateful to all the organizers for accommodating both of them at the last moment. Finally all of 4 of us were going on the trek, which apparently was also our 1st trek together alone without our parents.
8th July being Friday, was working day for my parents. Though they were tired, they came to drop us at the Bedekar College (Thane), which was our meeting point. I guess everyone else was a bit surprised to see our parents there because all of them had come on their own except for us. Meeting Purva after so many days, I was very much excited and happy. It was like we were meeting after years. I introduced her to my cousins and she introduced my parents to our trek leader Mihir. A few minutes later our bus arrived & we occupied the vacant seats. Ridhi & Divya sat on the 3rd last seats. I & Poonam sat behind them and Purva sat on the adjacent seat of mine. After everyone had settled down & our bus journey begun, we had our introduction sessions. Purva & I had great time chatting after a long time. After sometime I sat with Poonam & occupied the window seat as she felt cold. I fell asleep after sometime, but I don’t know exactly when. And suddenly I woke up at around 4am when we had reached our base village. It being still dark we rested for around an hour in the bus itself. Later, we freshened up & had our breakfast which was arranged at one of the local native. We had kandapoha & tea for breakfast, my favorite. Once everyone was ready, we arrived on the road which leads us towards the fort. After a few group photos, the organizers gave us a few instructions & provided us with batches bearing ‘trekGYneerz‘ logo, which looked really cool! We were divided in 3 groups headed by Tushar, Viraj and Pratik. We all 5 were in Pratik’s group.A village local named Tukaram was our guide for the trek.
We walked through fields, running water & through muddy patches. The pleasant climate only encouraged us more. At small plateau we all took a break & clicked photos. The organizers did a wonderful job of guiding us as to placing the foot right, pitching the stick, etc. Everyone was helpful. Part of our trek included climbing holding the huge roots of a tree & they guided us perfectly with patience that we could easily climb. We had a few narrow paths where we had to walk literary taking support of the rocks which stood tall besides us. It was so thrilling. We were also greeted by pleasant rain showers, which made me feel like a kid wanting to get drenched. But didn’t do so.
Later we had to climb up 80 degree steep steps. The rocks were so carved that there were spaces made in the corner fronts, wide enough for fingers to penetrate in &get a grip. Also there were continuous strong winds & rain showers. On looking behind, clouds were all I could see. I felt so glad that I was doing this trek. Steps ended at the entrance of an orange door, which signified we had entered the fort. We waited there for sometime drenching our palms in the warm water dripping through the rock above us. For a fraction of second skies cleared & everything around us became visible. Houses, rice-fields, trees appeared so small from there. It felt so good to look down. Further we had to climb 75 degree steps. While we were doing so, a few monkeys blocked our path & moved only after they were offered a pack of Hide & Seek biscuits. At yet another flat surface we all gathered, this time for filling our stomachs. We had theplas, muffins & biscuits with water as rains were not ready to stop & we were too hungry to bother. We spent some time there & started our return journey.
This time Ridhi went with Purva, Dimple, Tanmay, Pratik, Guru & others, while I, Poonam & Divya stayed behind with Mihir, Viraj, Sapna, Anuprita, Rishabh & Naresh. While climbing up I felt no fear at all, but while descending, I was feeling uneasy n felt fear I don’t know what for…I guess Mihir understood & he encouraged me to go on calmly. From a distance I could hear Ridhi scream. The dog presence had frightened her. Though I knew everyone else was there with her but I still wanted to be there for my Chotu, but the distance was much & I couldn’t.
Viraj & Mihir guided us descending on the slopes. We came down the 75degree steps facing them instead of looking down. Then we had to go through the narrow patch & then we had our 80degree steps. Yet again nothing was visible. We could hear the winds blow, so fiercely that at one point I felt I would fly away with the winds. We waited at the door for some time for the clouds to clear but they didn’t & neither did the rains stopped. We had to climb down the steps anyways. Tushar guided me here so well. 80degrees steps climb and descend was the best part of our trek. Later we waited for others to come down at the base of the steps. Once Divya was down, Anu, Sapna & others began descending. I waited for Poonam and was nervous until she actually came down. Once she completed that steps patch I felt relieved. But we had some emergency where Mihir & Viraj came to our rescue. I am so grateful to them for everything. We preferred sitting &moving to walking at steeper slopes. Our bags, shoes & everything else was drenched in mud. When we came down we saw small stream, where we all decided to rest for some time. Initially we had our shoes on, but on Mihir’s advice we all removed them. The water was so cold & we felt so good and relaxed! The feeling was awesome! He was indeed right. After some time we were ready to trek. But something stroked us I don’t know what; I, Poonam, Divya, Anu and Sapna started splashing water on each other like small kids. We enjoyed a lot! We then walked through muddy patches & fields. Standing in the green fields & looking at the fort from base village, it felt unbelievable that I had actually been there. It was an awesome feeling.
Once we were down I searched for Ridhi. When I saw her having lunch along with Purva & others, I felt so good and so proud that my Chotu had completed the trek that too without me being with her. My Chotu has grown up! After some time we changed into dry clothes & had our lunch, which comprised of Pithala-Bhakri, traditional Maharashtrian dish, rice& daal. The food was really awesome especially the daal. After everyone was done with the late lunch, we began our journey back towards home. We all were so tired, we slept & were woken up by the Marathi Dj songs played by the driver which were loud enough as the speakers were near us. But after some time our trek organizers requested driver to stop playing the loud music. Later on few people got down at Bhiwandi naka & the rest at Thane. Harihar fort trek is a trek close to my heart not only because my sisters were also there with me or I could get drenched in the rains 1st time this year, but also because yet again the Mother Nature creation made me realize that we are only a small part of her wonderful creation & that we should respect it. I express my heartfelt gratitude to all the trekGYneerz organizers for arranging this awesome trek & lifetime experience, for being so patient with us; to my parents for understanding me & allowing us all to go on this trek & my Lord for arranging everything!! Thank u! Thank u! Soo much to all!!
– Sailee Tawde
Thank You Sailee Tawde for sharing your experience with trekGYneerz team
So guys lets move towards historic part of the fort…
FortHeight : 3500 feet
Fort Range : Trimbakeshwar
Grade : Medium
District : Nashik
The fort of Harihar, lying on Trimbak range, was of significant importance in earlier periods, as there used to be a route crossing this range connecting Maharashtra to Gujarat. While climbing the fort, we come across a rock-sheet, which has got steps carved in it. Also many grooves have been carved here for additional support. After climbing these steps, we get upto the entrance door. There is a cavern ahead of this door. Again we come across few steps after a short distance walk from this cavern. On climbing these steps we reach to the main entrance door of this fort. The fort has got a tapering plateau with a raised level in the middle.
One secret – door is located at the edge of this fort, but the way to this door has now got blocked. There is a small temple of Lord Hanuman and Lord Shiva on the plateau. A small pond is there in front of this temple. There is small caves on top of the fort accommodating 10-15 people easily. One of the vertical drops of the fort facing the Nirgudpada village is called ‘Scottish kada’, perhaps because it was climbed for the first time in November 1986 by Doug Scott, the legendary Himalayan mountaineer. It took him two days to climb the cliff which is 170 meters in height.
How to reach Harihar Fort :-
Reach Igatpuri from Kasara or Nasik. Then from Igatpuri board in a bus for Trimbakeshwar and alight at Nirgudpada, the base village of Harihar. From here you can reach the fort-top within about two hours via this route
Food Facility :-
Please make your own arrangements as food is available only at base village. You can contact Sanjay Nirgude 9421035554 / 7776893098 for food and restroom at the base village
For more information you can check our facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/trekGYneerz
Thank You
Mihir Mapara