Ogda Waterfall in Palghar district in Maharashtra

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Ogda Waterfall is located in Palghar district in Maharashtra. Directions to the waterfall are easily available on Google Maps.

One has to travel on the Western Express Highway, exit the highway at Manor, from there travel to Wada. From Wada one has to travel by the internal roads leading to Khodala. Ogda Waterfall is on the way.

The tip of Kohoj fort covered in clouds

 We comprising of Manohar, Dominic and Fathima decided to visit the waterfall.

That's us, Manohar, Dominic, Fathima and Me

We met up at Andheri (intersection of the metro line and the western express highway) around  6:50 AM. Stopped for a CNG tank fuelling at Dahisar and then headed over the Western Express Highway.

The sun was shining, not a drop of rain nor a rainy cloud in the sky. As it was the  month of July, we were hoping to have some showers to make the trip a memorable one.

Rain drops on the window pane

We traveled to Manor,  exited the highway and traveled on the state highway to reach Wada. It had rained here as the ground was wet also there was water accumulated on the side of the road, meaning that it has been raining heavily here.

Wet roads leading to Ogda Waterfall

I looked up in the sky, and saw us surrounded by dark clouds, so the rains were due anytime soon. With the rains, the view from the roads was scenic. Lush greenery all around, small water streams all over the place, muddy water accumulated all around and saw people farming too. It's been a long time, I have stepped in a farm. Maybe will do it in our next trip. I remember as a child, I used to accompany my Mom to the fields. 

Pond we located on our way to Ogda Waterfall

That's us at the pond premises

We crossed by Kohoj Fort, It took me three attempts to conquer it. Also do read about my camping trip at the Shelte Water Lake, at the base of the fort. This was my first attempt at camping. Hehe.

We travelled on the narrow and winding roads to reach Wada. Wada was packed with people, the narrow roads, filled with people made it impossible for us to drive through. Not sure why the roads are so narrow on a small town.

Ogda Waterfall

Fathima and Me at Ogda Waterfall

Nevertheless we decided to carry on to our destination, Ogda Waterfall.

It is advisable to, tag the places on Google maps at the start of the journey, as the phone looses network signals often. We had Vodafone and Reliance JIO SIM, but no network in the interiors of Maharashtra.  As the places are marked on Google maps, GPS helps you to know where you are on the maps.

A large river near Ogda Waterfall

It took us around 3.5 hours to reach the Ogda Waterfall (taking time spent at CNG fuelling and having breakfast ) into consideration.

Let me inform you, that the only way of reaching this waterfall is by travelling by private mode of transport. I hardly saw an rickshaw, tum tum nor ST bus while reaching this place.

A large river near Ogda Waterfall

Not many people are aware of this waterfall. Apart from the four of us, there was a group of locals, who were also there, they had had their dip in the waters and were busy preparing lunch.

An old bridge we saw on the way to the Ogda Waterfall

The water was flowing down a hill in a distance and so the flow of the water was a strong one, we decided not to get into the water but to sit at the banks so that we can wet our feet in the water.

Soaking one's feet in the ice cold water was relaxing to our feet. I wasted no time in soaking my hands and also washing my face in the water. I felt so relaxed. All the tiredness was long gone.

Fields

Manohar and Me love travelling to these offbeat places, as we don't like crowds and like to have nature all by ourselves. I have been to a couple of waterfalls before,  some crowded and some not so crowded. Here click on the names of the waterfalls to read about them. Bhivpuri, Palasdhari, Zenith, Chinchoti, Dhabosa at Jawahar and Kalote.

Farmer ploughing his field

Sat there while Dominic, had a good time in the flowing water, when then crossed the road and headed onto the other side, only to see a confluence of the water from the waterfall and a river flowing. The water was muddy, so we didn't venture in it, nor did we go for a swim in it.

Note: There is no provision for food and water here, so one has to carry it. We had picked up our supplies from the highway itself.

That's lunch

Khodala is a small town, a couple of KM's away, there is provision for food and water here. We were happy that we managed to get ourselves Chinese food here. It is a norm on our trips to have Chinese food for lunch and dinner. Though it is just 20 KM away it took us around 1 1/2 hours to reach there, as the roads are narrow and curvy and not in very good condition, but it offers a scenic view of the surroundings.

Another water body on the way

The weather suddenly changed and the rains set in. It accompanied us all the way back to Mumbai. We had to drive slowly on the narrow roads and so it consumed a lot of time and finally we reached Mumbai around 8PM.

That's us again

We had a good time in the trip, thanks to the rains, the weather was even better.

Camping at the Shelte Water Lake near Kohoj Fort in Maharashtra.

Monday, July 10, 2017

Shelte Water Lake is located at Shelte Village, which is located near Vaghote village. Vaghote village is the landmark. Vaghote village is located very close to the Manor Wada road. By train the closest railway station is Palghar. From there one can either board a ST bus or a chartered rickshaw or switch tum tum at Tain village to get here. The closest fort is Kohoj. 

View from Shelte Water Lake near Kohoj Fort in Maharashtra

 I had traveled by the side of Shelte Water Lake thrice, as it took me three attempts to conquer Kohoj fort. This is my first camping trip, hoping everything goes well is all that was in my head.

This trip was planned with office colleagues and finally on the D day it was just Hansel and me who ventured on this trip. Remember Hansel, he had accompanied me to Aswali Dam and Shiv Kalin Vihir in Badlapur.

Shelte Water Lake near Kohoj Fort in Maharashtra

We met at 1 PM at Amboli near my place, then filled petrol and then off we went via the western express Highway to Manor. The directions to Vaghote village are tagged on google maps. It is around 90 km away. i.e around 2 hours to reach.

Kohoj Fort in the backdrop

As it was the month of May, it was hot. Though we were travelling on the bike the sun still managed to burn the skin off my hand as it was not covered. I should have taken Hansel's advise and worn a long sleeve shirt.

Road leading to Kohoj Fort from Shelte Water lake

We crossed the Versova bridge aka Vasai bridge without any traffic. Which was good. The roads were clear and hence we picked up on speed to reach destination. We took just one pit stop and finally we were at the base village of Vaghote. We got off the Manor Wada road and asked the locals for directions as a lot of changes have been geographically made to the land. Google Maps was of not much help now as these were village roads and the all looked the same.

That's Hansel and Me

Finally after asking a couple of locals for directions we were finally at the Shelte Water Lake. The locals call it the "Bhandara."

The time was now 3:30 PM on my watch. It was hot as hell here. We parked the bike in the shade of a tree and sat there to kill time. Thanks to the tree we were greeted with the winds at regular intervals.

That's the tent and the bike

Many kids from the villages nearby were in the water, either bathing or cooling themselves from the summer heat. The women folk were busy washing clothes in the lake water. This water is surely not fit for consumption purposes.

Hansel setup to explore the lake surroundings in search of dry twigs so that we can have a bonfire post sundown. He managed to accumulate a lot of twigs, I had carried newspapers for easy combustion and we were lucky to get a matchstick box filled with matchstick right at the place where we had parked his bike.

Sun is setting

The weather was playing games with us, suddenly there was cool breeze blowing and suddenly there was no breeze as at all.

As this was my first camping trip, I had carried powerbank, USB LED light, mosquito repellent, along with food and plenty of water,  we didn't carry any liquor as we were on a camping trip. Hansel pitched the tent,  though one of the rods gave in, we still managed to make use of the bike to provide support to our tent.

Another pic of Hansel and Me

Hansel lighted the bon fire. It was a pleasant evening, we talked and talked and finally we were bored talking so we decided to eat supper. Supper comprised of mashed potatoes, boiled chicken with coriander and tomatoes. I agree the food was bland but it was high in carbohydrates and protein. Felt super energized. LOL.

There were a bunch of locals, who too had come to the lake side to have a small party. They asked us if we were carrying liquor and if we could share the same with them. We informed them that we were not carrying liquor, but they could join us for supper as we had food in plenty.

Waters of Shelte Lake

The locals had got with them a float (truck tube) and a fishing net, one of them sat on the float and setup the fishing net  in the lake. They too had lit a bonfire. We could see three more bonfires lit around the lake premises. Interesting , not sure if they were locals or campers.

The locals who were having a party, managed to catch some fish, cook it in a chatty and had their full and finally called it a night at around 10:30 PM.

Bonfire

I too called it a night, the tent could accommodate two people, had we parked the bags outside the tent. But as we had the bags inside only one person could sleep in it.

Hansel had made up his mind that he would stay awake all night long. What and Why were the questions popping up in my head. But that's what he wanted to do. Not sure as there was nothing to do in the dead of the night. I handed him over my phones so that he could keep himself occupied by surfing the internet or watching movies that were already on the phone. Both Vodafone and Reliance Jio had strong signals here, sadly the breeze was playing up, which made sleeping a difficult task for me. Not sure if I was suffering from Sleep Wake Disorder. But I didn't manage to get deep sleep. See the photos clicked by Hansel, I am sleeping, half my body is outside the tent.

Dinner : Mashed Potato and Boiled Chicken

We woke up, or should I say I woke up around 5:45 AM. It was dawn then. Hansel managed to get some good snaps of the surrounding till then.

Dawn

As it was pleasant in the morning, we decided to go for a walk around the lake premises. We didn't cover the entire lake premises, but just a small part of it. The sound of the birds chirping on the trees was music to our ears. I was so happy to hear that sound. It was much better than the sound of the alarm which wakes me up, everyday.

That's Me

We saw a fisherman, who had come early, he headed to the waters, not sure if he was trying to put the net or trying to remove the net. Hoping that he gets a good catch.

Dawn

We then freshened up, and decided to head back to Amboli. We left around 7:45 AM to reach Amboli at 9:00 AM. As there was hardly any traffic on the road, and the weather was all gloomy we managed to speed up on the highway.

Kohoj Fort and Shelte Water Lake

We managed to cover the entire trip in Rs.600 for two. Impressive na.

Kohoj fort in Palghar

Thursday, January 29, 2015

This was my third attempt at conquering Kohoj   I was unsuccessful in the past as we had got lost on the hills, due to no proper directions.  

Kohoj Fort

On the day I was visiting Durgadi Fort, I decided to ask Manohar, Dominic and Nayan if they were free to accompany me to Kohoj fort. 

Nayan had plans so it was just the three of us here. 

Reflection of Kohoj Fort in the waters

Now I had not informed Manohar and Dominic that I had tried climbing this fort, twice earlier but had failed.

Arrow signs on the rocks

We decided to meet on the Western Express Highway. At the intersection of the Metro line, Jog Flyover and the Highway. The same place we met while we traveled to Jawahar. We were traveling in the car.

Manohar, Dominic and Me

We met at 7:45 AM and headed off on the highway to see Kohoj Fort. As it was early in the morning there was not much traffic on the road. P.S. after Virar there is a bottle neck due to road maintenance.

Sheep

The  Western Express Highway aka NH8.  We braked for breakfast at Hotel Kamat's. As said by Manohar many a times on treks, a good breakfast is always necessary while on treks and we did just that.

Shoe soles

There are three toll naka's on the way.

We then headed off the Manor Wada Road to reach village Vaghote. The base village to Kohoj Fort. Please refer to google maps for navigation. It is accurate. We were at the base at 10:05 AM.

Dominic with snake skin

Picked up our bagpacks and we headed off to conquer Kohoj.

Now there are signs in the form of arrows on the rocks, so that you don't get lost. This time we decided to follow the signs, unlike last time when we got lost up the hills.

Ants mating

If you follow the signs, you will first cross, a water body cut in the rock, fields and later the heart shaped dam. 

If unsure then ask the villagers around, they too will guide you. Near the dam we were not able to locate the signs so we asked a Shepard and she guided us. Her dialect was a bit difficult to understand but we still managed to be on the right track.

Temple

Once you cross the dam section, the trek starts, now there are proper signs placed on rocks, that one does not get lost. A big Thank You to the trekking group who has done this.

We followed the signs and in a matter of 2 1/2 hours we were atop the fort. Now remember the climb is a bit difficult. The path is full of loose soil, and stones and rocks. It is a rollercoaster ride up and down the hill. Now we were not climbing Kohoj, but the hills before it to reach Kohoj. The topmost stretch is very steep and to top it, has loose soil. So be careful.

Graffiti on the walls of a tank cutout from rock

Nothing much to see atop the fort. It has a couple of temples here. Now the fortification was missing. How can it be called a fort with no fortification. I asked myself.

Ideal spot for camping atop Kohoj Fort

We had lunch in the form of sandwiches, cakes, thepla and then proceeded to climb the highest point of the fort. 

On our way to the topmost point of the fort

Not much is known about the history of this fort.

Now we were not alone on the fort, there were villagers too who were there to celebrate. They had bought along with them live chicken, rice and masalas and utensils to prepare lunch. Plus they got beer too. How can they drink hot beer? I asked myself. Strange 

That's Me

Finally on the topmost point of the fort we saw the fortification. The walls, but just a small part of it. I believe the rest of it might have collapsed over the years. This is all that remains of it. 

Fortification

Took a couple of videos along with photos atop the fort. Now this as the tallest point amongst the hill ranges around. I was happy about the fact that I as on the tallest point and that like the previous two attempts I didn't get lost on the hills.

Another Temple

Took a couple of lessons in regards to ascending and descending hills from Manohar, which would benefit me in the long run. 

There are a couple of water bodies, cut in the rock which are used to store water. As we stopped to fuel our water bottles we noticed the villagers taking beer bottles out of the water. It then occured to us that the beer bottles were getting chilled in the cold water. Aha now it makes sense to drink beer on the hilltop.

Highest point on the fort

We also saw them cooking up the hill.

There were a couple of them who had come there to hunt for rabbits. They had laid nets all over the place for them. I couldn't locate any rabbits up the hill.

Manohar and me with our sticks

We then decided to descend the hill. The time was around 03:45 PM on my watch. As we are still in the winter season nightfall happens around 05:30 PM. So we had to be down before that and to top it we could not afford to get lost.

Another reflection of Kohoj fort in the waters

As I mentioned the initial stretch is difficult as it is a 75 degree climb over loose soil, so it took time to descend, then as I mentioned it was a roller coaster ride downhill. 

Manohar, Dominic and Me at the topmost point of the fort

Finally at 05:10 PM we were near the heart shaped lake. Refreshed ourselves in the waters and then headed off to the car to head back home. We kickstarted our journey at 06:40 PM to reach our start point at Andheri at 09:10 PM. It took us time due to the bottlenecks and traffic around. 

Heart Shaped Lake

The good thing about this trek, is that after two failed attempts, I was finally able to conquer it. Sadly nothing much remains atop the fort, a few temples, water tanks and fortification. The second good thing is , it is the highest point in that hill range and so offers a very good view of the hills, valleys, farms, houses and roads below. Maybe was not a fort but a watchtower to watch over the land below.