In search of Saraswati…

I joined a group of Dev’s friends for a hike this past Sunday – minus Dev. Dev was still dealing with the consequences of Friday night…

Here was the email (with a few small edits) that was sent out re: the hike:

About Peth (or Kotligad): Peth is a small fort, with a large cave at its base, that sits on top of a mountain at an altitude of 1,550 feet. It’s in the shape of a funnel with a rocky staircase carved in the middle. The mountain that the fort sits on is detached from the main range of the Sahyadiri. The lower plateau is connected with Wandre Khind on the ghats in the east.

About the Hike: It’s about a 2 hour walk from the nearest road (Ambivli) to the base of fort. From the base to the top, it’s about half an hour.

Program: Leave for Ambivli (25km from Karjat) by car (7:30 a.m). Arrive at Ambivli by 9:30 a.m. Follow the trail to Peth. Arrive at Peth village by 11.30 a.m. Arrive at Peth fort by 12:00 p.m. After lunch, head back down to Ambivli. Arrive at Ambivli by 3:30 p.m. Depart for Mumbai. Arrive in Mumbai by 6.00 p.m. (The execution of this program did not go according to plan. We started late, got lost on the way there, had many more rest stops than planned for, then got delayed on the way back thanks to Mumbai traffic. The whole hike itself (with breaks) took approx. five hours.)

Things to bring:
– 2 litres of water /Gatorade
– Lunch
– Hiking shoes (good to have)
– Rain jacket
– Change of clothes (assume it will rain)
– Mosquito repellent

Getting There: We need 2-3 cars, preferably with drivers, but we can coordinate that tomorrow.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 3:09 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.