Kalsubai & Satara: a whirlwind trip in 4 days

August 16, 2017

August 15, 2017 was a holiday, and by taking August 14 off, I could get four days of continuous travel squeezed in.

This time, I felt Mt.Kalsubai, the highest mountain in Maharashtra at 1646 m, deserved a look. While nowhere near Stok Kangri (6,183 m) that I had done, it has its own place. Except in altitude over sea level, mountains have their individual challenges, beauty and charm. And most of all, each journey has been completely different, in weather, climate, and most of all, people.

Marathi Manus in a train from Kalyan Junction to Kasara, replete with Gandhi topi, a pair of spectacles, and clutching the obligatory case.

I started on August 11 night, reached Kalyan on August 12 morning, planned to reach Kasara by afternoon, and my base camp at Bara by evening. On the local Kalyan-Kasara train, I finally found a passenger reading a real paper book, squatting cross-legged by the window. And an entire row of passengers not immersed in their mobile phones - notice the other row still has a half-lobotomised person with a feature phone.

This is really the village of Jahagirdarwadi adjoining the village Bari where I rested for the night.

My host, Ravindra Khade's father, and 7 month old son, with his wife in the background. Their houses was very clean, and I really enjoyed the chicken and bhakri (rice roti) cooked for me. Adivasis are very proud of the rice that they grow themselves, using minimal or no fertilizer. Bari village depends on the external world for all their other vegetables, but grows its own rice and wheat.

Ravindra Khade has a website, runs a hotel, has a second hand Maruti 800 car, a computer system with access to the Internet. Anyone interested in going there can try www.kalsubai.com for complete details.

Bhandardara Dam - A stone dam made a hundred years ago.

My trek to Kalsubai started on August 13 early morning at 5:45 a.m. Ascending the mountain, we crossed several paddy fields.

Along the ascent, there are several seemingly treacherous cast iron ladders that are perfectly safe. First timers like me will be scared to climb them, testing footholds and hanging on to the side-rails, while the local guides will nonchalantly climb them in a minute.

The top of the Kalsubai Peak was very windy, and I had the distinct feeling that if I didn't walk with a firm step away from the edges, I would get blown off - just my overactive mind and imagination.

The legend of Kalsubai Temple: Kalsubai was a Adivasi housemaid, who went to work at the Indore village nearby. She was forced to clean utensils and clean the residence, and ended her life at this spot. A temple was built to her memory, and Kalsubai makes wishes come true, provided you keep your commitment to her. While going down, I met a man ascending Kalsubai crawling on his bandaged and bloody knees because some wish that he made came true and he was keeping his part of the bargain. Will this Adivasi goddess will be assimilated into either a Durga, Lakhshmi or Saraswati?

There were very few trekkers at 8 am when I started descending the peak. Start early at 4:30 a.m. if you wish to catch sunrise on a clear day, or at 6 a.m. to beat the rush. Typically, 800 trekkers climb the mountain on a busy weekend in August (as on 2017).

My guide was this spirited young boy called Dattu. Dattu was doing his Bachelor of Arts course at a local college in Bhandardara where they taught Marathi, English, Hindi, History and Political Science. He charged Rs.500 for guiding me up and down the mountain in 5 hours, and used the money for his studies. His family also owned a few acres of land on the mountain just opposite, and he was an adivasi farmer.

Monkeys do a knowledge transfer across generations, and tourists have to walk without any plastic packets. Plastic packets represent food, biscuits, and other goodies that are a natural draw for these monkeys to threaten you, grab and run. In the background you see a young monkey being trained in by his father (foreground). My camera (colored black) was tightly gripped for this shot.

Waterfalls all over the western ghats in the monsoons while descending Mt.Kalsubai. I finished my descent to Jahagirdarwadi at 11:00 a.m. and started back after rest and lunch, for Kasara at 3:15 p.m. A train from Kasara to Kalyan started at 5 p.m that reached at 6:30 p.m. From Kalyan, I caught a train to Pune at 7:45 p.m. and reached at 10:30 p.m. From Pune, I took a train to Satara at 00:20 that reached at 3:30 a.m. in the morning on August 14.

August 14: A troop of monkeys on the way from Satara to Kas plateau.

My son, Aakash, joined me from Pune to Satara. He was coughing his lungs out when we started. He also had a mild fever. We debated whether we should go or stay back in Pune. He was reasonably okay on the trip, except that he was super-sleepy and slept whenever he could, while we were driving around.

Kas Lake is in the background.

This was near Vajrai waterfalls near Kas Plateau.

Kas Plateau in August (2017). The green fields barred off with walkways in the middle actually become a beautiful valley of flowers only during late September and October. Kas is called the plateau of flowers, and is beautiful to behold.

Buffaloes grazing near the Kas Plateau.

A view of Kas lake

Satara in the distance, seen from Kas Plateau

The area around Satara is great for wind energy through the year. The size of this windmill can be judged by the relative size of the tea-stall and people in the foreground.