Hello, my dear Connect friends!
Hope you all are having/ had a great weekend!
I remember how eagerly I used to wait for the weekend before the pandemic. One of my favourite activities on weekends was trekking to nearby locations. Although in recent times, there are few restrictions over travelling in groups, limited access to various places; the excitement for treks (now in a smaller group) is anyways never-ending amongst trekkers.
Maharashtra is blessed with an extensive mountain range, Sahyadri (the western ghats) that starts in Maharashtra and ends in Kerala- the second largest mountain range after the Himalayas. The Sahyadri range is well known for almost 300 unique forts built by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, which are still accessible for trekking. While most of the locations are open throughout the year, few of the locations are best visited during monsoon when their beauty is enhanced multiple folds by the cascading waterfalls and lush green surroundings.
One such mountain pass amongst western ghat is Naneghat located in Junnar taluka in Deccan plateau, Naneghat was well known as an Ancient Trading Route. In Marathi, Nane means “coin” and Ghat means “Pass”- which literally meant the tollbooth to collect toll from traders crossing the hills. With the excitement of one-day trekking to this beautiful location in monsoon, I joined my trekking group from Dombivli- The Navigators Team for the Naneghat trek.
What is so special about Naneghat?
Apart from the ancient trading route, what is less known about this location is the reverse waterfall! During monsoon season when the water force is too strong, one gets to see the reverse waterfall at Naneghat.
What should you know before opting for this trek?
The best season- June to September (when humidity is least and the surrounding is pleasant)
Difficulty level- Medium
The total cost- Rs. 300/- by public transport (bus) to and fro,
Rs. 700-1000/- by private groups including food.
You must carry- minimum of 2 litres of water, energy drink or electrolytes to avoid dehydration. Snacks (but don’t make your bag heavy), superfast drying clothes (instead of carrying an extra pair).
How did we travel to Naneghat?
We (a group of more than 25 people) started by a private bus for the Naneghat trek from Dombivli early in the morning (around 5 AM) and reached the base point on the Kalyan-Ahmednagar highway. On the way to this point, we had our delicious breakfast of pohe and fruit juice which was prepacked. We started ascending to Naneghat at around 8 AM in morning. Depending on the speed of one’s hiking it may take up to 4 to 5 hours (or more) to reach the top.
What did we see at the top?
After you reach the top of the Naneghat, you can see that it is actually a crossing path from Kalyan, Nalasopara to Junnar, Paithan. A large stone vessel aka “Jakatica Ranjan” was used in ancient times to collect the toll taxes from traders. The large rock-cut cave at the top is supposed to be the unique construction in western India. The other minute details like inscriptions in the cave are beyond my ability to describe here.
On the other side, one can see the plateau-like structure which has a bus stand and parking space.
One can choose to avoid ascending and only opt for descending or choose to avoid descending and opt for the bus to return. (We chose to descend by trekking and returned to our bus at the base). Although we couldn’t see the reverse waterfall while ascending to the top, you can check this reference image.
After spending a few hours at the top, we had our snacks in the cave and started descending towards the base. We were encouraged by organizers to choose to collect the trash on the way thrown by other visitors (mainly plastic bottles/ tins etc), which definitely made this trek a special one!
I have been opting for treks since my school days and I still find it as an important activity to keep myself active! What is your favourite thing to do on the weekend? Do you like trekking? Do let me know in the comments about any unique trekking location that you might have visited.
Perhaps you are behind the camera - so that was probably a trick question 
Thank you for your response 
