Kothaligad (Peth Killa), Karjat.... A Trek That Turned Out To Be Mesmerizing!

A misty scene out Neral station

 Its a bit late to post this blog as we went for this trek in February 2016 (way before Dapoli trip happened) but i thought it would be nice to share this experience with you. So this time my residential friends and a couple of other friends who were school friends with my friend(confusing!...lol) including my younger brother decide to go a Saturday morning. Took the 05:32 am train for Karjat. Unsure whether we should get down at Neral railway station or Karjat we got down at Neral station. Super chilled whether and we didn't carry any warm clothes and all the surrounding were foggy and misty.
     It was Neral West (opposite to where you catch the mini train to Matheran hill station). Had some tea and 'batata vada' and packed some for lunch and looked for a ride in ST bus or Tum-Tum rickshaw whichever available. One person there told us that it would have been convenient for us to take an ST bus at Karjat which is half an hour away from Kothaligad rather than Neral so we realized our mistake as Tum-Tum rickshaw really cost us a lot. But that's okay we learned and move on with the rickshaw. Don't remember how much time it took to reach Peth village which is the base of Kothaligad fort(And how we all freaked out at the fact that my brother almost lost his mobile phone in the rickshaw and we found out that his phone slipped through his pocket and fell under the seat). 

The 'guardian' dog

Gazing the Fort

   So a dog started chasing us from the start of our trek (they follow you for food but they do follow you till the end). Its an almost 3-4 hours trek and has roadway made by rock destruction and ground leveling. Maybe they are trying to make it the next 'Matheran' because as  we were progressing we saw so may government notice boards saying 'this is a private property' and all over the first phase. For Kothaligad you have to cross a mountain to reach the one with the Fort on it. Its fun! 

Kothaligad from Ambivli village

    There is not much to say how we kept moving and what we saw because its pretty much clear to every trekker and person who has at least done trekking ones. so going on further we came across a patch of hill plateau like from were Kothaligad was visible like a 'Submarine' and the view was magnificent.

So walking and taking picture we arrived in the village called 'Ambivli' and this people literally walk the distance everyday for going to the market and all(that's fit) and the dog that was chasing us passed on to the female dog (how can I use the word b**** here). And then she started followng us till the Fort top. The village was amazing with all the small farming and domestic animals and mud houses. Some provide eatables and lemon juice to trekkers and earn money.
     At around 11:45 am approximately we were inside the fort. Its fascinating that the entire fort is nothing but a carved huge rock from inside and from outside it looks just like any other rock on a mountain. Only the outer fortification of the fort and the gate was build with rocks.
  And we see some birds and a bumblebee!

       You know when you trek hard and its only 12 noon and you are already on the top of the fort and seen everything you can after the adventurous 'no support' of any kind climbing towards the top of the fort. I will post the link to my video of Kothaligad below and also one of my friend's video who is my fellow traveling partner.

    Our other friends had brought tiffins for lunch which we had no idea and it was a lot and delicious to eat....finally after full in our stomach we had to give the remaining food to the dogs(they did follow us to the top) and then we took a lot of photos.

Entrance of the Fort

   I may not be able to describe the fort fully as i made a video about it you guys can have a look and see for yourselves.
   I can tell you that the fort was under British fort a really long time and they used it as a watch tower and stoing all their gunpowder and canon balls.

    Sitting and chatting till 03:00 pm and we started our return journey and felt hungry again so had food in a small hotel in Peth village at the base(reasonable price and good food). 
        Its is important to keep track of bus timings so that you don't miss your ride way home as the frequency of vehicles in rural areas is low.

Entrance to the top most part of the Fort

   While returning we took ST bus and just couldn't control sleep for  almost half an hour we slept in the bus and we reached the ST bus stop in Karjat. From where we walked for 15 minutes towards Karjat railway station and reached Bhandup railway station in the evening. My Kothaligad video..

My friend's Kothaligad video

                                                                                 - Thank you