Chinchoti Falls

Lazily sitting in the office in the month of August decided to go for a trek to Chinchoti Falls. Did my survey on the internet on Chinchoti Falls and the following day went on the trek.

Took a Western Railway local to Naigoan, walked to the East and from there share a auto till Chinchoti Naka. At the Naka asked the locals for advise and they guided me to the path which leads towards Chinchoti Falls.  This road leads towards a village and at the end of the village the path leads towards the waterfalls.

 

This path seems made by dried water flow which consist of stones, small crabs, pieces of garbage (left by the previous trekkers) and surrounded by trees. As we go on this path we pass many small waterfalls and cross small streams. Further on this path we come across a mini water fall where there is a pond.

From here the path towards the main waterfall passes through thick greenery on both sides. The main waterfall looks magnificent.

 

Rested for a while and then followed the same path back to Naigoan station.







Trek – PEB Fort (Vikatgad), Neral, Maharashtra

There are different ways to trek towards the PEB fort.

I took a train to Neral station, disembarked to East and walked towards the main road. Took a right (left goes towards Matheran), crossed the road and walked straight ahead in the direction of Dilkap College & Institutes. On the way passed buildings under construction then Dilkap College and a village.

At the village, a villager advised me the direction of PEB fort. Followed his advice, passed through a waterfall,

an electric tower before reaching an open land where the cows were grazing on monsoons greenery. The road towards the left goes towards waterfall views, I walked straight ahead leading towards four way path got confused which way to take since no signage, back tracked my steps towards the open ground and was enjoying the greenery around.

 

After a few minute saw a local and convinced him to tag along with me to the top at a charge. The local named Ganesh agreed and we started our accent to the top through thick bushes and rocks. I stopped to catch my breath couple of times during this stretch. Reached the top after around half an hour, Ganesh said his service ends and will leave. Before leaving he guided me to the direction towards the fort and advised me to move further towards Matheran to end my trek. Thanked him and sat to enjoy the view at the top. Drank some water from the bottle I purchased and after a while took the left to continue my trek.

The path was man-made and the view was steep. Climbed on a rock then walked through narrow path, latter on a ladder before sighting a temple. From the temple I saw the back of a huge Shree Ganesh idol which was on the Matheran side and my landmark to end the trek. Disembarked from the temple and passed through a local house before sighting the remains of the fort.

The path near the fort towards Matheran had two ladders which on descending and walking further leads to the connection path of mountain Peb to mountain Matheran.

This view is beautiful (others also), continued on the path and later saw steps to reach the mini rail track of Matheran. Took the right and walked a while to reach the taxi point at Matheran.

Had some snacks at the restaurant before boarding share a taxi to Neral station. Though I was tired, wet and scratchy but was happy that I completed the trek which had put my stamina and sense of adventure to a test.