Trek to Naneghat

Naneghat:

1. Destination Name: Naneghat
2. Direction of Travel: Malshej Ghat
3. Nearby town / city / village—Kalyan/Murbad/Junnar
4. Approx distance in Kms from Mumbai (Dadar / Bandra)----82 kms
5. Approx distance in Time from Mumbai (Dadar / Bandra)— 2 hours
6. Approx time we will take to reach the top (Trek/ hike Time)- 3 hours
7. Recommended- (2 days)
8. Expected level of difficulty- Easy
9. Altitude: 2700 ft

Finally, the monsoon have arrived in full force and so has Odati Adventures with its awesome trekking itinerary for the monsoons. Naneghat on June 22nd being our frist trek for the monssons. The response was amazing. We were in all 17 of us for this trek. What can i say about Naneghat. Infact i can go on and on about this place for Naneghat was one among the initial treks that I did when I started trekking regularly during my college days with a group called Mystiques. All that i was told about this place was that it was a famous pass and the name suggests it too.
Constructed during the Satvahan dynasty, Naneghat is a historical pass and enjoyed great importance as it was the trade route that bridged the ports of Kalyan and Sopara with Junnar.
To get to Naneghat base is not very difficult. From Mumbai one can take the Eastern Express Highway and get to Kalyan and then to Murbad. From Murbad you have to get to the base village Vaishakhare. On the route one needs to look for a milestone that says ‘Kalyan-60 km’ and on the other side the milestone is marked ‘Otur-64 km’. Here is where you need to tell the bus driver to stop and alight. From the base Vaishakare you walk for about 2 kms and a diversion towards Naneghat originates. That’s our trail that forks off to the mountain. It’s an amazing 2 km walk on a straight tar road from Vaishakhare and as you look around you can spot the point ‘Nanacha Angtha’ (Nana’s thumb), the thumb shaped cliff that is the top most point of Naneghat. From Nanacha Angtha sun rise and sun set are beautiful views that should not be missed.
The trek upwards is pleasant and is recommended for first timers. The fact that it is a historical pass and that it was well traversed is true to date. Even today, this route is well used by the locals of Junnar and the nearby villages. As you walk up, the wide spread plateau of Naneghat is lovely. An easy, but relentlessly upward route takes us to the main cave at the pass o¬n the right of our trail in 2-3 hours. On the left of the plateau one can spot a huge stone jar. It is said that this stone jar was used in the earlier days for collecting toll to cross the pass. As we climb we reach the main cave andsee that alongside there are some more caves. O¬ne of these houses an old idol of Lord Ganesha.
The main cave on top contains inscription (in the Brahmi script) informing us of the pass, the Satvahan dynasty and their achievements. However, you will find that these scripts are slowly fading away due to lack of maintenance. Alongside these caves are cisterns filled with water which are used by locals and the trekkers alike for drinking water. Trekers can peacefully spend the night in the caves.
For regulars Naneghat is also an excellent place to do some rappelling. For the more adventurous types who want to explore more, there are other laces to explore nearby as well. There is another fort called ‘Jivdhan’. To get to Jivdhan, one walks on the backside of the Naneghat caves along the plateau in the direction of ‘Vanarlingi’ pinnacle, which is also known as ‘Khada Parsi’ as it resembles an aged Parsi man standing.
So all those who are keen to start their trekking career why not start with Naneghat?