In July at the height of the monsoons, a few of us from KF went on a trek to Tikona fort, near the Pawna dam, Lonavla. They say the fort dates back to the early 1500s and is located at a height of approximately 3500 ft above sea level. The trek started at the village of Tikona Peth. We walked through cloying red mud for quite a distance before we actually came to firm ground. Thereafter it was quite an easy trek up to the fort which was typical Maratha in style. The best part of the trek was walking in the rain with gentle clouds swirling all around us. It was absolutely heavenly.
The cloying mud which sucked off at least 4 soles!
The ancient grinder
A walk in the clouds
The reservoir
One of the darwazas
Awesome views
The actual fun part of the trek started on the way down when we decided to take the road less travelled. Later we realised that we were the only brave ones who had even attempted that particular route in the monsoons. The path was narrow, steep, slippery, treacherous and at one point disappeared from view. It took all of our resourcefulness, courage and strength to get us down especially when some of our colleagues were genuinely frightened. But slowly and surely, we finally reached the base and made our way to little hut where we washed our dirty feet and changed into dry clothes. We also had a simple village meal.
Exhausted, we boarded the bus for the return journey to Bombay but to our good fortune, the bus broke down. We then shared our experiences which was very enlightening. Some of the insights:
- We started off as strangers and ended the trek as friends.Teamwork saw us through the difficult parts of the trek.
- Eco conservation was of prime importance with all of us carrying our rubbish back downhill.
- There is no heirarchy on a trip like this. Great for breaking the ice amongst work groups.
- Talent amongst us was in abundance.
- There were quite a few who were natural leaders and we were pleasantly surprised.
Hey there
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