Trek to Naneghat - An Ancient trade route
- Gagan Patil
- Jul 27, 2020
- 5 min read
Date of Trek: 14th September 2019
Height: 2461 ft. (Approx.)
Level of difficulty: Medium
Nearest Railway Station: Kalyan
Base Village: Vaishakhare
Region: Malshej ghat
Trek Organizers: Nature Nest Tours
Naneghat - Nanyacha Anghta
How to Reach:
● Board a Local train for Kalyan (Central Railway). Get down at Kalyan Station and take the exit on Westside.
● The ST depot is just beside the station. Catch any ST bus going towards Alephata (make sure it is going via Malshej Ghat)
● Tell the conductor that you want to get down at the start point of Naneghat.
About Naneghat:
Naneghat also referred to as Nana Ghat. It is a mountain pass in the Western Ghats range between the Konkan coast and the ancient town of Junnar in the Deccan plateau. The name “nane” means "coin" and ghat means "pass" in Marathi. During the reign of the Satavahana (c. 200 BCE – 190 CE), the Naneghat pass was one of the trade routes. It connected the Konkan coast communities with Deccan high plateau through Junnar. The name is given because this path was used as a tollbooth to collect toll from traders crossing the hills. The inscriptions in the caves indicate that the Satavahana dynasty ruled here. Few inscriptions in the cave mention the names of their family members. Although the carving is in ruins now, some of the visible inscriptions give a picture of the era, achievements, and stories of valor frozen in time. These records have helped historians to establish the historical past of this region.
About Vaishakhare Village:
Vaishakhare Village, with a population of 1587 is the Murbad sub district's 14th most populous village, located in the Murbad sub district of Thane district in the state Maharashtra in India. The total geographical area of Vaishakhare village is 11 km and it is the 15th biggest village by area in the sub-district. The population density of the village is 138 people per sq. km.
The nearest town of the village is Kalyan and the distance from Vaishakhare village to Kalyan is 92 km. Murbad is the sub district head quarter and the distance from the village is 32 km. The district headquarter of the village is Thane which is 82 km away. 5.59 square km (49%) of the total village's area is covered by forest.
Trekking Experience:
We left for the base village - Vaishakhare via Tempo traveler bus around 5.00 AM. I was doing this trek with my friends and a bunch of other participants. The organizers picked us up from the pre-decided stops, along with other participants. We took Kalyan-Murbad road. The road had trees on both sides and due to rains, the surroundings were covered with greenery. To add some fun to our journey, we played Antakshari on the way.
Antakshari in Bus
Around 8.00 AM, we reached the base village Vaishakhare. We had breakfast and tea at one snack corner. Trek was gonna take around 3 hours, so we had a little extra breakfast. We start ascending Naneghat around 9.00 AM.
Snacks Corner at Base Village
Naneghat trek passes through dense jungle, open plateau, multiple water streams, and stone made steps. Naneghat trek route is easy from starting point to the top of the hill. From the trek starting point, the main entrance gate is a few minutes away. We assembled and trekking instructions were given by organizers. We kept walking through dense forest and reached to the second entrance gate. There was a small garden with some playing instruments for children like See-Saw, Ladder, swings, etc. We took a break over there and had little fun, for who doesn’t like the kid’s garden!!!
After a few minute’s break, we started moving towards Naneghat. Suddenly it started raining heavily. We stopped and wore our raincoats/windcheater/jackets. I, usually, never wear a windcheater while trekking. I like getting wet in the rain but that day, I had a bag of dry clothes and food. So, without any choice, I had to wear my windcheater.
Naneghat way through Jungle and Weather photos
We were walking through dense forest and crossed some water streams which came in our way. It was raining continuously at that time. The rain has both advantages and disadvantages while trekking. The advantages are you won’t feel tired, you won’t sweat, you don’t have to take deep breaths, etc. The disadvantages are route might get slippery and wet, Waterflow of water streams will increase and it will be a little difficult to cross. However, these disadvantages will add a memory to your trek. Each adventure will become part of the story of your trek. We were taking breaks in between and clicking some pictures of nature.
All participants passing through water streams
We walked around for 2 hours and reached to a Plateau. We took a small break over there. We had some dry snacks like biscuits and an energy bar. From Plateau, I saw part of Nane Ghat which is called Nanyacha Anghtha (Anghtha means thumb). We sat there until all participants reached. Once all participants reached the Plateau, we started ascending Naneghat.
Naneghat - Nanyacha Anghata
After a few mins walk from Plateau, we reached to point where we had to climb rocky Steps. Normally it would be an easy part of the trek, but if it’s raining heavily then there’s water flowing from steps. As it was continuously raining heavily, water was flowing rapidly from steps. The easy part of trek eventually became a difficult part. We had to be more careful. Climbing water loaded steps was the most exciting and adventurous part of the trek.
Crossing water flowing steps
We successfully climbed the steps and reached the Cave around 12.30 PM. The rain had stopped at that time. I entered into Cave and was trying to see what's carved on walls with the help of a torch. It was carved in the Bramhi language. And hence I did not understand what was written. Most of the carved part is gone now. As per experts, the cave was carved with information about Saatvahan Empire.
Within a minute of walk from Cave, we reached the top. I saw a big bowl that was used to collect coins. It started raining heavily and now it was windy too. Thick raindrops felt like needles. The temperature was below 20 Degree Celsius, so we all were shivering due to cold. We were walking in the heavy rain with fast wind and cold for around 15 minutes and reached the hotel which the organizers had booked. It was an awesome and thrilling experience overall.
Naneghat: Photos of Top
We had lunch at around 2.00 PM. I and some other participants went to explore the reverse waterfall. Due to cold, all participants were not ready for exploring much. The reverse waterfall is just like any other waterfall but high-speed wind turns water to flow in the reverse direction. We spend some time at the reverse waterfall, clicked some pictures. We returned to the Hotel at 3.30 PM.
We had asked our bus driver to come to Naneghat via Pune as it was very difficult to descend while heavy rain. Everyone got ready to go back to Mumbai. The bus driver came around 4.30 PM. We left for Mumbai around 5.00 PM. This trek was a little bit different and gave us many unforgettable memories.
Trekking Gang
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