Ulhas Valley Trek...Khandala........All about TIMING..

Have you ever wondered why sometimes our world seems a lot smaller than we think? A lot of things fall into place, a series of events happen in such a manner as if GOD wrote the perfect script for you. The sequence of these events make you think they are so meant to be. You start linking them with one another. And you feel it couldn’t have been better than this.

Something similar happened to me, which I realised on a Sunday morning When I was watching the opening episode of the season seven of the popular series ‘How I met your Mother’ on my laptop. As I waited for the video stream to buffer, I got a like notification on one of my photos on facebook.  I checked the photo which was from a trek that I went in June 2012. My mind got so muddled with the memories of the trek that, I started flipping through the photos with the episode playing in parallel.

 It took me back to May 2012 when I was discussing with one of my friends Tarun, about a trek that we were planning. It was a tough task and by no means could we convince anyone to come out for a trek in May when one can easily loose a litre of sweat just by standing in the sun for 15 minutes. But we took our chance with the Sunday of 10^th June 2012 backing ourselves, based on the forecasts of mild showers on 5^th ,6^th  and 7^th June. Moreover the destination that we planned for was Ulhas Valley at Khandala that had a history of having tender waterfalls even in March, so little did we care even if it wouldn’t rain. We decided on the date and Tarun who was the organizer was left with the task of calling our other friends. Interestingly, he managed to convince 16 other people to come for the trek and got me so excited when he informed me about it over the phone.

“That’s chemistry” said the character of Lily…..Maybe it was the chemistry.

The chemistry of our group, when it comes to trekking….that even without knowing or being sure about any chances of rains around, people were ready and enthusiastic about the trek. But having said that I have to give due credit to the marketer Tarun, who obviously must have lied a lot to the people...to make up their minds.
It was the onset of monsoon 2012 and the weather had gone through a miraculous change from 5 to 6 days and as forecasted there were small showers around early June 2012.  Many times we crib about the forecasts being wrong but this time I have to give full marks to the Regional Meteorological Centre of Mumbai.

The day arrived and for me it started at 4.30 am when I woke up to see the wet streets from the window of my bedroom with cool breeze coming from the outside dark. The initial list of 18 was now down to 12 after a few last minute drop-outs, still a good number. I was with my friend Suman and her cousins Bhagyashree and Shubhangi who were on their first trek. I thought of giving some gyan for the first timers , but I had little chance to do that as I myself was late by half an hour.We took the train at Dombivli Station, which took us to Dadar Railway Station where we had decided to gather on the East side near Swaminarayan Mandir. From a distance we caught sight of Mihir & Tony with warm smiles to welcome us. Amar seemed a little worried maybe he thought we were all getting late. Meeta was as usual in between a conversation with Tarun, who was actually on the phone coordinating with another friend Chanda who was on her way. Zohan stood in his fullest gear of Fashionable and Light slippers that he uses for treks. We had all met after a long time so took out time meeting each other. Meanwhile as Chanda would make her way, I and Tarun went at the Dadar TT to take a sumo, which we booked for a negotiated sum of 2000 Rs. for a one way ride which seemed pretty fair for 12 people. But getting 11 people plus the Driver in a sumo was a herculean task which we somehow managed to do, after spending a good 10 minutes or so on permutations and combinations and finally getting a hard talk from the driver, most of us are MBAs you see.  Only one member Rohit was to board at Panvel, but we didn’t have the slightest of the clue, how would he do so.

The journey began at about 8.00 am and the weather was helping our cause as it was overcast. We tried to console the couple of new members Shubhangi & Bhagyashree, that we travel better than this normally. Both of them said they were ok but their faces carried a look full of disbelief. The devil in us was now thinking of asking Rohit not to come as there was no space in the vehicle, but he had reached the spot on time where we were to pick him up. So there was another round of discussions and we again wrapped ourselves into the sumo. As we passed by, many other peaks near Panvel caught our sight and we started re-living and sharing memories of those treks, apart from Meeta ’s non-stop chat inside the sumo. It started raining pretty heavily and got cooler, much needed inside the packed sumo.Within no time we reached the food court where we waited for a little break. A further journey of about an hour came to an end at the Khandala exit where we got down and paid the driver the money.

The Ulhas Valley View from the Top, Khandala  (Courtesy : Zian Lakdawalla)

We started walking towards the St. Mary School which has the approach road to the Ulhas Valley. It has huge flat ground which gives a good sighting of the valleys and nearby express way with vehicles in good numbers.

  The Bungalows on the Hills around the Ulhas Valley, Khandala.  (Courtesy : Zian Lakdawalla)

On the hills are the series of fat bungalows which enjoy the scenic views of this beauty of nature. At this place we celebrated the birthday of Tarun, thanks to Meeta who had brought a sweet and yummy chocolate cake for him.

Birthday Celebrations (Courtesy : Zian Lakdawalla)

We ourselves got into such a bad shape after the travel and how could we expect the cake to be. It was all melted and screwed but was good enough to be cut into pieces and with the sweet sweet taste retained.

It was around 10.00 am and we thought of starting the trek by taking the ritual picture pointing towards the target. Interestingly this was different from all our previous treks as it was to start with the descend first. So we pointed downwards.

 The ritual pic pointing towards the Lakshya - Downwards  

The Path formed by Weathered Rocks (Courtesy : Zian Lakdawalla)

The path into the valley is full of rocks weathered by the streams of the falling water. It helps a trekker as many of the rock have patches to hold on to and one can a get a good grip on those.It was quite easy for us at the start of the trail where we moved swiftly for half an hour or so. At this point we met the first real rocky patch which was 15 ft high and we started devising various ways to make through it. It was a good test of our technique as well as the ability to control our bodies. Each one of us here had to stretch our muscles to achieve just that extra bit needed here. I had not carried the rope which I usually do in treks and was feeling the pinch of it.

A 15 Ft. high rock patch

Nevertheless, it’s a human ingenuity to cope with situations where we are limited by options and we did just that. Now although the weather was on our side, but after that effort we needed a bit of energy and recharged ourselves with water at that point. After a few minutes further down, we met a couple other such rock patches each of those tested ourselves in peculiar ways. 

A narrow passage through the rocks

We also passed through a small cavity below a rock which was our path almost like a filter and the flexibility of our bodies was put to test. 

All along the path there were many crabs, some dead, some alive, an option of food in case we get lost or stuck here, is what we thought and joked about. I am sure Bear Grylls would have easily gulped in a few by the walk, if he were here.

A healthy Alive crab

By now the view of the bottom streams was becoming clearer and we knew we were close as the continuous sound of the waterfall started hitting our ears in the silence. Slowly it had got overcast and we could see darker clouds above us. The express way with all vehicles was now quite a distance above us. Suddenly just as we passed the final rocky patch it started raining. Before some of us could get our wind cheaters out we had got substantially wet. It was practically the first real rain this monsoon for most of us so we didn’t bother. But it was only a passing shower which lasted only for a minute or too, and as it got over we moved further down. Another 15 minutes of descend and we were at the bottom of the valley. All of us were so eager to feel the waters that we took our shoes off to wet our feet. But the next thing that happened was beyond everybody’s imagination.

 “When you have chemistry then you need only one thing, its timing”, said the     character of Robin.

A Cool Moment in the water streams

And Boy it was SHEER TIMING. Just as we had finished the descend with tired bones and muscles, the Rain Gods welcomed us with a pouring shower. It was so heavy and quick that we only somehow managed to get our mobiles and wallets in the bags under a small cave inside a rock thanks to Tarun for discovering the same. Boy he is so much made for this habitat. Having done that, it was time to go wild into the nature and I moved into the stream to find a place to lie down. It was a moment worth the effort. The cold water flowing along your body and the rain from above adding to it. It was June, yeah it was. All the body drain in the heat of the summer was over.  It was the natural Jacuzzi for reliving all the stress of your body. It was Fortune at the Bottom of not exactly a pyramid, but a Hill you can say.

Crossing the Water Stream (Courtesy : Zian Lakdawalla)

After enjoying there for a few minutes we decided to move further towards the water fall. As we got out of the water we started feeling freezing cold. I came up with the idea of laughing to generate heat in my body and Tony & Mihir joined me. We seemed like total idiots but it worked big time. The intensity of the shower had now reduced a little bit. The path towards the waterfall was along a small pond formed due to water which had slowed down a bit. It was very slippery and we helped each other out in the whole exercise. We further moved to a spot where one can get a good view of the waterfall which appeared a bit frightening to start with. So we were in a dilemma whether to approach its base or not.

The Pond at the base which leads to the Waterfall (Courtesy : Zian Lakdawalla)

After checking out watches we decided that we had enough time so a few of us proceeded towards the base of the waterfall. The water was quite muddy maybe because of the first real rains. It was also mushy and there was a froth formed at the base which made us realize it wasn’t good to get wet into that and we moved back to our spot. Interestingly by now the rain had stopped and all of us were re-gathering ourselves after the eventful past couple of hours, sitting on the cold rocks, breathing in the fresh air, feeling ever so close to nature.

A  Moment of Solace at the Base of the Valley (Courtesy : Zian Lakdawalla)

We decided to find a place to have lunch and got our bags out of the caves where we had kept the bags dry, well almost dry. It was an interesting exercise where we formed a chain and passed the bags along it.

The Bag Passing exercise (Courtesy : Zian Lakdawalla)

Our power packed lunch was a great variety of multicultural cuisine with sandwiches, alu parathas, fried rice, theplas and chutneys, pickles and what not thanks to all the Moms for such a great effort as early as 4.00 am and that too on a Sunday morning. That’s why Moms rock, totally.  After such a filling lunch it was time for a little nap for 15 minutes as we had decided to start the climb at 3.00 p.m.

Just Before lunch

While most of us were asleep Tarun and Meeta discovered a little snake in the water where we had spent our last hour. At first I thought it was a sort of prank and neglected it. But later I lost the 500 bucks bet with Tarun when I actually saw the head of the small snake just above the water level dwindling as we approached closer. It was a weird feeling at the start as it appeared totally harmless. But the realization that there was a snake in the pond where we were sauntering for last hour or so was enough to send a tremor through our spine. But as Amar quoted “laziness overcomes fear” and it was the case with some members the likes of Chanda who did not take the snake part all that seriously.Moreover, the beautiful view of the water streams was worth spending the time just looking at it and relaxing.

A Beautiful View created by the Water streams in the Valley (Courtesy : Zian Lakdawalla)

Finally at about 3.00 p.m. we set ourselves for the ascend, something new in this particular trek. Climbing up is usually easier than going down maybe because it happens first and also because you don’t look into the valley while climbing up. But with reasonably tired limbs and rocks that were slippery due to the rains, it made our climb a little harder than expected.

The Climb

In addition to that the spots of rock patches where we had a little exercise coming down had now turned into micro-waterfalls with small streams of water. Our climb at each of these three spots began with a team talk and strategy devised most times by Tarun who was leading the way upwards. The last of these patches was the toughest one that created many anxious moments for each one of us. But one by one guiding each other we managed to cross that hurdle, kudos to 'A HELLUVA TEAM EFFORT.' 

The toughest Slippery Rock patch (Courtesy : Zian Lakdawalla)

That’s the best thing about treks; every path seems tough, every step seems rough but you are with your buddies fighting it out for you and suddenly you get that energy from within to fight. To fight against the fear, to conquer it, to move forward, forward together as a team. It takes you through a total grind of your body as well as your mind and you come out stronger every single time.

About two and half hours, and we finally reached the top of the hill where we had started in the morning. The ground was now with wet soil and we could see many people for an evening stroll at the ground which is a scenic spot.

Flat Ground on the Top of the Hill, Near St. Mary School ,Khandala

Soon we made our way out at the highway where we bought water and took a rickshaw to lonavala Market place near the ST stand where some of us shopped the fudges and chikkis, ate some vada pavs. I discovered that both of my phones were not working due to water that had entered my bag, which had my wallet full of watery notes and cards. I was anything but handicapped without my phones.

 Our next task was fetching for our return travel options. I along with Amar & Tarun went to the ST stand to book a private vehicle. We met one guy who offered an option of cars for 300 rupee seat to Mumbai, which on a normal course of a day would actually take 170 Rupees. Even after 20 minutes of negotiating, the person stayed adamant and we had no option but to book the cars. So the 8 members from our group staying at the western suburbs moved away in the cars. Remaining four of us had to reach the central suburb of Dombivli so we decided to take a train from Lonavala railway station to kalyan and a local train would get us further to Dombivli. We had turned down the option of hiring a car for a sum of 1400 Rs. for 4 people which by no means was anywhere near reasonable, especially after enquiring about the railway tickets which would cost a sum of 150 Rs, a little over one-tenth of the car fare. The railway station is separated by the ST Bus Stand by a road which has minimum lights and never can you get an idea whether the station exists, as it is all surrounded by the trees. We thought there would be a local train till Kalyan, but it wasn’t the case when we learned that it’s a Pune – Jodhpur express train and we had to travel through the general compartment. As there were 3 girls with me we started looking for the ladies coach for them and stood our ground as we waited for the train to arrive. The train arrived, but the general compartment had no space for thin air, forget about people getting into it. The scene in the ladies coach was more terrible, as the ladies all sat and occupied the floor of the coach with doors close from inside. All this happened in a matter of seconds when I was helplessly trying to make a move into the general coach. Soon I heard Suman calling out my name that she and the other two girls were not able to make it into the ladies coach, so the next thing we do…….we rushed to the reservation coach…..and in the last few steps ...the very moment we got inside, the train moved….

‘That’s timing again ……’

Our next task was to manage to be accommodated in the compartment, full of individual travelers as well as families. Like the other people travelling with the general ticket we waited outside the coach cabin at first, believing that we could escape the Ticket Checker. But the next thing that happened was that we meet the TC who asked for the tickets. Suman showed him the 1 ticket of 2 people, we had bought which after looking at, and he said, “330 Rs. Per person, the fine you have to pay Ma’am”,

‘Perhaps that’s timing again…..’

Suman in a very earnest voice said, “We will get down at the next station...then please”. It was such a good move by her that TC asked us to go to the next coach, without even noticing me. While I was calculating 330 x 4 Suman was quite composed and stubborn not to give even a single penny to the TC and we moved to the next coach. Here we luckily got a place to seat and the train had now reached Khandala railway Station. The timetable on the coach wall told us that we were only 90 minutes away from Kalyan. But for some reason the train couldn’t start even after 15 minutes. Most of the people in the train were restless and unaware of what the actual problem was. I bet a few of them were as tired as we were. I made my way out of the train on to the station and learned that it was an engine failure and may take an hour more for the train to re-start. What do I do now? Should I tell the truth to my already down fellow mates or should I say nothing. But I told them the truth. And as we were getting delayed to reach Kalyan, our options of further trains were diminishing. The situation was such that panic had set in and that compelled us for re-thinking the car option again. So we called Tarun, who took the number from car-owner with whom he was travelling to Mumbai, and asked him to pick us up at Khandala. The already adamant car-owner now demanded 1500 Rs. and toll extra and we agreed. So what do we do now, should we get down at the station? That was the call that we had to take. I went out again to check at the Khandala station which was only lit by just a couple or more lights on the platform where our train stood. Outside the station was all dark with deafening silence and one could here only the people in the train speak. The road outside the station, which I assumed to be somewhere, was without much vehicular movement. It was a scary scenario and fear had begun to loom in my mind. There was no way I was going out there with the three girls especially when none of us had been there before. So we decided to stay in the train which seemed a far safer place, till the car actually arrives. But what if the train starts and we get stuck further? In that case we wouldn’t be even able to get down and get the car. So with a strong heart we decided to get down from the train. We moved to the door together and as fate had it in for us, the train started moving. 

‘Oh..! Timing again?’

‘But Timings a Bitch’, said Robin again….

It certainly was a bitch, aleast for the last part …….

Luckily the train moved at a consistent speed from there to take us at Kalyan at about 12:40 a.m. where the local train got us to our destination… and at 1.00 am in the morning I felt totally relaxed to see the three girls reach home, especially Bhagyashree and Shubhangi who were on their first trek which I am sure was made memorable by the journey both ways…...