The Trekking

Hiking through off-beat, rural or rugged terrain is an excellent way of getting to know a place better. A good number of travelers find multi-day hiking, or trekking as the best way to make a trip. Those who don’t quite like being tied down to a structured itinerary, and would rather be a part of the countryside than mere spectators from the window of a vehicle, take to trekking wherever the opportunity exists.

Trekking takes you to places where vehicles stop short, allowing you to absorb the landscape in its entirety. A short weekend trekking trip involving navigation through smooth, rough, dry or watery terrain makes for a closer interaction with nature. Definitely more memorable than a regular weeklong trip!

Trekking need not always require an athletic bent of mind, (or body!) and routes can be chosen to suit the individual or group’s ability. If you’re well equipped with the right gear, trekking can be really enjoyable. All you need is a comfortable backpack with the right number of clothes, good hiking boots, a small first aid kit and enough food and water to keep going.

With the variety of terrain that India has to offer, trekking around its hills and mountains, river valleys and coasts, and through forests and villages can be quite an adventure. It is unquestionably the best way to explore India.

Trekking Trips on the Sahyadris

The Western Ghats running along India’s west coast are a trekker’s paradise. The Sahyadris can be scaled without much difficulty, and when the monsoons beat down the range between June and September/October, exploring the hills is a real delight. While the slopes are cloaked in a carpet of thick foliage and the birds break into a chorus, the waterfalls come gushing down the hill sides, inviting crowds of city dwellers to celebrate the season.

The Lonavala –Khandala Valley has always been a popular weekend outing for residents of Mumbai and Pune, and the now excellent roads have made travel to these parts a lot easier. Thick forests, waterfalls at almost every bend during the rainy season, lakes, dams and ancient forts wrapped in mystery are what a trekker can look forward to here.

A fleet of trains on the Mumbai-Pune route halt at Khandala, Lonavala, Malavali and Kamshet. If you choose to take the road from Mumbai, Khandala and Lonavala are 67 and 80 km respectively

The Kune Falls are off the old Mumbai – Pune highway near the Kune church near Lonavala. Here’s where you can take a short trek from the scenic Kune Point to the floor of the valley and watch the milky waters fall from a height of 100 metres.