Kokandiva – Short but Thrilling Trek

I had never thought of myself to be a regular trekker for a long time. About 2 years ago I got into a mood to visit Mt. Everest and the trekker within me was born. I discovered the immense fun in trekking during EBC and started regularly treading mountains with GGIM. (Guardian Giripremi Institue of Mountaineering, Pune).

A one day trek to Kokandiva was announced and I participated with my son Adwaeit and friend Sanjay. Adwaeit has done several treks with me but this was first ever trek for Sanjay.

The difficulty level was labelled as moderate but what is the fun if there are no surprises.
The road from Pune to Kokandiva is scenic. Large water reservoirs of Panshet and Varasgaon accomapny you on the way. After a drive on a narrow tar road for majority of time the bus entered a dusty patch towards the end. All the windows were shut but still the bus was full of dust.

Kokandiva was used as a watch tower to protect Raigad from enemy attacks. There is no fort on top, rather the surface on top is very small.

There is a small village called Gajarewadi consisting of probably not more than 15 houses from where the path to Kokandiva begins. Most of the passage has dense forest around it. First kilometer was a cakewalk and then the upward climb began. It was a continuous upward climb on a narrow passage. The path was covered with dried leaves and had loose soil and gravel. There were some difficult passes and steep rocks to climb as we approached the top. Some members of GGIM had already gone ahead and tied ropes for support, so we could overcome the tough stretch easily. The summit is made up of huge assembly of rocks about 50 feet tall. There is a cave at the bottom of the summit surrounded by a small flat stretch. Within an hour we reached the cave.

Climbing the summit was supposed to be the difficult part. The rocks do not have any walkway to climb so help of ropes and safety gear is needed. GGIM members facilitated the activity. Under their able guidance and supervision the participants safely made it to the top in batches.

The summit consists of a very narrow stretch which is about 50 feet long and 15 feet wide but the width reduces towards the end. It is less than 6 feet at one place. The valley on both the sides is about 3500 feet deep. There was a flag fixed at the end and everyone walked up to it. The walk was thrilling as it is really scary to pass through the narrow passage. With great precautions everyone was able to walk through.

An advantage of the small surface area on the top is that it provides an amazing 360 degree view of the surrounding. One can see the smaller mountains on the West, Raigad fort on the South, Lingana fort and some other tall mountains on the East and dense forest and mountains on the North.

Climbing down from the rocks was also easy. About 10 of us decided to start the return trek . A group had already gone ahead and we could see them walking at the base of the hill.
GGIM members were busy handling the last batch of the summit climbers.
We started the downward journey and the thrill began.There is a rock about 15 feet tall immediately at the start of downward journey that we had to descend. Some steps and holes have been carved out on it so it looked easy but when I started on it, I realized the trouble. Ropes had been tied up at this spot while going up but they were removed now for the summit and that had posed a big challenge. There was no one to guide and I wasn’t able to figure out my next step below. On the left there was a margin of hardly two feet and then there was a straight downward cliff leading 3500 feet below.It took me more than 15 minutes to descend that rock and I felt relieved after touching the solid ground.

Once I was on the firm ground, I instructed others about the steps and they could make it fast.
Excitement was not yet over as the walkway started showing its slippery nature. The loose soil and the gravel did not allow anyone to step easily. We had to tread very carefully holding the plants on both the sides for support. Still some of us slipped down. The stones released while walking struck on head of a lady participant ahead of us.
After struggling for an hour we reached the flat part and felt relieved.
The day temperature had gone to its peak by now and everyone was feeling continuous thirst. Everyone wanted to reach the village fast but now it started appearing quite far. Moreover, a surprise stood in the way as the path started upwards again. In the beginning of the trek no one had noticed the downward climb. It was a very tiresome walk, passing through rocks, open patches and forest. Everybody was exhausted due to heat and thirst.
The group that had gone ahead had made nice lunch arrangements at Gajrewadi. The locals have to fetch the water from a running stream but they had ensured enough for us. Water tasted great.

The return journey provided some breathtaking views of Panshet backwater with the sun setting at the backdrop.
You may be a strong person, used to trekking mountains but the beauty is that every trek tests your endurance. Towards the end you always get anxious to complete it and the real pleasure is experienced when you reach the destination and relax.