Torna to Raigad through Boratyachi Nal- Solo Trek at its best!!!!

Trek Completed on 25, 26 & 27 Dec, 2015

Year 2015 turned out to be great for me as it was the year when I started trekking beyond Pune and Lonavala region. 

Recently I started liking Range treks or Ghat routes more than typical hill climbs or fort visits. In range treks you normally cover more than one fort or old trade routes. These range treks are challenging one as you cover many ascends and descends which test your stamina. Few of the range treks are historically significant like Panhalgad to Vishalgad and few are famous due to its rigorousness like Lonavala to Bhimashankar (LoBhi), Chandragad to Arthur seat , Ratangad to Harishchandragad, K2S,P2S etc.

I had done K2S, P2S, LoBhi and Makrandgad-Kondnaal-Haatlot range treks earlier and this time I decided to do Torna to Raigad trek.   

Route Rote and Map:

The trek route was: Pune- Torna-Bhatti-Mohri-lingana-Pane Village-Varangai-Nijampur-Raigad Base-Mahad-Pune. It was 2 days trek.

This trek is one of the challenging treks in range trek categories. This trek was on my radar for long time and wanted to do it on Christmas long weekend. I checked with other trek friends however everyone had prior commitments due to long weekend. Checked with Prashant Rao who was totally new to trekking and he had not done any treks till now :) he agreed to come with me.

On trekking day, Prashant called me and told that he is not coming for the trek :( I was in dual mind to go alone for it or not. I had never done any solo trek earlier. I was nervous and really had doubts whether I would be able to do it. I had never been to this terrain before; just read the blogs and books. However, I had strong desire to complete this trek and decided to do it alone! I informed everyone at home that I will be going with friends for this trek :) 

Day one:

On Friday, started from Katraj, Pune in the afternoon by public transport. It was long weekend and had difficulty to get transportation. Reached Velhe by 6 pm. Villagers asked me about other trek mates and they were really surprised to know that I was trekking alone. The same question and reactions I got from other villagers on the next day.  

Magnificent Torna Fort seen from Velhe Village

It was dark and I was climbing the fort alone. Had really mixed feelings of fear and happiness. Since I was alone, speed was good and within 1.5 hours I reached Torna Top. Met other trekkers who were surprised to see me alone. Reached Mengai Devi temple atop and was happy to see enough space to spread my sleeping bag. I had dinner which I got from home. I called up Balu More who is a trek guide and lives in Mohari Village and informed him that I might come to his place for overnight stay and dinner. Couldn’t sleep for long time as I was thinking about next day trek. Trek till Torna was easy and known as I did this trek earlier too. But next day trek was  not explored earlier; that’s the beauty of doing new treks.

Having dinner @ Mengai Temple

Day Two:

I woke up early morning. I had to cover long distance and it was a tough job to be completed. Somewhere I read that one person did it one day. I was thinking to give a try and cover as much distance I could. It was very cold and windy. Had to wait till 6.30 am as it was dark and couldn’t see anything outside the temple. After having hot tea prepared by Ajji who lives in that temple, I started walking towards Walanjai darwaja (towards Budhla Machi) and didn’t face difficulty to locate it. Keep looking at your right and you can find a small route which goes downwards. 

Walanjai Darwaja

Old Walanjai Temple place on Torna Fort

I could see Walanjai temple and Bhatti village from top. The route is very slippery and steep. In fact the route is not visible as there is no trodden route. One needs to judge and descend looking at the village down. As usual, Karavi bushes helped me in descending down. Any hardcore trekker understands the importance of Karvi bushes. It gives much required support on a slippery way. It took 45 mins to descend till Bhatti Village. Had route confusion in between due to thick bushes and grass. It was still early morning for the villagers and yet to wake up from their sleep. I couldn’t find any door open to confirm the correct route. Luckily I found an odd early riser who gave me hot water to freshen up. I thanked her for the kindness shown. From there I reached on the main road which comes from Velhe.

From here, a tar road goes till Kelad khind. I waited for a vehicle to get a lift till Kelad Khind. After 30 mins, one bike rider gave me a lift till kelad khind. Getting a lift for a small group or solo trekker is always easy in such situations.  From this point, very dusty and bumpy road starts which goes till Mohari. 

Mohari Road from Kelad Khind

One can see telephone poles on the way. I took this route and started walking towards Mohari. This was most boring and tiring walk till this time. I had to rest multiple times as route is deserted and hardly any villages in between. Weather was hot and dry which made walk more laborious. I reached Mohari village by 12 pm. Met Balu More there and he was really happy to see me coming so fast from Torna in such a short time and that too alone. I had lunch at his house.  Balu More organizes Lingana climbs and provides shelter and food to trekkers. I met his family and kids. After some rest, I decided to move ahead. I checked with Balu whether I can complete the trek in one day. Clock showed 2 pm. He said not possible and advised me not to go further from Pane village. I agreed and asked him to show me the route till start of Boratyachi Naal. We walked together and got to know interesting stories about past Lingana ascends and his experiences. He also showed me Railing Pathar and we did some photography there. The spot is really picturesque and couldn’t resist to take some photos in front of Lingana. View of Lingana is awesome from there.

@ Railing Pathar- Lingana in the background 

From Boratyachi Nal, actual trek starts as route is slippery and has exposed traverses. 

Opening of Boratyachi Nal

I did the Kondnal descend earlier and this reminded me of that trek. There is a rope which guide us and we need to take support of that rope to cross the traverse and reach Lingana base. 

Traverse to reach Lingana Base

One needs to be careful of his/her own steps here. Within 1 hour I reached base of Lingana and took right turn towards Lingana Machi. 

Grand view of Lingana

Saw few trekkers on Lingana who were coming down from the top. Felt good to see and hear the human voices in that remote place. From that point again a slippery route takes us to down and one need to cross big rocks in between.

Spot from Lingana Climb starts. Right turn takes to Lingana Machi.

I had difficulty on locating the exact left turn and went to the top again and wasted 2 hours there to locate the correct path. I attempted to take a short cut and soon found myself on all fours, negotiating the slippery vertical rock cautiously while the few monkeys watching all fun from the top. It was real remote place and I got panicked for some time. I was worrying about the light as it was evening time and not sure how much time it will take to reach Pane village. I became fearless and was wandering to find the route which will take me to Pane village. I don’t know how may risky jumps and steps I took that time. Heard barking of wild dogs there. I never faced such situation earlier. I still remember that moment where I was scolding myself for coming alone. But to be honest that moment actually teaches you to face the tough situation and become stronger. I don’t know which route I took but finally saw the river bed nearby and I was so happy. 

Lingana view from Konkan Side

Forgot the body pain and scratches I had and walked fast. Reached Pane by 6 pm. Again same question from everyone there that how come I came alone from Torna fort, it was difficult to explain them. Inquired about the next part of the route. Few villagers suggested to catch a morning ST bus till Nijampur. One old lady cooked food for me. It was simple food but tasty one.

Rest after whole day walk..warmth of blanket in typical cold evening

I decided to sleep in a temple. Went to sleep early. It was a deep sleep indeed after hectic day.

Day three: 

Got up at 5 am and saw couple of villagers going for farm work. I was feeling fresh after sound sleep. I decided to walk instead of taking bus. They accompanied me for some time and showed the route which goes towards Varangai-Nikampur-Raigadwadi-Raigad Base. 

Didn’t get any lift/public transport in between. I was not lucky this time as it was morning time. It was completely tar road and it was boring and exhausting trek. It took 3 hours from Pane village till Raigad base. I had blisters on my feet and each step was real pain. I was so happy to reach the Raigad fort. Clock showed 9 am.

I was so tired that I didn’t have energy to climb Raigad fort. I thought to use rope way to go up instead of mounting the steps. When I reached ticket counter I came know that waiting period is 5 hours.  It was due to holiday season. I had to scrap the plan of Raigad climb and decided to take first bus to Mahad. I was very sad to miss the Raigad fort visit after long walk. But i didn't have any option that time. 

Overall it was very satisfying trek which boosted my confidence and made me real trekker. I felt it was great achievement to do this trek alone.

Key points to keep in mind:

• Walanjai Darwaja on Torna: Take right turn just before Budhla Machi traverse. You need to follow the pathway which is hidden in bushes and look at the left side for the darwaja.
• Everyone finds difficulty in locating the exact left turn while descending towards Lingana Machi- One needs to go till end of the Naal and look at the left side of Kaal river. Don’t take left turn in between or else you will ascent to the top. 
• Take public transport/lift where possible specially between Bhatti-Mohari and Nijampur-Raigad Base. You can save time and energy