Kohoj is a fort just near Manor. Manor is near Palghar past Virar in Thane district. Standing at 3500 feet, its quite a climb up there. The difficulty rating for Kohoj is “medium” and we did not take it seriously when we zeroed on the fort for the weekend trekking adventure.
Its was a steep climb, battling consistent rains, thick dense forest and shifting mud routes. So was it worth it?
I would say yes! Even when we lost our way back home it was worth it for the sense of achievement and the heaven that is up there. Kohoj is a great hike up completely surrounded by thick forest. To reach the fort, we have to actually go half way behind and then start the climb. Hikers have made arrow marks with white paint and it is so very easy to get lost in the forest. All routes look same.
Ideally it should take 2 hours to reach on top but for us who did not have any experience, it actually took more than 4 hours and it was a tough climb.
This is that story in pictures
Waghote – The base village. The Bus left us here
Waghote – The old rusted board of the village. It must have been looking good when it may have been installed many years ago.
The Mountain beckons – The cloud covered fort. Never imagined it was going to take so long
The reflection of the fort on the small reservoir at the start of the journey
The walk starts from here. We had to cross the small resirvoir and then walking to the dam some distance away. Vaghote is a small village with a very small population. We hardly saw people after this point.
The enthusiastic crowd at the start of the journey. By the end of the journey, we had become the desperate crowd.
The lush green fields near the path.
The trek starts here. This is not a hill but an embankment for a dam at the foot of the fort mountain. Once you cross the small lake created by the dam, the climb starts.
The lake formed by the dam. The fort at the background. A cloudy hot day it was.
The lush green forest of Kahoj
The last easy spot of the trek, crossing the lake. From this point its a long way up.
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To Be continued……………..
[…] 15, 2008 by full2faltu Crossing the dam was the easy part. The tough path came […]
Nice Pics
cheers
merwyn
http://merwynsrucksack.blogspot.in