Naneghat -- August 2005

We had been to naneghat on sunday. ten of us had boarded a sumo from iit.
we had packed food from the canteen which was open upto 4:30 am.
we left at around 5: 00 am from here.
this place naneghat is about 800 m above msl . the hills in maharashtra
region are generally very steep and at the top become flat.
we hit the base at about 8: 45 am and we started from there.
the place was quite green. lush green . initially it was flat land . we
could see the destination covered with the clouds. it was a great sight.
we came across quite a few streams , with clear water. the weather
started to clear out. after a couple of km we started the ascent. it was
an easy one compared to the other ones that i had been to. the sight in
front of us grew more and more magnificient. by 11:30 we hit the peak.
there was a cave at the top. there were a few trekkers staying over there.
beyond the cave there was a pass between two hills. it is due to this pass
this place became an important point in geography. we climbed one of the
hills and took lots of snaps. then the clouds came back .we were
enshrouded by the mist. it was a great experience. it started raining . we
then went back to the cave. we had our lunch over there. once our lunch
was finished , the sun came back again. we then decided to go to the other
hill. while descending from that hill the weather deteriorated and there
was a downpour. we were all wearing windcheaters. the path to the cave via
the pass was filled with gushing water. we decided not to venture as it
was quite dangerous out there. once the rain stopped after 30 minutes, did
we go to the cave. we waited in the cave for some time. it was too misty
to make any decision about the rain. we waited for the water in the pass
to subside. we would be walking along that for some time. the forest were
about 200 m below.we took the gamble to go on. it worked. we walked down
carefully and that to me was the best part of the trek. it was like
walking down a mini waterfall. we then reached the base at about 5:00 pm.
we then left for iit.
on the way we came across the bridge on the state highway leading to
aurangabad. that bridge . there is this one river called ullhas, which on
the fateful day , overflowed by about 50 ft. this river broke a part of
the bridge. it uprooted almost all the trees on the banks. that was a gory
sight. the same river flows through kalyan .even there it has flown about
50 ft above its normal level. no wonder there flooding upto the first
floor has taken place.
still the damage in those places is nothing compared to what is there in
mumbai.
you screw with nature , nature will screw you.
we need to respect nature , fear it and enjoy it. then nature will never
ever harm you.