Harishchandra gad trek

Finally............. summer is over & every trekker's favourite season has arrived.. Its raining & time to spend your weekends in lush green sahyadri ranges..

This year's first rainy trek was harishchandra gad... We went for the two days trek on 26-27 June..
for visiting Harishchandra Gad one has to start early in the morning.. we met at Thane railway station at 6:30 am & took the train for Kalyan.
After getting down at Kalyan check whether you are carrying all the necessary food & medicince.. if anything is missing Kalyan & Murbad are last two stops where you can purchase things..
Take any State transport bus passing through Makshej Ghat from Kalyan depot which is very close to the Kalyan railway station.

aboard the ST bus & enjoy around 2 hours ride till Khubi Phata.. If you dont know Khubi phata, tell the conductor to guide you.. Khubi phata is just 10 minutes after you pass malshej ghat tunnel..

Get down at Khubi Phata & you will see a big water reservoir to your left.. You have to cross this & head to the village called Khireshwar.. its around 4 kms walk.. You may find a jeep travelling to Khireshwar, these guys will take you to the village in 10Rs per person..

You can have a breakfast at Khireshwar & start the climb.. anybody will guide you to the way to the fort..

Way to the top is pretty clear & very few chances of you getting lost in the forest.. just keep following arrows drawn by other trekkers.. We took 2 Hrs before we reached a rock patch. This is the only section where you have to be bit careful.. Its not huge.. it takes 20 - 25 minutes max to cross this rock patch..

And once you cross the rock patch.. you can enjoy the treat of tea / nimbupani ..You can also take halt for lunch after completing rock patch section as, you have crossed more than half of the distance..

After this point you have to cross 4 hills to reach the fort. Just keep following arrows, there is a chance of getting lost in this section.. so keep an eye on arrows.. after crossing 4 hills you can see the ancient rock carved temple.. thats it... you have reached the top. Now your next plan of action would be to look for an accommodation.

There are some caves around this temple, where villagers will arrange for your accomodation.. If everything is full, there is a small cave near Kedareshwar Shiv Linga. So book your cave & have a great time roaming around.. njoy the nature... njoy waterfalls..
  Dinner can be arranged by the villagers staying atop. Our friend Bhagwanta, who stays atop arranged dinner & next day's breakfast & tea for us.. We were carryig some kerosin.. so we also njoyed campfire..

  Next day.. thats day 2 one can visit Konkan kada & taramati pinacle.. We visited only Konkan kada.. If you are visiting Harishchandra gad you should not miss Konkan Kada.. After visit to konkan kada we had our breakfast & started descend..
  It takes around 2 hours to come down to khireshwar.. then come till khubi phata or travel 5 more kms to Madh village to catch the bus to Kalyan..
  Happy monsoon & happy trekking