Read the Part 1 of Kalavantin Durg Trek here. 

When you reach the base village Prabal Machi, the road splits into two routes––one is towards Kalavantin Durg and the other towards Prabalgad. You can ask the locals for the direction according to where you want to go. 

We started walking, and jumping when needed, and from this village to the Top of the Durg, we did not click even a single picture. The phone was packed in, the wind cheater was tied on the waist, and the backpack was tightened up. I had even kept my glasses in the bag because they were troubling my concentration. 

We followed the white (and sometimes red) arrow marks while coming across many void huts that are actually food stalls on weekends. But since it was a weekday, there was nobody in them; they looked abandoned and played a charitable role of providing shelter for us. 

The path was not a walk in the garden; it had big rocks, thick stems, moss, and mud along. Anurag has trekked here twice before, so he knew how exactly the things get. Seeing me all tired in the first part of the trek, he was wondering if I could make it to the Top; this hurt my ego. Anurag hardly knew about my trekking abilities. I hate it when guys assume me to be like those girls who are skeptical of doing such adventurous things. This hit my ego so hard, I started walking faster.

SOURCE: Treksandtrails.org

The most dangerous part of the trek is the Rocky Mountainous part. There's nothing below you, and you hold on to some edges of the rock and climb. Some parts of the rock were even slippery due to the moss.

Anurag used to climb a little, turn back and look at me; I used to climb and reach to him; then he used to climb further. This is how we reached to the Mossy Steps. 

On our way, Anurag was telling me about a death of a young girl who died while taking a selfie. She slipped at these steps. After reaching that spot, I was thinking about that girl. Thankfully, I'm not a selfie addict. I might fail to capture some precious moments, but I'm someone who enjoys the moment by living it rather than clicking pictures.

Her death didn't scare me, but I was thinking about her all the time. The wind was strong and if lost concentration, it could take us with it. It was drizzling and windy and the steps cast an impression of climbing up the stairway to heaven. I neither have vertigo nor any fear of height; so for me, this was not life-threatening; however, my shoes were not of the best of grips, so I used my hands and sometimes my knees to ensure I reached a point safely.

SOURCE: Aroundinpune.wordpress.com

The steps were slippery, and there was not enough space for one person to walk too. One side there were mossy rocks, and the other side, a deep valley. One slip of toe or a miss of concentration, and you're down; gone forever. 

While making rocks my faithful companion and sticking to them all along, I climbed up the steps. Alas! I had crossed the deathly part of the trek, and just a little was left. The way from the Rocky Mountainous part to the Mossy Steps needed concentration and cautiousness; if you slipped, you could fall in the valley and die. However, the Utmost Part of the trek required good hands and some flexibility to climb up. If you're in cargos or other cotton pants, then it's gonna give you a hard time. 

Anurag climbed up first and gave me directions for climbing. While we were climbing, we could hear people chattering at the Top. We somehow reached it and I discovered those people were the overly enthusiastic group we'd met at Prabal Machi.

The feeling of conquering this point was incredible. I was on top of the world; finally had climbed that deathly climb to reach here. I immediately remembered one of my favourite quotes:

I was ecstatic. We had reached the Top around 2:30 pm and we had decided to start descending at 3:00 pm. We clicked pictures and sat on the edge silently, just looking around, marvelling the beauty of nature, and reminiscing the climb. While the first group left, few more people were seen. It was another group; a group of boys and girls of my age. The girls were trying hard to reach the Top and the boys were acting as their sticks, helping them climb.

We saw one group leave and one group climb. Shortly, we started descending. It got around 3:30 pm when we started. We could see the mighty Prabalgad from the Top. Going down is assumed to be scarier than climbing up, but for me, going down is all about putting faith in your hands, legs, and your bum!

We plunged down the Utmost Part, then the Mossy Steps, then the Rocky Mountainous part, and then the place that relieved us. The easier part towards Prabal Machi had begun. Our pace had increased and we had left our bodies loose; if we could survive the top part, this path was as easy as the pie. On my way down, I still had the thoughts of the girl, the climb, the heavenly view, and the potency of nature.  These thoughts didn't leave my head until next morning. It got even more intense when I lied down on bed; I had a sudden epiphany; I had tears too. It was something about the trek that had touched my soul.

We reached Prabal Machi, and saw the hotel lady. She was sitting on a rock with her baby. We chatted with her for some time and then started our trail back to Thakurwadi village. It was 4:50 pm when we were somewhere between Prabal Machi and Thakurwadi. We reached Thakurwadi, had wada pav, and left for home. Anurag dropped me below my building and then went ahead towards his house...

What an incredible trek it was! With mighty mountains and the noble nature, it's truly a must visit place!

Location: Shedung Naka, Panvel

First Village (FV): Thakurwadi

Second Village (SV): Prabal Machi

Time required from First Village to Second Village: Approx. 1 hour 30 minutes (depends on the speed)

Time required from Second Village to the Top: Approx. 1 hour

Who can trek here: Not a safe place for kids at all. People with good amount of endurance and an experience of trekking would be best people for this trek.

Things to do around: Enjoy in waterfall, camp, trek to neighbouring Prabalgad, and click pictures.

xoxo