Trek to Ratangad | Jewel of Forts
The second trek of 2019 was planned for Ratangad, after a first failed attempt which took us to a Dead End and then Mahuli this time we took public transport to reach Kasara and then head to Ratanwadi in a taxi which we had already booked before.
How to Reach Ratangad:
We traveled to Ratangad using the Public Transport, a Train to Kasara and from there a cab to the Base of Ratangad which is Ratanwadi. We took the last train which is at Fare Rs 30 and cab took Rs 3500 for the 8 of us. You can also take a bus from the Igatpuri ST depot and then a tum tum if you want to do a super low budget trip or you can either take your car or two-wheeler as they have a designated parking at the base of the Fort.
The Ratangad Trek:
It took us around 2 hours to reach the base village of the fort Ratangad, Ratanwadi. Once we reached the base we freshened up, had some tea, poha and omelettes and started with our trek.
We asked at the place we ate for the trek route, he said the route was straight and we wouldn’t need to take a guide with us but as it was rainy season the local dam was filled and most of the route was covered with water,We trekked for some time after which we reached a point where we needed to ask a villager for help. The villager showed us the way while telling us about the dam and the life in the village,about trekkers and everything else. We reached a particular point from where the route wasn’t difficult and we could trek on our own with some help from the route explained by the villager.
The climb to the top was actually not that difficult and was a mix of steep climbs and plain walks,crossing rivers and forests. There is one point in the trek where the route bifurcates into two parts.We take the Right route which leads to Ratangad, the other heads to the Ratangad-Kalsubai range trek.After walking for an hour or so we finally reached the rickety step which lead all the way to the top. Actually 3 different ladders, they are a little broken and shaky but the only way to the top of the fort.
After the Stairs we reached the first gate, there are actually 4 different gates Ratangad has.We spent an hour or so exploring the top of the fort visiting the watchtower, the different gates and the main attraction the Nedhe. After exploring the fort we had some snacks eggs, chips and biscuits and then started descending again. It took us around the similar time to descend but while descending we had a adventure in store. Xeus and me went ahead for some time and were waiting for the other members but they never showed up so I went behind to check on them but they were nowhere to be seen.Thinking that they must have taken a different route we started our trek back to the base village trying to find our way to the base , we somehow finally managed to reach the base only to see our friends hogging on food.
By 2 we had descended back to Ratanwadi, where we had some tasty Chicken, Crab, Rice and Chapati made by the locals. After doing some Pet Puja it was time to head home, while heading home we were supposed to catch a 6:00 train after which the next train was around 8. As we did not want to wait for that much time the Driver of the Taxi raced to the railway station and made us reach the railway station 15 minutes before the train left.
Had some tea,sat in the train and our Second trek of Monsoon 2019 got completed successfully and the total cost of our trek came to around Rs 800.
For More trek articles Click Here
For more trek Videos Click Here
