Panch Kailashi Deepak Pai's video: JAI BHOLE KI Mahuli trek by OM Group on 2nd Jan 2021 Kindly read description before watching

An ideal one day trek. Located at a distance of about 74kms from Mumbai a small detour off the Mumbai Nashik highway near Manas Mandir Asangaon and we were at the base village Mahuli. Plenty of parking space available at tourist centre as well as at the entrance gate of the sanctuary. Local contact Vinod offers food and staying facilities.Cell no 87665905802. Cheap and good. A Shiv temple is there opposite the tourist centre. In the compound of the temple is a big idol of Mahadev. Seeked his blessings and proceeded towards the entrance. Visited the local Ganapati temple enroute. A five minute walk and we were at the gate. An entrance fee of Rs 30/- per person is to be paid. Forester Shree Vaingankar was very cooperative. He informed me that dormitory facilities are available at a cost of Rs 200/- per person. He too can arrange for food. For stay in the dormitory, you can contact him. Cell no 8652791744. Began our trek at 09.35. Nice wide path with statues of wild animals on both sides. Went past the dormitory and in 15 mins we reached a small bridge. No water under the bridge. From here, the climb began. A muddy path, sometimes easy and at some places pretty steep. Full forest cover. No source of water anywhere. Kindly carry atleast 2-3 litres of water and something to munch. Reached a steep rock patch climb at 11.20. Five minutes of careful climb and I was on a narrow ridge. To my right was a small path with deep falls on both sides leading to a small rock. This is not on the trek route. I went on this narrow path just to test my nerves. To my left was the path leading to the fort. From here, it is a steep climb on the rocky mountain side and then rock steps. At 12.10, we were at the base of a steel ladder. We climbed the same and were at the summit of Mahuli. All along the route there are arrows painted on rocks and trees and also placards to guide us to the fort. Mahuli is a huge fort with plenty of places to see. Went towards Hanuman darwaza. Went past water tanks, ruins of some kind and an open air Shiv temple. All in ruins. Opposite the Shiv temple is a lake. Although there is plenty of water, none of it is fit for human consumption. Visited the ruins of Dhanyacha Kothara(Grainery) and then proceeded towards Mahadarwaza. Reached there at 14.15. Restoration work is going on here. An open air Shivling under a huge tree, a bust of Shivaji Maharaj and a fresh water source are present here. Prayed to Mahadev and Shivrai and drank the crystal clear water from the tank which was overflowing with water coming from the spring source. Also filled our bottles. Went down towards the Mahadarwaza on steps carved in the solid rock. Caves dug out on both sides offer resting space for trekkers. Big enough to accommodate atleast 50 people. Carvings of animals are present on the rocks here. We could not explore the entire fort due to time constraints and began our descend at 15.00 and reached the base village at 16.45. Freshened up at the well near the Shiv temple and had a very tasty meal at Vinod's small outlet. Altitude of Mahuli is about 2,800 ft above sea level and the total trekking distance is about 16 kms. Climbing up at an easy pace can be covered in 2hrs 30 mins. Exploring the entire fort will take atleast 5-6 hours. Descending to the base will take about 1 hr 45 minutes. 🙏 JAI BHOLE KI 🙏