Karnala was the place.
Located at a few kilometers from Panvel, New Bombay.
There were 8 souls frustrated with engineering and we decided to end it all with a nice monsoon trek.
We started off at 6:30 am in the morning
Anyways what started off as a normal walk ended up as a treacherous climb.
Karnala, was a fort built by Shivaji for the protection of his empire. Although it was built as a fort it ended up as a watch tower in lieu of its panoramic view. It is located at a height of 800 ft. above the sea-level, easy to baffle any kind of enemy.
We started off along our usual trail and halfway through lost the path. As is the nature of the Sahyadri mountains in monsoons, the soil was all slippery and sloshy. And although the alternative path did lead us back to the oft used trail, it was really tricky with hardly any support. The first-timers were lashing their hands at nothing trying to grab the roots and branches of the trees. But finally we made it.
From the top of the fort is a sight of a lifetime. Kilometers and kilometers of cultivated and fallow land are visible all around. Cars look like the hotwheels we used to play and Konkan railway looks like a moving arrow. The wind at the top of the fort is something I would never forget. The gale rushing in at atleast 100-120 kmph. is enough to put any man off-balance.
Finally after the one hour trek down the slope we stopped at our usual highway hotel and allowed it all to assimilate with one huge bottle of Kingfisher Beer
Cheers