MAKHANIYO PARVAT -  Mountains are calling us!

Hello...

         We hope that you are safe and sound at home and taking the necessary precautions. As per Charlie Mackesy, “We are tired, but dawn is coming. So hold on.” This too shall pass.  This trip was back in January, but it’s so close to our heart. It was our first mountain climbing together. 

                             

                   

       It was a foggy, chilly winter morning and kids wanted to climb a mountain. Sheel thought of Makhaniyo parvat and I heard it for the first time. It is beautiful Rocky Mountain near Sukhi dam reservoir. The road up to the mountain is amazing, full of greenery. 

                                         

      We parked our car near the temple just at the base of the mountain and started our hike. You just need to pass a small bridge on the canal and few fields and then u will be at the base of the breathtaking beauty in form of you.  It is entirely of rocks with scanty vegetation. Just like its name - Makhan means butter in Gujarati...

                                   

                                         

                                  

              The only downfall of this hike was that I stopped after reaching at 3/4th of the top as my shoes were not supporting me. The hike is pretty steep at places and the rocks are quite smooth so it was slippery. And we really felt that when our tea thermos tumbled down...it was scary...

                                              

                                              

                                     

                 Sheel and the kids went up to the top...and we were so proud of them to finish their first hike so easily. I enjoyed my view and peace from where I was sitting. I could feel every second of that calmness in every cell of my body. It was so soothing. 

                                          

      It took me back to the lockdown days when I penned down this poem. Sharing it will all of you. 

It’s like mountains are calling me

I am enjoying at home 
This is my happy place 
It gives me peace 
It gives me sanity 
Amidst all chaos
Amidst all noise
In the corner of my home 
I am at ease 
The comfort which  is unseen
The comfort which is routine 
I don’t want to go out 
I don’t want to meet friends 
I am not missing socializing 
I am not missing any blaze 
Among my pillows 
Among my books and chai 
There is nowhere
I would rather be
The comfort which  is unseen
The comfort which is routine 
But 
When I look at the pictures
Of scenic Himalayas
I miss that serenity 
I want that tranquility 
The joy of that  serendipity 
pleasure in that  odyssey 
In the world of reality 
They nurture us with lucidity
I get goosebumps here 
By the feel of that breeze 
Tears in my eyes
With joy, they appease 
Their mesmerizing beauty 
Their charismatic charm 
And here I am 
In the corner of my home 
I am at ease 
There is nowhere 
I would rather be 
But 
It still feels like 
Mountains are calling me.....
      

                So to fulfill that call, that sound, we went on this trip, and surely it was accomplished fully!!!

  

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/EX2n77X5UC9PyDQ1A

Height: 400 meters

Distance from Vadodara:  102 km from Vadodara, 2 hours 30 min. 

Care to take:

   - It is a lonely place. So better to go in a group. 

   - Good hiking shoes are better. I can definitely elk you from my experience 

   - You can take a local person as a guide with you. We did'nt. But in hindsight, it would have been better. 

   - I think it will be difficult in the monsoon because of the slippery surface. 

    - Take the proper amount of water and fluids with you. U will need plenty. 

    - Plan ahead as it will be a tiring day with a 60-90 min one-way journey. But every second of it will be worth it. 

          We are definitely going to repeat this hike again this winter as I definitely want to go to the tabletop mountain and do camping there. What about you? 

Jungle adventure: Bhat Ecocampsite

 Hello!!

      So this was our trip last Sunday. Jambughoda is a famous wildlife sanctuary near Vadodara. There are few campsites and resorts within and near this sanctuary.  But this one is less explored or maybe our timing was off. 

       The distance between Vadodara to Bhat Eco campsite is 60 km and appx time is 1 hour 10 min.  But we started our journey early as sheel wanted to see the sunrise from Vadatalav lake on the way.  I have read somewhere that most of your problems will be solved if you see the rising sun daily. So true!!! Nowadays we read and see so many books and sites to wake up before 5 am. But our culture, our elders, and our ancestors are telling this for ages... Isn't it our Brahmamuhurtha? 

                           

     And as we expected the sunrise was as mesmerizing. There is something about golden linings along with the clouds and the sun like mother's bindi. It feels warmness in the ignorant cold corners of the heart. 

                                      

      So after we left the lake, we went to Bhat directly. It’s just a 25-30 min drive from there.  We reached there by 7:45 am. Initially, our plan was to walk on the entire trail to Ghagalmata temple, which is there on the hill. But as the guide and person at the office suggested that the trail is of appx 6-7 km. So it will be difficult once it starts getting hot. We decided to go by car and then for the last 2 km we can go on foot. We suggest that if you are with family, take a guide with you because it’s a really difficult path in between and the villagers’ homes are not directly on the way.  

                                                 

                    

        It’s a deep jungle. Though according to the guide the beauty is in the monsoon, we love shades of brown in the summertime. How can we appreciate the beautiful meshwork of tree branches with their leaves?  Trees are in their purest form. As they are standing tall with all pride and determination. Determination to never get tired. Determination to come back strong next season. I love this harmony of trees and leaves. Leaves that were an integral part of the trees are now hugging the ground and still, the trees let them go and nurture them again. This is the Harmony of a circle. Haven't we been taught about this circle since we are young but we can't understand its full meaning, rather we ignore this amazing concept? But nature never forgets to teach us this again and again...

     Along the way, there were plantation sites for dragon fruit, all provided by the government. Many people were picking up flowers from the jungle and those were Mahua flowers, for desi daru.... as it is one of the main forms of earning for the villagers. 

       We parked our car when appx 2 km were left and started our journey on foot.  The exciting thing was we can see the footprints of hyena on half of the trail. There are appx 70-80 leopards, 60-70 hyenas, and 10-15 bears in this sanctuary.  If you want to come by trekking the entire way then the trail is totally different and it is a shortcut.  

                                 

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        When we reached the point, the view was captivating. There were hills all around us with a view of Dev reservoir in between. It was a windy and pleasant atmosphere, but yes, the scenery must be totally different and enthralling in the monsoon. We would definitely add this to our bucket list of monsoon travel.  They also have made a watch tower at this point. 

       

      

          On the top, you won't get anything so please take water with you. As per reviews, the food in the campsite is good and they make it in their kitchen fresh only. But we didn't have it so can't opine on that. 

          Now comes the really thrilling part of our day. The guide took us to the cave. It's almost 1/2-1 km walk along the trail, once you park the car. You need to have a guide with you or you will not be able to find a way. It's a cave from the time of the Britishers. They used it for mining purposes. It is a pitch-black cave. You must have a torch with you. The other end of the cave is blocked partially by the rocks due to landslides. There are two other passages from the cave on either side, which are appx 1/2 km long. We didn't dare to go in them. The bats were flying freely above our heads. We literally had to bend and walk. It was really scary yet hair-raising!!! 

         There are other two caves like this. But we decided to end at this one only. We wanted to make our first experience of a cave a special one. Because we never forget our firsts. We love our first though they are terrifying. Be it the first hike or be it the first bike ride. Be it the first day of the job or the first play on stage. And this first will be special because it was the first for all four of us!!! These small little experiences are the bases and foundations of our kids' lives and maybe down the lane after few years they will be telling this story while enjoying their firsts...See this is the beauty!!! 

     So to cut short we have to come again for such a riveting experience and to see this amazing forest in its lush green form. 

       Sharing few details of the Bhat Ecocampsite. If you want to stay, you need to do a booking online only. 

Location:   https://goo.gl/maps/jYXzsKzWooG2 - campsite 

Main office: Chief Conservator of Forest

                     Kothi, Raopura.

Contact no: 0265-  2425136  

Local guide no: Maheshbhai - 7096571951

Narmada Canal on Halol highway

 Hello all!

     Here we are. We are going to take you to the very nearby place from Vadodara. From here we have started our Sunday routine of wilderness. Actually, this place is nothing like wild, but still, it’s close to nature.  And as they say, nature is there in eyes of the spectator.

     It’s the main Narmada canal on the Halol Highway,  just 35 km from Baroda and 35 minutes easy drive.  We just went along the canal by car, parked car on the side. And took off walking. Walking along the roads and then walking into the roadside fields...Talking, laughing, dancing, and discussing...

     We went there again with friends and family... and every time canal has different colors and different emotions for us...Be it pleasant mornings or calm evenings...It’s a happy and comfortable place for us...We had fed fishes in the canal there and dogs on the street. We had read our books there, we had enjoyed our morning tea there. We had small delicious suppers there and we had our first trail walks there. And one of those days was our favorite poet Shel Silverstein’s birthday. 

                I am sure, you all must have passed through this highway number of times. Now next time let's spare an hour or a half.  See this beautiful canal and think about the benefit it is giving to the people on the way... Who would have thought that the Narmada, which is hopping and passing happily among the hills of Vindhya and Satpura, will extend its tributaries to Rajasthan? It's true that while making the Sardar Sarovar dam there must be loss of many villages. But their libation is not lost. They must be getting the blessing of many from Kutch to Saurashtra to Rajasthan and that's what I feel when I come here.  I feel these emotions of sacrifice and these emotions of boons, of thousands and lakhs of people.  

      

     Are you planning to go there for just some quiet family time? Jump in the car and have fun!!! 

A WARM WELCOME TO OUR SAFAR...

A WARM WELCOME TO OUR SAFAR...

In these pandemic times, among all chaos and all negativity, we started something new...Explore the wild... Find the less explored places... Pack few necessities of the day and just took off every Sunday morning and sometimes evening too...

What was the motive? To get fresh air...To find a quiet place...To spend alone time with kids...

Yes…..But with all these, the most important is to get peace, to get positivity, to be calm, to be patient, and recharge ourselves to start the coming week afresh!

One Sunday like this, as we were walking among the jungle, where we came across few houses on the road with few ever encouraging and ever helping people, my husband told me that we should write something about these places, so many beautiful places are there so near to our city and we didn’t know them until now. The purpose is to help people like us who want to do such excursions but don’t know from where to start… 

It’s not that these places are isolated. We get these ideas from Google and YouTube only. And sometimes we just open Google Earth and look for trails...but as we always go with kids our main aim is safety.

We have started this journey in September 2020. We are looking forward to continuing and sharing it with you all. So here is a blog of 'Our Safar' in the wilderness with our kids...Jump in this wanderlust with us... 

                                               

May you travel more and more.

May you become close to Mother nature more and more 

May you never have to worry about an empty fuel tank (we always do)

May you get good tea stalls on the roads with perfect adrak tea

May you get to see all beautiful sunrises and mesmerizing sunsets

May you soak in the rain while climbing hills

May you stand under a fall and get lost in the feeling of water 

May you don't fight with your companion over the music list

May you get delicious munching chips and cookies

But above all these

May you get a chance to heal yourself

May you get all serenity

All tranquility

All positivity.

With Love

Satva 

Shaurya 

Sheel 
Kajal