Trek to Kalsubai We started for Mt. Kalsubai, the highest mountain in Shayadris, by boarding the 9:30 am train to Kasara. It is a two hours journey from Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus to Kasara. We were expecting a mad rush for seats, as is usual in Mumbai locals, but to our surprise, the bogey was virtually empty. We all rejoiced and snuck into comfortable corner of the trains. In an hours time we had left Thane. Their was a sudden change in the landscape as FSI guzzling monsters of multi-storied apartments gave way to wide-open fields, lush green after the monsoons. We had reached Kasara by 11:30. Our destination was Bhandardara. We had planned the trip as an extended stay at Bhandardara to soak in the numerous sights for which Bhandardara has now become famous, following which we intended to spend the night at either Bhandardara or Bari (a small hamlet, some distance from Bhandardara), and then begin an early morning trek to Mt. Kalsubai. The transport situation appeared a bit daunting to us as the taxi operators inflated their rates, the moment they caught a glimpse of a bunch of city-slickers a.k.a. Ness Roadies. We decided to grab a cup of tea before we began our next stretch of travel. It was getting hotter and everybody was itching to get out of the city limits. Therefore, we hired a cab for Bhandardara and took the Delhi-Agra Highway. After around an hour’s journey, we took a turn from Ghoti to Bhandardara. Ride beyond Ghoti is a veritable splendor of nature. Mountains, humble not lofty, greet you with grace and tenderness. Time just ran and we managed to touch Bhandardara by 1.30. It is amazing how some times when you venture out of Mumbai or any other city the first sight of a natural formation, mountains, sea, reservoirs etc., can take you breath away. That is what happened to us at Bhandardara. We were standing on top of a hillock, when we saw the magnificent Bhandardara Lake / Lake Arthur. Sun was playing hide and seek with us, mere mortals. It would appear in glee brightening up our day and filling us with pure joy. Reflection of sun extended from one end of the shore to the other. Millions of golden lamps floated in the river surface. Then, the clouds would nudge the sun away out of sight, as if to tell the sun that they were mightier. This game would go on. Sunrays would filter through the tiny holes in the clouds or skim away from the edges to create a mesmerizing mosaic of infinite beauty. We had our lunch at the MTDC resort. We rented out a dormitory and then moved on to explore Bhandardara. Our first destination was the Wilson Dam Spillway Barrage. This spot offers a majestic view of the Bhandardara Lake brimming and overflowing to the shores. Silhouettes of boats floating in the distance made for a perfect picture. Everyone became a photographer. Armed with mobile cams and cameras we began an endless assault on the sights in a bid to ensnare the beautiful views for eternity. We needed to move on. Clouds threatened to spoil the party. We were yet to see the Randh falls. At 170 ft. depth, it is the third largest Waterfalls in India. Therefore, we rushed ahead. Someone had mentioned that Kareena Kapoor had frolicked under the Randh fall in the film AHOKA. This added to our madness. We reached Randh in about 20 minutes. We were standing on a plateau on top of the two falls. The mighty gush of water resonated through the air. Waterfalls were simply awesome. We wanted to go down and get wet, but there was no visible route. We had to be contented with the pleasure of being distant witnesses. The photo-ops were aplenty and we were not the ones to let such opportunities go amiss. The desire to get drenched was getting better of us. We were like a bunch of camels that had been traveling in the desert for months, and needed an enormous splash of water to quench the thirst of their parched souls. We headed back to the great Bhandardara Lake. We did not stop anywhere else. At the first sight of the lake, we jumped out of the vehicle and ran like monkeys after a packet of peanuts. It would have been turned into a racket but for the wise word from the team leader, Samir, who suggested we took a boat ride first. Surprisingly the boat ride had a somewhat calming affect. We floated on this boat, at peace with ourselves. Setting sun reminded us, that there is another day awaited. Mountains huddled together. Covered in blankets of green, they sat around the lake together in a huddle, whispering tales of unknown wisdom. Then, the boat headed for the shore. As we approached the land, one of the roadies threw around his clothes and shoes and jumped straight into the water. Another Roadie followed, followed by another one. We had frolicked for long. Now, it was time to get some rest and prepare for our early morning trek. We reached the Dormitory and relaxed. We had planned to leave early for the trek next morning. However, we kept playing games and indulged in never-ending discussions on every topic under the sun. Before you know it was 2 0’colock. When we woke up it was already six. By the time, we reached at village Bari at the foot of the Mt. Kalsubai it was 7.30 am. It was getting warmer. We began the trek on slushy village roads. The lush green fields with paddy flourishing welcomed us. Mountain, waterfalls, river-stream and greenery all around made for excellent setting for the trek. We had started together but, soon, we were scattered. The climb was not tough. It was a bit steep but not difficult. But the walk was never ending. The sun was shining bright and was making it more tough. We came across the first iron staircase. In some places the climb to Kalsubai is so steep that the only way to climb is a set of Iron ladders drilled into the rock face. There are a total of two such staircases. When we came across the second staircase we were very delighted. We climbed the stairs pretty fast and thumped each other with pride thinking that we had climbed the kalsubai in one and half hour (it generally take 3 hours to climb it). However, as soon we crossed it, a fellow trekker from another group looked at us and said that there was one more ladder to cross. He pointed up towards a little ahead. When we looked at the challenge ahead we were demoralized. We were tiring and it seemed that the person who showed us the second ladder was a demon and had showed us the doors to hell. Actually, He was pointing towards a flag waving on top of the Kalsubai temple and stairs leading to it, it seemed it would take eternity to reach there. We sat there for a while, caught up with breath and resumed the trek. The higher we reached, higher and farther the temple would appear from us. It seemed like a nasty jone, as if someone was adding miles to the highest peak in Maharshtra. We didn’t give up, kept walking, and walking. After about 15 minutes, the temple looked closer. We crossed a small well on the way. We washed ourselves with water, which was unusually cold. The chill scared away the stress out of our bodies. After about 20 more minutes of walking up the hill we reached the last stair case. We climbed it like boys who had found a treasure chest. As soon as we finished the climb, we found ourselves wrapped in a haze of cloud. Our joy knew no bounds. We were at the peak and everything looked tiny and insignificant. We had nothing to look 'up' to. The view from the top is simply breathtaking. ‘On top of the world’ summarizes the feeling the roadies shared. It was liberating as well as exhilarating. Soon, we were on our way back to Mumbai.