Andharban Trek, Maharashtra

Ever felt like going on a trek that feels like a cosy walk in lush green garden surrounded by clouds ! If the answer is yes, then Andharban is the trek for you.

Andharban literally means Dark Forest and it quite aptly describes this trek. Located in Sahyadris, this trek connects Tamini ghat with Konkan overlooking Kundalika valley. The trail passes through lush green dense forest, waterfall, lake, a quaint little village, couple of streams and commences with a picturesque dam. The best part of this trek is that you would go through all these spots without exerting too much pressure on your keens as the ascent and descent both are so gradual that it feels like a long morning walk.

Starting point : Tamini ghat ( Independent View point ) near Pimpri village
It is 50 kms from Lonavala, approx. 1 hour from Pune.
End point :  Bhira Dam

Duration : 5/6 Hours
Trail : approx. 14 kms

Let's start the trek !

We started of quite early in the morning from Pune and had our breakfast on the way. Watching the sunrise is always great especially if its accompanied by relishing some hot chai and vada pav and friends around. We reached the The road was engulfed with real fog ( not smog of urban jungles ) as we started towards Tamini ghat and soon we reached the starting point of the trek - Indepent View point. There isn't actually any particular starting point for this trek and one can experiment with many trails from Tamini ghat and around Independent View Point. However, the main trail is well marked except at few spots in jungle, but it is manageable.

The mist covered the path the moment we made entry into the jungle and since it was cloudy it soon started to drizzle. Monsoons in Pune are best time to trek as everywhere you look its all green and pleastant. It is also easy to trek as you don't get dehydrated and exhausted. Clouds cover the sky providing much needed cool breeze and shade necessary for comfortable trek. As we hiked for few miles, we came across a beautiful lake and after crossing it there was dense forest.

As we entered the dense forest, we were welcomed with rich flora and fauna. Monsoon brings with it the gift of much anticipated life to the arid landscape after scorching summer months. Variety of colorful flowers and assorted birds were present everywhere. Melodies sound of whistling birds filled the place with soothing aura around us. That's the second best thing about this trek. It is bird watchers paradise ! A keen enthusiast of birds and flowers would love to spend more time in jungle trail of this trek to explore it to the fullest.

After the jungle trail was over, we crossed couple of water streams some of which do require forming a human chain or rope especially when it's raining heavily and the flow of stream increases abruptly. We came across a meadow and decided to break for lunch as drizzle paused for time being and we were also famished. We had simple meal of sandwiches and parathas that we had packed. It was serene and wherever one looked it was evergreen and misty.

Although we were quite enjoying the nature around, it was still another 3/4 hours of trek left and it could rain soon. So we geared up ourselves and started to hike again. After couple of miles we arrived at Hirdhi village.  It is quaint little village almost midway between the starting and the end point of the trek. Villagers are very polite and friendly. There are paddy fields here and a small Shiva temple with idol of Nandi guarding the door. We sought blessings here and then hiked further. 

The trail after Hirdhi is mostly flat and descent. As we hiked further, we got glimpse of  Bhira dam which is the endpoint of the trek. This provided much anticipated motivation as we were quite tired after hiking for continuous 4 hours. We enjoyed the view for few minutes and then started back and munched on few snickers to mark this moment. Some of us did fall after slipping on the muddy water during descent but we were fine. It is essential to have shoes with good grips and rain cheaters. Leeches are common during monsoon in jungles. It is better to wear full length clothes with closed endings to avoid the leeches sticking around. But its nothing to worry much as it can easily be avoided by wearing appropriate clothing and keeping watch on your footsteps. It started to rain again and were careful this time to avoid another somersault.

After sometime, the sky became clear and after another hour of hike we finally arrived at the point where we could see the dam clearly. It was a great relief ! We were over joyed by the picturesque view from the dam. We went straight to the Bhira Dam. We clicked lot of pics here and everyone was again filled with energy. We spent ample time on the dam enjoying the view and the water and then headed back home to plan another trip.

PS : The small town near the Bhira dam has few small tea shops and restaurants where one can get refreshed before heading back home.