Sunday, August 26, 2012

Following the Path of the Buddha - Kondana Trek


The morning of 25th August, 2012, saw us standing at Dadar station, waiting for the arrival of the 7.01 local to Karjat. Our group that consisted of 10 girls and 3 boys was headed for a trek to the Kondana Caves.
The journey to Karjat was a long, but comfortable one. Once you cross Thane we were blessed with beautiful views of open plains, fields and rolling hills. The only thing lacking was the rain. It was quite sunny and there was not a cloud in sight. This deficiency was rectified once we crossed Ambernath. From here on, until we reached Karjat,  we saw hill shrouded in swirls of dark clouds and mist.
Once we alighted at Karjat station, we pooled in a fair sum of funds and then walked for approx’ 15 minutes towards Sriram Bridge from where we had to hire a 7-seater auto-rickshaw that would take us to the village of Kondana. These autos, commonly known as ‘Vikrams’, charge a sum of 250/- Rupees to drop tourists right at the base village of Kondana. Being a fairly large group, we hired 2 vikrams and then began a long and bumpy ride towards our destination, Gogate’s Van Vihar.
The Van Vihar is a family run establishment that provides meals and accommodation for visitors to Kondana. Here, we had a breakfast of the traditional Poha and then stopped at a local tea-stall for chai and batata-vada, deep fried potato dumplings stuffed into a loaf of bread. From here, tourists have an option of going for any one of the following – a 6 hour trek to the Kondana Fort, or the much shorter trek to Kondana caves. We chose the latter.
The trek begins with a 10 minute walk along a narrow road, then there’s a board that guides tourists/trekkers to turn left for the caves. From here it’s a winding up-hill climb across streams, through bushes and brambles and across boulders. The forest path here is narrow and mostly hidden by the plants and trees that grow alongside the path, but it’s not easy to miss. After about an hour and a ½ of climbing and walking, we got our first glimpse of the caves. Carved directly out of the rock these caves enclose sculptures, vihara, and stupa. Sculptures and stupas are specimens of the ancient period Buddhist architecture. It is said that there was a natural disaster in the form of an earth quake in early 1900 by which many stupas, front entrance and floor of the caves were damaged. These caves attract tourists and Buddhist pilgrims throughout the year. There is a flight of stone steps leading to the caves and a waterfall that, like a sparkling curtain, covers the mouth of the caves.  We had to pass under the waterfall in order to explore the caves.
The outer façade of these caves is beautifully carved and, at many places, depicts an almost kamasutra-like imagery. I guess it’s the whole idea of leaving all desire outside before entering. There are some rough stone steps leading to the first level of the caves. Here one can clearly see little rooms cup-out into the rock. Each one consists of some empty space and what must have once been stone bets for the monks. The entire cave is clean and devoid of the damp, musty smell one usually finds in caves. Apart from exploring the caves, one can enjoy a shower under the waterfall or rappelling down the front of the caves.

After an hour-or two in the caves, we headed back towards the village where we had a sumptuous vegetarian lunch at the Van Vihar. Then, after soaking our tired feet in the river for a few minutes, we took the vikram back to the station from where we boarded the 6.20 local to CST.
All-in-all, it was a simple, but enjoyable trek. It was just what we needed to give ourselves a break from hectic routines of city life.


Pics by Misha

No comments: