TheFreeBird
In the age of social media Kalavantin durg trek has been portrayed as the most difficult trek ever. However I think its just marketing to get more views. Not to say that Kalavantin trek is not risky. It has its risks but can be easily done by beginners with little or no guidance. You might ask Niraj which treks are risky? I would say Bhairavgad Moroshi, Padargad, Dhak Bahiri, Pinnacle of Irshalgad, Chanderi etc are risky. What Kalavantin durg has to offer is the timeless beauty of its stairs & the beautiful views. In this Kalavantin durg trek blog you will find all the details needed to plan the trek yourself. Similar adventures like this one at the end of this post.
The stairs of Kalavantin durg are well defined and preserved in the best possible condition with no signs of wear and tear. Since the route is intact, though it may appear risky on social media the climb is actually a normal stair walk to the top. Compared to say a Bhairvgad trek (above) where most of the stairs have been broken this is a straightforward climb even elderly can attempt
How to reach Kalavantin durg from Mumbai & Pune ?
Where is Kalavantin durg located? It lies in the Panvel taluka, Raigad Maharashtra. It is 20kms from Panvel, 30kms from Karjat, 60kms from Mumbai & 120 kms from Pune.
Nearest Railway station are Panvel & Karjat station
Base village for Kalavantin durg trek & Prabalgad is Thakurwadi village. Just before the Thakurwadi village the road splits towards Kalavantin fort, walking on it for 10 minutes will take you to the parking spot from where the actual Kalavantin trek starts
Panvel Station : From Panvel Railway station reach Panvel ST stand and get on the Thakurwadi bus. There are frequent buses at 5.10am, 6.55am, 8.00am, 9.50am, 10.55am , mostly once in an hour to reach Thakurwadi. The last bus from Thakurwadi to Panvel is at 8pm, make sure to confirm this with conductor when you go. In case the bus is cancelled get on any bus going towards Karjat and get down at Shedung Phata- from there take a rickshaw to reach Kalavantin fort base.
Karjat Station: From Station reach Karjat bus stand or rickshaw stand and get into any bus/rickshaw going towards Panvel and get down at Shedung phata – from there take the small rickshaw to reach Kalavantin fort base.
From Panvel it should take 45 minutes by bus and about 75 minutes by changing vehicles. From Karjat it should take 75 -90 minutes.
Best way is to take your personal vehicle to reach directly at Kalavantin durg base parking ( location). From any of these railway station you can speak to the shared rickshawalla to drop you at Kalavantin base , he might agree in Rs 500.
Kalavantin durg trek map
Kalavantin Durg Trek Difficulty
Niraj, how difficult is Kalavantin durg trek for beginners? From Thakurwadi parking to Kalavantin top the route is properly marked so there wont be any chance of getting lost. The route is straight forward with minimum difficulty till the Kalavantin stairs. The stairs itself are very simple but a bit tall than the average stairs we are used to in buildings. If you dont have fear of heights you will feel this stairs are very easy. However it becomes risky during monsoon when the stairs might become slippery.
At the top of the stairs there is final rock wall which can be summited by rock climbing. Even if you dont climb it you can say you have completed the trek 😉. At this rock climb the villagers tie ropes on weekends charging Rs 30-50 to climb it. On other days if you are experienced enough you can climb it free style like I did. Overall the Kalavantin durg trek difficulty is beginner++ .
How long is the Kalavantin durg trek?
How much time does kalavantin durg trek take? It takes 2-3 hrs to reach the top depending on your speed and photography habits.
Food & Stay options at Kalavantin ?
As Kalavantin trek is a very popular trek, there are plenty of food huts throughout the route on weekends. On weekdays only couple of these huts are operational. However at Prabalmachi village many locals operate hotels & even provide tent facilities. Hence food & stay is completely sorted. For 500 Rs you can get a 2 person tent on rent. For Tent+food they will charge you Rs 500 per person. There are many people who operate such campings hence you dont need to book anything prior just show up & book on arrival.
The most common question that i get asked is I want to travel a lot but I dont have leaves. Should I quit my job ? I have always suggested to not quit your job unless you have another source of income. In search of this source of income I tried freelancing , trek leading, vlogging and I realised nothing works in the long term. After trying many different thinkgs finally I came across trading. This is perfect for someone who loves travelling & wants to earn from anywhere around the world
Learn trading for freedom. You can trade from anywhere around the world be it some off the grid village in Himachal or Meghalaya, be it some island in Andaman. All you need is an internet connection and a trading account. You can earn by trading for 1-2 hrs a day and would have freedom to do anything in the free time.Or you might have just earned enough in a day to take the month off travelling around the world. If you are able to learn this then it has potential to make all your dreams come true. I would suggest you take it up as a side project for 6 months to see if you have patience & intellect to master it.
Once you learn it, all you need is a trading account and a mobile phone with internet to trade from anywhere in the world.
Kalvantin Durg trek blog : TheFreeBird’s Story
I have done this trek like 4 times in last 1 year with different freinds but i never took proper pics for blog purpose. Hence one winter morning I decided to visit Kalavantin durg specially for clicking pictures 😁. As usual i took one friend with me on my bike as solo trekking is just stupid. My plan was to trek via shortcuts which i had not tried earlier. Having parked my xpulse at parking location (Rs 30 – parking fees) we started towards Kalavantin on the well marked route.
In about 10 minutes we reached the first diversion for shortcut no.1 which we didnt take as i wanted to take the steeper shortcut 2 mentioned in the Kalavantin trek route map at the top. We continued on the normal road. Earlier this was a proper vehicle road right till Prabalmachi, but heavy rains some 5-6 years washed away the road at certain sections , else one hr of trek would have reduced. Soon enough we reached the second shortcut and i was glad to witness morning sunlight working its magic. Idea of clicking the vertical stairs in this morning golden light got me excited.
From here i could see vast expanse right till Karnala , though the visibilty decreased just before clicking the photo. In the above pic you can see a group of high rise buildings coming up near the foot of Prabalgad. I dont know what kind of corrupt officials allow construction in forest areas. 5 years down the line I am pretty sure they will cry about leopards attacking them when they are the ones who have attacked / encroached the leopard’s land. After climbing through the steep shortcut we reached the main route from where the view at fort’s North side became visible.
From here started our small climb on some old stairs to the top. These are not the stairs Kalavantin is famous for but i liked them as well. Trekking in morning has its own perks as the tough climbs feel very easy. I had done the same trek in summer and i recollect taking lots of time to reach Prabalmachi.
This time around I was at Prabalmachi within an hour. Morning light beautifully lit the village. The plan was to enjoy the sunrise from top of Kalavantin durg but unfortunately started late from home, time management needs to be improved.
The village was still waking up as we made way towards Kalavantin. As we passed through the village there was a bifurcation for Kalavantin & Prabalgad. I have seen this board so many times before but I have always taken the left turn to Kalavantin. Next time for sure I will be heading towards Prabalgad.
From the village it takes another half an hour to reach the col between Kalavantin & Prabalgad ( to the bottom of V ) After the village route passes through a dense forest and if you are silent you can spot various birds. There was a tree full of white herons ( बगळा ) which i spotted last time as well i.e. it looks like a permanent nest . Too bad I did not take any picture.
At the col, there is another route which bifurcates towards Prabalgad. Just above that diversion is a small square cave. This cave goes about 10-15m deep and inside there is a big room which can accommodate 20 people. The only downside is the cave is just waist high as such you can only crawl in & out.
Once out of the cave i could see Kalavantin durg in all its glory. I am always in awe to see such mammoth rocks being so aesthetically carved to reach the top with perfect architecture. All the efforts & skills using basic equipment turned a huge rock into a piece of history, mystery & marvel.
The initial steps have got eroded by years of exposure. A rope has been tied to help you around which comes in handy especially during monsoon. In monsoon all precaution must be taken to avoid any risks. The rock becomes slippery and one wrong step can be huge issue due to the sheer height of this fort. In the past there have been deaths at Kalavantin durg especially because of people more engrossed in taking selfies than caring about there own safety. Stay safe.
When seen from far these stairs feel like a snake slithering its way to the top. These stairs may look risky but in reality are like normal building stairs only some of them are twice as high as the normal stairs. At some places lots of stretching is required to climb them.
By now the sun had come up fast and the morning light painted the stairs golden.
This light is what photographers called golden hours as everything looks beautiful in this light. Here is my face trying to strike a pose.
It took us 10 minutes to climb the stairs as we also took lots of photos. On weekends it can get crowded and I would suggest not to wait here too long for photos as narrow routes with over enthusiastic crowds is an invitation to accidents. Once at the top we could see all the forts in the near by area including – Karnala, Manikgad , Peb , Matheran, Nakhind , Chanderi & Malanggad.
Rock Climbing at final patch
The final patch of Kalavantin durg trek needs to climbed like a rock climber. On top of this rock is a statue of Shivaji Maharaj. So if are an ardent history lover or just love rock climbing this rock is meant to be climbed without any excuses. However its not at all easy without a rope. Note: Unless you are an experienced person do not attempt this rock climb. On weekends villagers tie up ropes & ladders to climb to the top, charging Rs 30 or 50. On weekdays it needs to be climbed free solo style.
With few moves I had reached the top of this rock. You can find my reel on instagram where I climbed this rock without using the rope
At the top you will get to see a beautiful statue of Shivaji Maharaj overlooking sahyadri. Its such a beautiful set up with many forts surrounding the king of sahyadri. Also notice in the reel above the Idol had a umbrella installed on top of it . However i guess the wind has blown it off as i didnt see it this time around.
Related post: You can read about the life of Shivaji Maharaj in Marathi
Here i admired the statue and the surroundings for a while. As the morning light turned hotter it was time to go back. This is such a beautiful trek with all the requisites of a good trek. With that we headed down to one of the food huts enroute. Kalavantin trek is not complete without enjoying the swings .
The most boring part of the trek is going down. There is nothing new to see and the sun just kills the vibe. If you are here in the morning by 7 am you will be at the top by 10, make it 11 as you will not just walk to the top you will take photos at very single point & take atleast 5 stops- by the time you will return back to Prabalmachi it will be 12 and you will just have to walk down under a hot sun. Instead what i will suggest is to have your lunch in the village or the above place in the jungle where there are swings & just spend another 2-3 hrs chilling , enjoy the sunset and then head down . It would be a better experience.
We took the normal route while going down as the short cuts are too demanding on knees. We took a stop at this Rest Point ( shown in the Kalavantin trek map at top), spend some time and then headed down with the sun at its peak.
The heat was too much and being a weekday all the food stalls were closed. We hurried back to the parking spot to finally find couple of stalls open. The sugarcane juice was so satisfying- I had two glasses
Hopped on my bike in the background above & rushed home.
Bye !
That’s it for the Kalavantin durg trek blog.
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I've written blogs covering numerous Sahyadri treks, all accessible in the section below. Additionally, I create ambient Sahyadri videos on YouTube, featuring solely natural sounds such as birdsong, wind rustling through the trees, and the soothing patter of rain—the elements of nature that I hold dear.
SAHYADRI TREKS NEAR
