Bike Ride: Pune to Raigad via Nizampur-Pachad Shortcut

After a long spell of lethargy, our group was finally coming together for Raigad trip on 2nd October. But despite my attempts to convince them about a bike-ride till Pachad, public-transport won the vote with couple of guys sitting on the fence. All my attempts were in vain, as they always are, when it comes to convincing people about a long bike ride.

When all this was going, I was also looking for a possible route to the base of Raigad. Usual routes are either through Tamhini ghat, or through Varandha ghat. The one through Tamhini ghat, which was closer, goes like -

Pune - Chandani Chowk - Pirangut - Paud - Mulashi - Tamhini Ghat - Nizampur - Mangaon - NH17 - Mahad - Pachad - Raigad (chitta-darawaja)

But I was pleasantly surprised, when I came across one strikingly camouflaged short-cut, which connects Nizampur and Pachad directly. Camouflaged, because when you ask Google Maps about a route from Nizampur-to-Pachad, it takes you through Mahad. But look closely on the satellite terrain view, and you will find one thin streak of zigzag line going through the mountains, connecting Nizampur to Pachad. And such a hint of a bike ride through lonely villages in remote mountain areas, is more than enough to seduce any biker worth his salt. And it did'nt take a moment before I fell for it.

I had this crazy ride of around 6hours, couple of years ago, while on a journey to find out Torana. That route had taken me through one काढवे खिंड (Kadhave pass), which was such a remote place, that, all along the 10-20km ride on a half-baked 3-ft road, for around 2 hours, I was the lone human-being in that area. So when I came across this surprise route from Nizampur-to-Pachad, I knew my fantasies about the route will just eat me from inside till I go on that ride. Fortunately I had a week-long leave coming, and had ample time.

So one fine morning, I got ready, had a breakfast and left for Raigad. The night before, I had prepared my camera-bag to securely hold the tripod making it a perfect photography kit. But Tamhini itself is a lonely place, and given the the horror stories I had heard, about those on bikes being robbed and those in cars being waylaid, I decided against carrying any valuables. Besides, the area I was going to venture into, was totally unknown, and expected to be absolutely deserted. So it was better to be safe rather than losing my costly photography gear, which, in India, can't be insured either. So I carried only some cash, my trekking-mobile (Samsung Marine with BSNL prepaid 1P), and my Moto Milestone (insured) for its 5mp camera, hard GPS and excellent compass.

Anyway, I kept driving through the Tamhini and realised one thing very clearly - Tamhini on a weekday, is much different from Tamhini on a weekend. No maddening traffic, no horns, no rush, no crowd and no sex-starved youth letting their frustration out by dancing in the middle of the road on cheap beats with vulgar steps and making hideous sounds! On a weekday, the Tamhinis are serene and peaceful and you can have all of it to yourself. I drove on, gave lifts to locals, asked around about देवराई (sacred grooves) locations, had a small detour of around 30kms to Pali-Siddhagad, and reached Nizampur by around 1pm. In Nizampur, there is one reasonably large-sized board indicating the direct route to Pachad. There was also this Warning that due to a bridge construction, road between some villages was not available. I neglected the warning and went ahead.

The road was good enough to do decent speed without getting irritated and the breeze was, well, sheer pleasant. It also helped that for most part of the day, it remained cloudy without any drizzle.

After driving 15-20km for around half an hour, the road started coming apart, and at the same time it started getting more and more scenic. And then I entered the mountainous area with the road enveloped in quite dense jungle from both sides. I had heard about leopard sightings in the area around Raigad, so was on lookout for any movement in the bushes, but lost hopes in short time. Big cats are big snobs. They never give a damn about people dying to have a glimpse of them in the wild.

The last 7-8km stretch of this road is horrible. It takes major chunk of time to cover this part only. But the silver lining is the scenery and the remote, deserted area. There is one place here, called बांधणीचा माळ. The eerie silence of the place haunts you. It's very scenic, calm, green and tranquil; but haunting nevertheless. Typical of such remote places in Sahyadris.

After crossing this stretch, I reached the जिजामाता-समाधी and from there Pachad and Raigad base is hardly 1km. Reached the चित्त-दरवाजा in a jiffy. Had a look around. टकमक-टोक आणि हिरकणीचा-बुरुज are quickly identifiable. I stared at the mountain range around, trying to make Lingana out of it somewhere, but, to my disappointment, couldnt. Went to drop a local to his home at Raigadwadi below, glanced around from there, and there it was! Lingana! It evoked all those dreams about that final-frontier trek of Torana to Raigad. Lingana, Railing Plateau, बोराट्याची नाळ, सिंगापूरची नाळ - all these terms evoke a huge emotional response. Hopefully I will get to do this trek this year. Though on this trek, which is sure to load-test my physical endurance and mental strength, I think, it will be a hara-kiri to go alone. This time I will need to find some company.

Promising to return back on 2nd October, I left चित्त-दरवाजा in a little hurry. It was already around 3:30pm, and I wanted to cross Tamhini and get to at least Pirangut before dark, which means not later than 6:30pm.

It again took me around half-an-hour for that horrible 7-8km patch. But then, once smooth road was reached, I threw caution to the winds and started working up the throttle. By 4:30pm I was in Nizampur and had started racing against time to reach home early. Maintained reasonably high speed of 80-90kmph quite consistently in Tamhini and as a result, reached home by 6:30pm!! Nizampur to Pune in 2hours straight.

Overall stats of this trip -
Date: 21-Sep-2010 (Tuesday)
Route: Pune - Chandani Chowk - Pirangut - Paud - Mulashi - Tamhini Ghat - Nizampur - Pachad
Distance Breakup:
Pune to Nizampur ~ 110km (at least 2 hours)
Nizampur to Pachad ~ 30km (at least 1 hour)
Total Distance Travelled: Around 300kms
Total Time on Bike: From 9:30am to 6:30pm ~ Around 9hours of biking! That's my personal record. 6hours was the previous one.
Road Quality:
Pune to Nizampur - Varies from very good to very pathetic. Most of it is good. 7 out of 10.
Nizampur to Pachad - Again 60% of the road is a driving pleasure, 20% okayish, 20% absolutely horrible (the last 7-8km stretch). While on the way back, I got a crazy idea of filming the road while on the move. Followed the impulse and here is the result -

Overall Ride Rating: Must do at least once. Views and the tranquillity is to die for. During monsoon, the green syrup is sure to soothe the eyes.

It's all about the green syrup to the eyes, majestic mountains to belittle the heart and the tranquillity to calm the mind. Add to that - the cheerful bird-chirping around you in that peaceful environment! All of this conspire together to take you into a totally different world, where there are no niggling issues, no core-dumps without a cause and no day-to-day politics to disgust .... just some mysterious, peaceful and cheerful forms of nature around you. It's a kind of spiritual experience and believe me, it's mighty addictive.