KamanDurg 2007

Tucked away in the Sahyadris, a little away from Vasai, is Kaman Durg. As told to me by my friend Viju, this place has a pyramid shaped pinacle.
We started our journey from borivali station early morning at 5am. Our little group comprised of 8 members, Viju, Amol, Vikram, Santosh, Ruturaj, Mayur, Kalpesh and me PAM. Six of us left together from borivali, Kalpesh and Mayur joined us at Vasai.
From Vasai we hired two autos to take us to Kaman village, from here we trekked upto Devkundi village, which is the base village for Kaman Durg. We hired a local guide from this village to take us upto the top. We started trekking at around 7:30am.
At first we thought the weather was on our side, coz it rained in the morning, but then after a while it decided to play spoilt sport. The path from the very beginning is a steep climb. And after the rain stopped and the sun came out, the weather became very humid. Due to the strenuous climb and the humid weather, every one was feeling very tired plus everyone was losing body water rapidly due to heavy sweating. Our climb up had to be interrupted by frequent breaks. It took us a approx of 4hrs to reach the base of the pinacle.
We rested here for a while and then went of to attack the rock patch. It was a beautiful rock patch I must say, decorated with wild cactuses along the way. Once here we felt we were lucky that it wasnt raining, else the rock would have become really dangerous. Yet it wasnt absolutely sunny either, the clouds were providing some cover. It took us around half an hr to reach the top. From the top, the view is beautiful, the city of Vasai can be seen far away. The only negative point is that there is no foliage cover up there.
When i saw the pinacle from its base, i had anticipated it to be a risky climb. At first i was reluctant about going for it. But then i felt i dun wanna regret not doing it later. So i went for it. And i am happy that i went for it. It was a beautiful experience. The mountain acted almost motherly allowing you to climb safely. Even the climb down which most people fear to be risky (i am one of them) felt very enjoyable. And i must say i absloutely loved this rock patch.
After climbing down the pinacle, we went of to find some shade to eat lunch. After having lunch and resting for an hour, we started our descent. The descent was even more fun. Being a steep path, we did the descent at a run. And it wasnt tiring at all. Only the hot sun over our heads was proving to be a problem. I have gotten badly sunburnt. We completed our descent in 1hr flat, that is 1/4th the time it took us to climb up. We had started climbing down at 2:15pm and at 3:20pm we had a touch down.
Once back at the village, all the guys went of for a bath at the hand pump. It feels like heaven after a hot and sweaty day. After almost an hr of bathing, we decided to leave. We had to trek upto kaman village which is almost an hr away. We reached kaman village at around 6pm. From here we took a rickshaw back to Vasai station and then back home.
All in all it was a wonderful experience, (even though my skin is still burning) the steep climb and the rock patch. And I met some new people and made new friends. And also learnt, things are not always what they seem.

How to get there:
Get to Vasai by local train or bus.
Vasai to Kaman Village : By bus or auto
Kaman to Devkundi(base village) : on foot

Best time to visit : Just after the rains

Tips: Carry enough water with you if you happen to go in winters or before the rains, coz there is no water, along the way or even at the top.