[Purandar] : Fogtop Mountain. Review on Purandar

Place: Purandar fort

Nearest town: Pune

Distance: 54-60 Kilometers from Pune

Attractions: Natural Spectacles, Landscapes, monsoon roads, Clouds and Fog

I have always thought of it as a cursed trip. This cloudy beauty is just 50-60 kilometers away from the busy streets of Pune, and still I was unable to land my feet on it until last Sunday. It’s not like I had not tried, I tried 3-4 times to plan and to visit, once I even went close to the base and then had to return, so till the time I reached and touched the top, I was a little doubtful indeed. Contrary to my false skepticism it did turn out perfectly nice.

Purandar is a fort, which is near Saswad. It does not have an insane climb, nor does it offer the endurance test many trekkers wish to experience. It has always been a blissful trek amidst the jungles in monsoons. You could spice it up a bit by finding short-cuts to reach the top a little early.

As I mentioned this was my second trip to the fort, in the first I went till the base of the fort, there were no clouds then, so we could enjoy the scenery. This time was way too different experience. Though initially we had planned on leaving early for it, we could not manage that. As it was a lazy Sunday morning. I thought the serene beauty of the morning would have been washed down by the burning sunlight; providentially it was a false apprehension. We reached the base this time at around 1130 hours.

From the base of the mountain we could see the clouds completely covering it, and the top was not visible at all. We could see the winding road ahead of us, a road which went in the foggy heaven and disappeared; a road on which we embarked next for a wonderful experience. The road was not in very great condition with some very miserable patches in between, a few landslides, but our steeds managed to cut through the dirt and gravel and reached the base of the fort, pillions were taking pictures of the scene, for most of the ascent I was awestruck as this was my second experience of the fort, and the environment was drastically different.

We parked our beloved steeds, at the gate and started the rest of journey on foot; we clicked a few photos, on our way, of churches, of arches and reached the gates of the temple at the start of actual climb. The devious fog laid an intricate trap ahead of us, we could not see the destination, nor could we fathom the height of the fort. The recent showers of returned monsoons, had done the trick, and the thickness of the jungle was admirable. So we went on the road and thought that we were on the right track, after half an hour we reached the same point wondering how we landed there. We then enquired about the way to the top at a tapari near the temple. As per the guidance, we started the climb once again, with a little apprehension, and a little unwillingness. The clouds were the tricky factor, as we never knew how much height is still left to be covered. Soon enough we reached the foyers of the fort, and jubilance set in.

After coming down from the fort, we visited the Balaji temple nearby; it’s an exact replica of the Balaji temple in south India. I have not seen the later, so I assumed the information to be right anyways. Such kind of temples does not interest me easily, when the number of people increase, everything feels like chaos and the serenity and soulful tranquil of the sacred place is lost. Nonetheless, we did enjoy a very tasty Prasad from the temple and headed back for Pune.

This would be my first trip when I didn’t take my iPod with me, out of the fear of it getting wet. Funny thing is I didn’t miss it much. Mostly when I wear iPod, I am out of the world, enjoying my distant solitude, but this time, it felt great conversing, chatting, with everyone on my way up. The journey was beautiful indeed.

The clouds added a whole new parameter to the experience, at a later time when they broke apart; we could enjoy the lush Green meadows, rice paddies, which presented the whole selection range of Asian paints’ Green catalogue.

As per Marathi calendar, Shravan is the month going on, there are lots of poems written describing the lovely beauty of it; it’s a receding time for the monsoons, leaving behind blossomed nature, taking away all the sadness of environment. I’m glad I was at the receiving end of what life had to offer. I feel, two eyes are not enough to experience it, but I can repeat such times to get the most of it; hoping to ride again soon, Amen.