Yeoor Hills Thane. Review on Yeoor Hills, Thane

I want to climb up on a mountain, I wanna see the view of the city. Hope and opportunity are like coordinates on the same map intersecting on a point called luck. If ‘hope’ was the yet to be realized dream to be up before sunrise, then ‘opportunity’ came as a project phone call that woke me up at 6 AM in the morning. This extra-ordinary marriage resulted in me taking this opportunity to explore the rugged terrains and the Yeoor hills surrounding Thane. Although I have been staying at Vasant-Vihar in Thane since the past 3 years , my self inflicted stupor always came in the way of some adventure. But then here I was, awake at 6 AM on a cool crispy Monday morning with that slight hint of rain in the air. My feet refused to cooperate as I got up my from my bed, but then the awesome sight of rain clouds covering the mountain top provided my power starved feet with the perfect fuel, the recent petrol price hike notwithstanding.

The cool and fresh morning air lashed at my face like a hailstorm as I took a quick jog towards the road opposite Happy Valley. “Tiku ji-ni Wadi” resort were the words carved out in exquisite calligraphy on a green colored hoarding as a nearby chai-waala looked at me in disdain and shook his head in disapproval as I jogged passed his shop without stopping for a quick cuppa of tea. Finally I landed at the gates of a place I’d been yearning to visit since the past 3 years. This was the entrance to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. I jogged right in, sighing in bewilderment at the wondrous sight of the cloud covered mountain that lay ahead. A board what seemed like map came in the way of my sprint. “Panther’s Cave” were the words etched out on the board and a path was drawn that lead right to it. I let out a chuckle and considered going there.

However sanity prevailed as I checked out another trail that seemed to lead me to the mountain top. A three pronged road lay ahead but I took the one in the centre. Ahead was a wondrous crater like structure filled with water. You could classify it as a mini-pond. Elderly people stood there exercising, some doing yoga, others in a padmasana pose meditating, enjoying the pristine clear sounds of nature, the humming of the bees, the chirps of the birds and other nature sounds. A nature park is a blessing in a crowded city which people visit to be away from honking of cars, the loud music but ironically a few youngsters were jogging around with discman’s attached to their belts and headphones over their ears. What an irony that was.

Anyways, who cares !. I then crossed the pond and took the nature trail that promised to take me up the mountain. I jogged up the trail. There was abundance of greenery all around me. Dense trees, thick shrubs and that slight hint of rain in the air and those misty clouds egged me on. There was utter silence, the only sounds being that of my footsteps and of nature. For a wee bit of a moment all the stories read last year about panthers in the national park gobbling up people entered the realms of my mind and introduced that iota of a doubt.

But anyways, it was worth the risk. The winding trail took me to an abandoned quarry. It was an eerie sight. The think trees made the quarry look dark and especially with a steep precipice from the top. Wild flowers and buzzing insects near the quarry added to the spectacle. I walked on, then reached a clearing, and then to the edge of the mountain. A magnificent view of Thane city was in front. There was that Orangish glint in the sky with the sun rising so far away, dotting the horizon. However, the mountain was still covered under a blanket of clouds that were thinning fast, making way for a clear and blue morning sky. The trail now seemed much easier as I quickly jogged up, finally reaching the top of the mountain. A sense of achievement and euphoria took over on accomplishing my mission. It was worth it. In front of me, I could see the Thane creek, and the city.

The buildings of Happy Valley and Shubharambh seemed like a dense concrete jungle. And behind me stood another magnificent range of mountains covered under a thick cover of trees. Innumerable shades of greenery adorned this place. If solitude was heaven, then this was it. This place is near the Tiku-ji-ni wadi resort at Manpada, Thane. The gates are open for visitors and walkers from 6 AM to 8 AM daily. There’s enough scope for a quick jog. There are about three nature trails. Reaching the mountain top is a matter of just 25 minutes.