Rajmachi. Review on Rajmachi

About 18 kms from Lonavala, Rajmachi is the place to avoid mundane civilization. It's a pretty decent trail & personally I like to go at night when there's a heavy downpour & return after a complete day's stay, on the third day morning! So you can start walking on friday night, reach there saturday before dawn & return sometime on sunday afternoon. If you are lucky you can spot a jungle animal or two apart from the snakes & assorted crawlies. Fireflies, glowworms and bioluminiscent (glow-in-the-dark) fungi growing on trees (that make the whole trunk glow) add to the enchanting along with the mist - that's another reason why you should make the going there at night. Streams appear out of nowhere in the rains & there can be chest-high water at a couple of them!! The forts (Srivardhan & Manoranjan) are not very tough but the view from up there is better seen than described. There are many exotic species of birds and plants. There's one bird which I have never spotted, but a couple of them make enough noise to awaken the whole valley!!!! When dawn breaks, sunlight hits the fort & the birds start singing, it's PURE MAGIC! One day is enough for the seasoned guys, but others can stay overnight at any of the villagers' place for as low as 10 bucks per person per day (total paisa vasool, wot!!). Soft bhakris (millet chapaties) with hot zunka for meals & pohe at any time tempt you to stay longer!! No electricity, no phone, but yes you can catch Bombay's FM stations!!! so get out your boots & hit the trail!!!!!