1st September 2012, this was the day when we
broke our boundaries to explore the world outside our city. Karnala is located
on the National Highway 17 (NH17), which is the most accident prone highway in
India. Our travel commenced at 8:30 am in the morning from Mira-Road and it
took us about 3hrs to reach Karnala.
We travelled by road and getting there was a fun experience
as much it was after we reached the place. The route we took was the one
suggested as the shortest by google maps. No
matter how much you hate a wet day but when
travelling on an open road with lush green surroundings along the way it will
really grow on you.
We had gone during the monsoons which according to me was
the best time to visit Karnala, as the weather was calm and we got to see
greenery on either side of the road. The Bird sanctuary was gigantic, literally green and
extremely clean. The authorities made sure that we were not carrying any sort
of plastic into the sanctuary to ensure that we do not litter around, thereby conserving
the natural habitat.
It is said that one should be very lucky to see birds in
Karnala and we were not. The only bird we saw was a peacock and an injured
eagle which were kept in cages.
As planned we started trekking towards Karnala fort. The
trek felt pretty basic at the start which started getting a bit hard every
passing second.. Good that we carried enough water and food with us as there
was no other source of getting any along the way to the top.
After trekking for around 2 hrs, we were startled by something heavenly, the beauty of the Western Ghats.
After trekking for around 2 hrs, we were startled by something heavenly, the beauty of the Western Ghats.
Once you get through trekking the difficult part, there’s a
10min long flat stretch. Here is where you get reassured that your climb will
be worth it. From here we could finally get a glimpse of the fort and the peak.
There was a red flag waving at the top of the fort and that’s where we thought we were headed, but when we reached the top we realized that we were going towards heaven!!!
There was a red flag waving at the top of the fort and that’s where we thought we were headed, but when we reached the top we realized that we were going towards heaven!!!
This is what the gateway to heaven looked like!!
The joy of reaching the top of the hill and viewing the
surroundings is something that cannot be explained enough. You can literally
feel the clouds touching you!!!
After clicking away at our hearts content, we headed back
down. It took us more than 3 hrs to trek all the way to the top, getting back
down was quite fast.
Overall the trek was exhausting and at the same time it felt
like a refreshing break from the hackneyed city life.
This was the first getaway our group experienced and
there are many more to come……
