Kalsubai Trek--Highest Peak Of Maharashtra
History of Kalsubai Peak:
Mount Kalsubai (5,400 ft) of the Sahyadri Range located in Bhandardara is the highest peak in Maharashtra. The mountain peak was used during the Maratha period to keep a watch on the enemies. The Kalsubai Temple is known for the old well in its backyard. Every year a religious fair is organised by the locals at the temple in the month of October and November. The top of Mount Kalsubai gives a panoramic view of the Bhandardara Lake. As soon as the monsoon ends the place gets covered with a huge variety of flowers.
Basic Info:
Kalsubai is a mountain in the Western Ghats. Its summit situated at an elevation of 1646 metres(5400 feet) is the highest point in Maharashtra which earns it the much glorified title of the 'Everest of Maharashtra'.The mountain range lies within the Kalsubai Harishchandragad Wildlife Sanctuary. It is visited throughout the year by avid trekkers, Kalsubai temple devotees and wildlife enthusiasts alike. The name kalsu bai has given to the mountain on the woman who used to live in this mountain according to the villagers living at the base of kalsu bai mountain. It is said that a woman name kalsu bai was punished by the villagers and forced to leave the village, that woman climbed this mountain and started living on it and died there. That's how the name of this mountain kalsu bai came
How to reach:
Bari is a Base village for this Trek. It is around 185 KM from Pune. Route to reach at Base village is Pune-->Alephata-->Otur-->Kotul-->Bhandardara-->Bari. Parking facility is available at base village.
Trekkers for this Trek:
Kajal Gupta
Sunil Mehta
Kirti Prasad
Ritika Prasad
Sandeep Jadhao
Praveen Patel
Vishal Khandade
Sumedh Patil
Hemant Borole
Trekking details:
Difficulty level Moderate to Difficult
Height Kalsubai peak is 5400 ft (1646 mtrs) above sea level.
Base village/District Bari/Igatpuri, Maharashtra, India.
After Hadsar trek in August, we were planning for another trek. After a week discussions in group, we decided to go for Kalsubai trek. Our plan was to travel overnight, start trek in early morning and return to Pune in evening. We booked Tempo Traveler(TT) three days prior to our trek. We gathered at Pimple Saudagar at around 10:30 Pm. After picking up everyone, we started our journey on 09th September at around 11:00 Pm. After 30-40 mins of drive, We took a tea break and had a round of intro session. We then started driving towards Bari village. We reached base village Bari at around 05:00 Am.
We took rest for an hour in TT and woke up at 06:00 Am. We had breakfast & tea at local hotel in village. After tea, we have started walking towards Kalsubai trek trail.
After first 10 mins of walk from village, we reached at river crossing where we need to cross 1.5 ft water. Walking for few mins from this crossing will lead you to start point of trek. Initial route of this trek was a simple walk. We reached at at small temple and from here we need to walk from muddy route. Walking through muddy route was fun initially but it got irritating after few mins.
After crossing muddy route, you will see steep ascend. It was bit cloudy so trekking was not much tiring. After few mins of ascend, we were reach at point where we were able to see beautiful view of Sunrise and surrounding mountains.
We were reached at start of forest trail after ascending for few mins. Walking through forest trail was amazing but it gets muddy during heavy rains so one should be careful during rainy season. You will see beautiful views of surrounding during entire trek.
We were reached near rock staircase at the end of forest trail. Iron railing is installed on left side of this route for safety reasons. It was around 07:20 Am and still valley was covered in fog. View of river and surrounding mountains was looking beautiful from top.
After ascending staircase , we were reached near to Ladder route. There are more than 5 ladders installed on this route. You will see beautiful view of surrounding villages and valley after ascending all these ladders.
After ascending all ladders, we took break for few mins. We have then started walking towards peak. This is the last trail which leads you to entrance staircase of Kalsubai Peak.
After few mins of walk, we were reached near to staircase of Kalsubai Peak. You will find few local hotels near to this staircase. We have started ascending these carved stairs. Entire trail and Kalsubai Peak was covered by flowers.
We were reached at top of Kalsubai Peak at around 09:00 Am. It took us more than 2 hrs to reach at peak. Peak Kalsubai is a small plateau and offers a commanding view of nearby forts and Bhandardara Dam. Reaching on top was proudest moment for us. Our dream of Kalsubai trek was fulfilled on reaching the topmost point of Maharashtra! 5400 Ft above M.S.L.
It is a must do trek during rainy season. During Monsoon, place is covered with fog and wind is very strong at Kalsubai Peak. It was a long climb but worth it. We were exhausted but the surrounding hazy views and the amazing climate gave us a booster. I just can’t describe the view from the top. It was just mesmerizing. Wind current was at its high speed. You can assume it from the pictures.
We spent few mins on top and started our return journey towards base village at around 10:30 Am. After few mins of descend, we stopped at local hotel for breakfast.
Descending was easy and It took us around 80 mins to reach at base village. We didn't take much breaks during descending as we were planning to reach before lunch time. We reached base Village at around 12:15 Pm. We spent few mins exploring village farms and took a dip in water pond near Bari village.
After exploring village, we got freshen up and had tea. Our next plan was to cover nearby waterfalls so we started driving towards Umbrella waterfall. We reached near waterfall at around 01:30 Pm. We spent few mins there and sat near waterfall. You will also see amazing view of Bhandardara Lake.
After spending some time at Bhandardara Lake, we started driving towards Randha waterfall. This waterfall is located around 10 km from Bhandardara Lake. We reached Randha waterfall at around 02:20 Pm. We parked our TT and started walking towards entrance.
We had lunch on the way in local Dhaba. We took few tea breaks during return journey and reached Wakad at around 09:30 PM. It was another memorable trek.
Best Time to Visit Kalsubai Peak:
June to August for Monsoon Trek, September to October for flowers trek, November to May night treks are recommended. During May end you can see the blanket of pre-monsoon clouds below the peak. Camping is available at Kalsubai after monsoon ends. During monsoon, camping is not possible as strong winds and rains will blow the tent away.
Mount Kalsubai (5,400 ft) of the Sahyadri Range located in Bhandardara is the highest peak in Maharashtra. The mountain peak was used during the Maratha period to keep a watch on the enemies. The Kalsubai Temple is known for the old well in its backyard. Every year a religious fair is organised by the locals at the temple in the month of October and November. The top of Mount Kalsubai gives a panoramic view of the Bhandardara Lake. As soon as the monsoon ends the place gets covered with a huge variety of flowers.
Basic Info:
Kalsubai is a mountain in the Western Ghats. Its summit situated at an elevation of 1646 metres(5400 feet) is the highest point in Maharashtra which earns it the much glorified title of the 'Everest of Maharashtra'.The mountain range lies within the Kalsubai Harishchandragad Wildlife Sanctuary. It is visited throughout the year by avid trekkers, Kalsubai temple devotees and wildlife enthusiasts alike. The name kalsu bai has given to the mountain on the woman who used to live in this mountain according to the villagers living at the base of kalsu bai mountain. It is said that a woman name kalsu bai was punished by the villagers and forced to leave the village, that woman climbed this mountain and started living on it and died there. That's how the name of this mountain kalsu bai came
How to reach:
Bari is a Base village for this Trek. It is around 185 KM from Pune. Route to reach at Base village is Pune-->Alephata-->Otur-->Kotul-->Bhandardara-->Bari. Parking facility is available at base village.
Trekkers for this Trek:
Kajal Gupta
Sunil Mehta
Kirti Prasad
Ritika Prasad
Sandeep Jadhao
Praveen Patel
Vishal Khandade
Sumedh Patil
Hemant Borole
Trekking details:
Difficulty level Moderate to Difficult
Height Kalsubai peak is 5400 ft (1646 mtrs) above sea level.
Base village/District Bari/Igatpuri, Maharashtra, India.
After Hadsar trek in August, we were planning for another trek. After a week discussions in group, we decided to go for Kalsubai trek. Our plan was to travel overnight, start trek in early morning and return to Pune in evening. We booked Tempo Traveler(TT) three days prior to our trek. We gathered at Pimple Saudagar at around 10:30 Pm. After picking up everyone, we started our journey on 09th September at around 11:00 Pm. After 30-40 mins of drive, We took a tea break and had a round of intro session. We then started driving towards Bari village. We reached base village Bari at around 05:00 Am.
We took rest for an hour in TT and woke up at 06:00 Am. We had breakfast & tea at local hotel in village. After tea, we have started walking towards Kalsubai trek trail.
 |
| Group Selfie at Bari Village |
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| Rice Farms in Bari Village |
After first 10 mins of walk from village, we reached at river crossing where we need to cross 1.5 ft water. Walking for few mins from this crossing will lead you to start point of trek. Initial route of this trek was a simple walk. We reached at at small temple and from here we need to walk from muddy route. Walking through muddy route was fun initially but it got irritating after few mins.
 |
| View of Mountains from Initial Trek |
 |
| Making way through Muddy route |
 |
| Excited Faces during Trek |
After crossing muddy route, you will see steep ascend. It was bit cloudy so trekking was not much tiring. After few mins of ascend, we were reach at point where we were able to see beautiful view of Sunrise and surrounding mountains.
 |
| Ascend after crossing muddy route. |
 |
| Beautiful Foggy View of Village and Surrounding Area |
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| Beautiful Sunrise View after some Ascend |
After few mins of ascend, we reached near small garden. We took break of 5 mins in garden. You will see several local stalls and small hotels on the way. Steep ascend was started after few mins of walk from garden.
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| Small Garden on Trek route |
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| View of mountains from Garden |
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| Scorpion on trek route |
We were reached at start of forest trail after ascending for few mins. Walking through forest trail was amazing but it gets muddy during heavy rains so one should be careful during rainy season. You will see beautiful views of surrounding during entire trek.
 |
| Start point of Forest trail |
 |
| Ascending through forest trail |
 |
| Mountains covered with Greenery |
We were reached near rock staircase at the end of forest trail. Iron railing is installed on left side of this route for safety reasons. It was around 07:20 Am and still valley was covered in fog. View of river and surrounding mountains was looking beautiful from top.
 |
| Rock Staircase and Iron railing |
 |
| Beautiful view of Mountains after some ascend |
 |
| Ascending towards Ladder route |
After ascending staircase , we were reached near to Ladder route. There are more than 5 ladders installed on this route. You will see beautiful view of surrounding villages and valley after ascending all these ladders.
 |
| View of Ladder route |
 |
| Group Selfie on Ladder |
 |
| View of Surrounding valley after ascending Ladder |
After ascending all ladders, we took break for few mins. We have then started walking towards peak. This is the last trail which leads you to entrance staircase of Kalsubai Peak.
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| Ascending towards Kalsubai Peak |
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| Beautiful View from top |
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| Local Hotels near to Kalsubai Peak |
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| Kalsubai Peak covered by Clouds |
We were reached at top of Kalsubai Peak at around 09:00 Am. It took us more than 2 hrs to reach at peak. Peak Kalsubai is a small plateau and offers a commanding view of nearby forts and Bhandardara Dam. Reaching on top was proudest moment for us. Our dream of Kalsubai trek was fulfilled on reaching the topmost point of Maharashtra! 5400 Ft above M.S.L.
 |
| Group Photo on Kalsubai Peak |
 |
| Amazing View from Kalsubai Peak |
It is a must do trek during rainy season. During Monsoon, place is covered with fog and wind is very strong at Kalsubai Peak. It was a long climb but worth it. We were exhausted but the surrounding hazy views and the amazing climate gave us a booster. I just can’t describe the view from the top. It was just mesmerizing. Wind current was at its high speed. You can assume it from the pictures.
 |
| View of valley from Kalsubai Peak |
 |
| Kalsubai Peak covered by flowers |
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| Foggy cliff near Kalsubai Peak |
We spent few mins on top and started our return journey towards base village at around 10:30 Am. After few mins of descend, we stopped at local hotel for breakfast.
 |
| Descending on Ladder route |
 |
| Relaxing on rock on the descending route |
Descending was easy and It took us around 80 mins to reach at base village. We didn't take much breaks during descending as we were planning to reach before lunch time. We reached base Village at around 12:15 Pm. We spent few mins exploring village farms and took a dip in water pond near Bari village.
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| People relaxing at Tourist spot |
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| Relaxing at Farm in Bari Village |
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| Small Waterfall in Bari Village |
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| Beautiful farms in Bari Village |
After exploring village, we got freshen up and had tea. Our next plan was to cover nearby waterfalls so we started driving towards Umbrella waterfall. We reached near waterfall at around 01:30 Pm. We spent few mins there and sat near waterfall. You will also see amazing view of Bhandardara Lake.
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| Umbrella Waterfall |
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| Bhandardara Lake |
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| Beautiful View from Bhandardara Lake |
After spending some time at Bhandardara Lake, we started driving towards Randha waterfall. This waterfall is located around 10 km from Bhandardara Lake. We reached Randha waterfall at around 02:20 Pm. We parked our TT and started walking towards entrance.
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| Instructions for Tourist at the entrance of Randha Fall |
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| Group Selfie at Randha Waterfall |
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| Amazing view of River |
You will see Ghorpada Devi Temple, located quite close to the waterfall. The waterfall is formed over Pravara River and cascades down into a beautiful gorge. Considered as one of the prominent waterfalls in India, the jaw-dropping Randha Falls is a must visit place during monsoon and also one of the popular places to visit in Bhandardara. After spending few mins at fall, We have started driving towards Pune.
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| Beautiful View of Randha Waterfall |
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| Bridge Built on Pravara River |
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| Amazing View of Pravara River |
We had lunch on the way in local Dhaba. We took few tea breaks during return journey and reached Wakad at around 09:30 PM. It was another memorable trek.
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| Lunch at Dhaba |
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| Group Selfie on return Journey |
Best Time to Visit Kalsubai Peak:
June to August for Monsoon Trek, September to October for flowers trek, November to May night treks are recommended. During May end you can see the blanket of pre-monsoon clouds below the peak. Camping is available at Kalsubai after monsoon ends. During monsoon, camping is not possible as strong winds and rains will blow the tent away.
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