Silonda Trail

  Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra, India
Saturday, September 20, 2008

It has been a while since I went on a trek. I was not very enthusiastic about trekking in the monsoon. Though I have been on a monsoon trek earlier, this season I was in no mood to get my shoes muddy. However, when I heard of the Silonda trek I got interested. I reacted favourable to this trek because firstly, the monsoon season is almost over, so how bad can it get. Secondly, it is an easy grade trek and should not be much of a strain. And lastly the trail is right in my backyard.
 
Sanjay Gandhi National Park, popularly known as Borivali National Park (BNP), is the only National park in the world that is located within a city limit. It is about ten minutes drive from my house. BNP has a wide variety of flora and fauna. The park is also home to a small population of leopards. During monsoons the park is lush green with many rivulets and streams flowing.
 
On 13th September, I set out on the trek to the Silonda waterfalls located inside the park. A Bombay based adventure group Nature Knights organized the trek.
 
I reached the park gate just after 7:30, the appointed assembly time. One participant and Dnyanesh, one of the organizers, had already arrived. In a short while couple of school vans arrived with a bunch of kids and teachers. The participants in such organized treks typically comprise of city professionals. So I was surprised to learn that the kids were part of our group.
 
Once Asif, the trek leader, and one more organizer arrived, we got into Asif's car and drove half a kilometres to the forest office. The cars were to be parked there. After a quick introduction session the trek began.
 
As if on cue, it started drizzling. It felt great to breath fresh air and view the greenery around. I overheard two schoolgirls chatting. One girl was saying to the other "I love it when I am taking bath in the rain, but when I am not taking bath, I hate rain."
 
We walked on the tar road that goes to the Kanheri caves for some distance before taking a turn onto a mud path. From this point we were entering a restricted area. The organizers had taken necessary permissions from the forest office.
 
Asif would stop whenever he found something interesting and give information to the group. He talked about various species of plants, insects, etc. He showed us an anthill shaped like a pagoda on the tree. These are created by small black ants that have a painful sting. He also showed us how the woody climber grows from tree to tree.
 
As we moved deeper into the jungle the path became narrower. At some places the under growth was dense. You feel a sense of oneness with nature when walking alone on such stretches.
 
The trail crosses streams at some places. The rocks can be slippery so one has to be careful while crossing. It was heartening to see the children look out for and helping each other. I was wondering if they would have the same spirit when they enter the corporate world.
 
We also got to see Karvi blooms. This flower blooms once in seven years. This year the Karvi was blooming all over the state. I felt lucky to see this flower.
 
In about two hours we reached the foot of Silonda hill. Asif decided to take the group up the hill to get a good view of the jungle. Once we reached the top of the hill, we could not only see the expanse of the jungle, but also the western suburbs of Bombay. The contrast of green-canopied hills and high rises was amazing.
 
After a short break we returned to the foot of the hill and started walking towards the waterfalls. The approach to the falls is from the stream. We waded into the stream and started walking upstream. The rocks were very slippery so we had to be very careful not to slip and fall. On many occasions I thought that I got a good foothold, but once I shift the weight to move forward, the grip was gone. With arms flailing you had to quickly find a support to avoid falling down.
 
After crossing a tough rock patch I saw a pool of water and heard the sound of waterfalls but no sight. Once we entered the pond we were greeted by the waterfalls. It must have been about twenty feet high. Since it was gushing thought a narrow rock formation the force was great.
 
Once Asif set up a safety rope the school kids took to the water with gusto followed by the big kids. In some places the water was more than six feet deep. Though most of us, including me, did not know swimming, it did not deter us from having a ball. I wasn't feeling very adventurous and decided to stay away from the deep waters.
 
After having worked up a good appetite, we got out of the water for a well-deserved meal. After having omelette sandwiches, I was thinking a nice nap under the tree would be heavenly. However, it was time to start the return trek.
 
When we were some distance from the tar road, I saw two guys on a bike riding down the mud path. They stopped and asked one of us if there are any attractions further ahead. Dnyanesh told them that there is only jungle and the path will get narrow and their bike can't go much further. They rode past us anyway. I was thinking that such casual visitors are entering the restricted area and it is unlikely that the forest guards will catch them. But within five minutes two forest guards were briskly walking towards us. They stopped us and asked if we have the permission to enter the jungle. After convincing themselves that we were not up to any mischief they asked us if we had seen two bikers going this way. I was absolutely impressed by the alertness of our forest guards.
 
We stopped by the forest office to say good-bye to each other before dispersing.

Note: The waterfall photo has been clicked by another trekker.