"Because in the end, you wont remember the time you spent working in the office or scrolling through social media !! Climb the Goddamn Mountain"
Visapur is an amazing trek that a one should definitely do it once in lifetime (Specially in Monsoon). Visapur is 5km from Lonavala which can be reached through bus if you want a cheaper option othervise Taxi Auto would take you there but charges are quite high.
Visapur can be reached from Mumbai as well as pune. But i would suggest you to go via Pune unless you are starting from Mumbai.
Pune is slightly shorter route plus less traffic comparison to Mumbai.
I booked a late evening flight from Delhi to Pune return ticket in 5.5k. after reaching Pune, i took a local taxi for Lonavala which was around INR 1200 (you could also take a bus from Pune to Lonavala for a cheaper option)
Also, i made a mistake by trying to have a stay near the trek in a small village, in order to start the trek early in the morning.. But i struggled a lot to find the homestay in night, as the village is quite small compared to Lonavala. Therefore stay in Lonavala & take transport early morning to Visapur.
Trek should always be started early in the morning for the best experience therefore I started around 7am from Malavali (a small village).
Trek starts from a narrow street & in the beggning you are welcomed by a big gigantic rock. Climbing it is quite of a task specially when its your warm up. however it gives you a nice feeling in the start.
(It takes around 2.5 - 3 hours to reach the fort & also you do not require a guide for this.) After climbing up this big rock and hiking for around 20 -30 mins, you get mesmerized by this amazing view of the village.
You can sit here for quite a while if you are not in hurry to enjoy the weather & the view, it could give you bit of a relaxation after a tiring 30 mins hiking. Good part about this trek is that it is quite easy to moderate.. you get some rough patches in between with some easy walks too hence make it a perfect trek for a day.
After walking on a slippery suface for another 20 min, you would see a cave like structure made up of cactus like plant (Cylindropuntia), which is tough as u cannot hold anything to pass.
Once you cross this, you meet the first waterfall of this trek and the most beautiful one as you walk towards it. Flow of this water is different with swiming pool like structures around it.
After a futher walk you get a nice flat surface to walk on as its the end of the one mountain, you could take a rest there as it has got a sitting area under a small hut. From there on there 2 routes (which is confusing) one goes to a village & other goes up to the fort. As we didnt know which one to take, we ended up in front of a big ladder like waterfall (which was nice to see but had no further way up)
After wandering for 20-25 mins, we took the right route. started moving close to our destination. On the way we found one small stall for snacks and tea, nothing could have better than a tea in middle of mountain & drizzling.
After hiking for almost 2 hrs and 30 mins, we were about to climb on the toughest patch of this hike It is very steep plus big stones which makes it difficult to move & requires quite a lot of efforts. however you get a first glimpse of the fort on top of your head & stunning view of rocks - makes it a completely beautiful scenery .
After a 30 mins of challenging patch of hiking, You see a staircase which is being flooded by waterfalls all across (this is what Visapur trek is famous for), Climbing those stairs are just next level fun as you get wet while walking & not easy, its too slippery to climb. but after some resistance you enter the fort.
Once entered into the fort, it is so wide and big as it takes around 40-45 mins to explore entire, you can sit and relax.
Feel all the efforts you made to come that far & may b enjoy tea as there are few tea sellers.
This is how it looks on top of the fort
Also on the top you would see one waterfall which flows anti gravity because of too much air pressure and it is beautiful.
After spending good 1 hour on top of the fort, it was time to come back to the homestay. Coming down was quite easy as it only took 2 hours with a comfortable pace. After reaching back to the place. i felt exhausted & stayed over night. Next day i took my early morning flight back to Delhi and it was a nice one day trek you could do over weekend :)
Good to know things :
*Stay in lonavala instead finding a place near visapur as the roads are not good
*Prebook your auto early morning to reach the start of the trek
*Do carry a rain coat & waterbottle, and a pair of strong treking shoes much needed
*Homestay & intercity travel is expensive even for a smaller distance
*Try to book Pune to Lonavala through Ola or Uber for a cheaper option than a local vendor
If have any questions regarding this trip or anything about Visapur Trek, feel free to ask.
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