KALAVANTEEN MACHI (2300 ft)

After a beautiful monsoon trekking season with YHAI (Mumbai Unit) I was raring to go for a trek after Diwali and a month long break from treks. I alongwith couple of friends planned a one day trek to nearby areas. We had decided to go around Irsal-Prabalgad or a bit further in Konkan near Kolad region. But still we were not sure of which fort we were going to visit till the time we started.

But I was very positive to visit Prabalgad or its adjoining Machi (Watch-tower) Kalavanteen so I happened to go thru some books in order to collect some information about this fort.

Prabalgad is a fort located in between Matheran and Panvel, visible from the Mumbai-Pune expressway. The fort is located at an elevation of 2300 feet in the Sahyadri mountains. It is located on a plateau very close to Matheran. Prabalgad was known as Muranjan until it was taken over and renamed by the Maratha forces under Shivaji's rule.

History of the Fort
Around 1458, the prime minister of Nizamshah, took over the fort during his conquest of Konkan. The fort was later conquered by Shivaji from Mughals in the year 1658. After establishing himself in Kalyan-Bhivandi area, Shivaji's forces attacked the fort then governed by Kesar Singh, a Mughal sardar. On seeing the signs of defeat Kesar Singh along with all the ladies in the fort committed suicide to save themselves from being dishonoured in the hands of enemy. Inspite of Kesar Singh's orders, his mother hid herself along with her grandchild. Shivaji in an act of kindness made sure the lady and the kid were allowed a safe passage.

In the year 1826 Umaji Naik, a freedom fighter, and his associates are believed to have made this as their home for a brief period of time.

Kalavanteen Machi is adjacent to Prabalgad. We had heard that the climb is little tougher than the normal but not difficult. So in the end we decided to climb to the Kalavanteen Machi dropping the idea of Irsal-Prabalgad.

One of us had a car and we decided to go to the Base village of the Machi via car. We took the Mumbai-Pune Express Highway and on the left hand side we immediately noticed the big flat plateau and a pinnacle which was the Prabalgad and Kalavanteen Machi respectively. We took the Shedung Exit on Mumbai-Pune Expressway to take a left turn at Bardoli phata. It took us an hour to climb to the Prabal village after resting and refilling our water bottles we began our journey to the Machi.

The Kalavanteen Machi & Prabalgad

In another half an hour or so we reached the Col (the V) between Kalavanteen Machi and Prabalgad. By the time we reached the Col it was afternoon and time for lunch. There was a nice breeze in the valley and an excellent place for us to have lunch. After finishing our lunch we proceeded to climb the steps to the top of the Machi.

The Col (V Between the hills)Peaceful lunch in the Col

The steps were neatly carved out in the Basalt rock. The zig-zag staircase leads us to the top near the last 10-15 ft rock patch. After negotiating the rock patch we reached the top of the Machi. From the top it was a breath-taking view of the surrounding area. In front of us was the Prabalgad, standing tall. On the Left hand side we could watch the Matheran ranges and the Peb Fort followed by Chanderi and Maismal then the Bhivpuri Hill and Haji Malang.

Chanderi and Mhaismal from Kalavanteen Machi

On the right hand side we saw the region right upto Karnala fort in the North Konkan. The Machi was a fantastic watch tower for the fort and really proved to be the most significant part of the fort. When we were climbing down, on the right hand side, we saw a rectangular shaped water tank nicely cut in the rock. The Tank was approx. 10 ft long and 4 ft broad. The water tank provided water supply to the guards posted on the Machi and didn’t have to carry water from the fort. It was a miracle as to how did our ancestors found the water source at such a height.

On reaching the Col we found that it was bright and sunny and had to drop the idea of relaxing. Further climbing down on the left hand side we saw a cave and immediately decided to explore it. Luckily one of us had a torch which enabled us to explore. The tunnel to the cave was of around 20 feet long and we had to crawl inside the caves. The cave was nice and cool enough for 5-6 people to stay in the cave.

After exploring the cave we carried on our journey back to the Prabal village where we found the village kids enjoying themselves a cricket match. They found a group of spectators from Mumbai who spent some time to catch their breath and watch a few overs too. It was a small but a wonderful trek and we all felt it would be exciting to visit this place in monsoons.