Kalavanteen Durg trek experience

From Mumbai, we hired a taxi to Thakurwadi, about 65km. away. The road follows the Old Mumbai-Pune road upto Shedung phata (9km), from where we turned left Shedung, Belavli and then Vardoli. After taking a right we reached Thakurwadi. In Thakurwadi there is a research-cum-recreational centre called 'Apollo Nusi Research Centre', built in the year 2001. From here we turned left. On the right we saw a beautiful private bungalow. We got down from the taxi a little before the tar road ends. From here we walked on the tar road and from a bifurcation we turned left. A broad cart track leads to the top(easily we need to walk the whole way to the village. We could see the triangular shaped fort, Kalavanteen durg (2263 feet) on our left and the rectangular massif of Prabalgad (2318 feet) to our right. On the left of Kalavanteen durg we could also see an unnamed small hill with three pinnacles.
Our plan was to trek to Kalavanteen durg only, but our speed was slow due to my friends ohto shoot enroute to the village.After about 1 1/2 hours we saw a small 12-15 feet pinnacle-like rocky formation on our left. From here we trekked on a few rock-cut steps, which are now cemented by the villagers. On the right we saw idols of Lord Ganesh and Hanuman carved out in the rocks.
In one hours time we reached the lower plateau of the fort called 'Prabalmachi' (984 feet), which is well forested. Here we came across a hamlet of 'Thakur' tribals. Most of these people work in the villages below the fort. There is no water problem here, as there is a well in the village which provides water throughout the year. We spoke to one of the villagers who showed us the route to Kalavanteen durg, which climbs from the col between the two forts. To reach here one has to trek through the hamlet, then through the forest to the col, then turn left and climb the steep rock-cut steps. This route is marked with white painted arrows in the reverse direction. The villager also showed us the rock-cut caves on Kalavanteen durg. The caves hold potable water but it is very difficult to reach them. A rope is required for this. We were also told that there is local trekking group from Panvel called 'Nisarg Mitra', who come here sometimes to do valley-crossing. They would anchor a rope between the wall of Prabalgad and that of Kalavanteen durg and cross from one end to another. Sounds very exciting, isn't it? But, remember, all this requires guts, a steady mind, a fit body and a lot of practice.
The climb from here is a bit steep. After about an hour we turn left and climbed through a gully. As we saw the fort from the lower plateau we never imagined that this would be the route. In fact the route was not noticeable as the rocky walls are almost straight. After a while we could see the rocky formations on our right, which are very much inviting for the rock-climbers. In fact this can be a good place to practise rock-climbing. The entire 'step route' is marked at certain places with arrows painted white.
Due to heavy rain falll and the steepness of the steps and no protection gear with us we aborted the kalavantin durg climb and started our return journey.all in all it was once in a life time experience