Songiri Trek Blog❤️ How to reach Songiri without getting lost

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Songiri trek ? Well Niraj what do you think about this Songiri trek ( also called Palasdhari trek) ? I thought it was a very easy beginner trek before doing it. Since I got lost four times during the trek it convinced me that Songiri trek is not for beginners & definitely needs some trekking expertise & basic map understanding. In this Songiri Trek blog you will get all the necessary information to do this trek easily. More adventures like this one at the end of the post.

Khane me kya hai ?

I didnt see any hotels at Palasdhari station & nothing on the Route 1 to the top. Infact i didnt even see another person on the entire route. So it would be better to eat / carry something from Karjat station itself. If you are coming by your own vehicle there are plenty of option on the Karjat-khopoli highway near the Palasdhari village.

For monsoon there are enough water streams to help you water needs. The fort also has a rock cut water tank with decent water. I would recommend carrying lots of water for winters & summers

How to Reach Songiri fort from Mumbai & Pune ?

By Train: Palasdhari railway station is the starting point of this trek . And this is the first station from Karjat on Karjat- Khopoli local line. Hence the easiest way is to reach Karjat railway station which is easily accessible from both Mumbai & Pune & change trains to reach Palasdhari.

By road: Palasdhari village & station are both side by side. The Palasdhari village lies on the Karjat- Khopoli road. This road connects to main highway at Hal-phata on Karjat side & Jamrung-Karjat phata on Khopoli side. you can reach either of this phata by bus & then take available rickshaws

From Palasdhari station there are two routes to reach Songiri fort.

Route 1: One can take the Expressway railway track route to reach the trek starting point. This Songiri trek blog would be describing this route in detail

Route 2: There is another route from Newali. Newali is 30 minutes of walking distance from the station ( i didnt see any rickshaw availability , hence will need to walk). From Newali the trek can get a bit confusing hence help of local guide would be necessary. Also i believe that this route is a bit lengthier than route 1.

Is guide needed for Songiri trek ?

Since Songiri trek is an offbeat one both the routes are deceptively confusing especially in monsoon when the grass is very tall . Hence i would suggest beginners to avoid going here without proper guidance.

From the Newali Route you can request some local to guide you ( Vatadya ) to top. For the railway track route there is nothing near by so it would be difficult to get a guide. You can walk from the station to Palasdhari village to request someone but that seems a bit out of way.

You will need a guide unless & until you are an experienced trekker. For experienced trekkers my Songiri trek blog would be sufficient info , but you will still need to keep any eye out for the frequent trail diversions & use some directional sense to complete the trek

Songiri trek blog : My story

I was underprepared for what Songiri had to offer . I did this trek at the end of monsoon when it had not rained for a week. Meteorological department had expected rain but that day it was hot as hell with bright sun. Unfortunately enough I started the trek late by 9 am in expectation of rain & better light through the forest. Instead what I got was a very hot summer day trek.

It was so hot that my mobile got overheated just by using the camera. Had to wait for the phone to restart as i had to shoot my vlog & take photos for this blog. This extended my trek time even further.

Ideally from the station to the trek start point near the cabin / tunnel it should take 30 minutes. And another 2 hrs to from cabin to the top. I think i took almost 4 hours because of all the issues.

Palasdhari dam enticed me for a swim but since i was already late i decided to come here after the trek and took my bike all the way to Palasdhari village & then to the Palasdhari railway station. Palasdhari station falls on the local line of Karjat- Khopoli. I crossed this track and started walking on the expressway track neighboring the station. Keeping an eye out on the railway traffic got me excited

Bro Tip: I dont like walking on tracks. Luckily there was mega block on one of the tracks that day where workers were carrying our repairs. Always look out for incoming trains from both sides. Usually there is one way traffic on this tracks. However due to mega block same track carried both upward & downbwad trains. Always be careful & never wear headphones.

After walking for about half an hour i reached the starting point of the trek which is just before this cabin in front of the tunnel . The entrance has a small Songiri signboard which hides itself in trees during monsoon. From here starts the trek in the deep monsoon forest.

Bro Tip: There are many diversions since the beginning. Till the plateau1 take the right most path (if that doesnt go down) .

There is a gradual climb since the start and as we go deeper the forest seems to come alive with so many birds singing. I have recorded all the audios which you can hear in my vlog for the same.

I took all the right diversions ( no pun intended ) till about the water stream crossing where the route seems to be a dead end. Being confused i tried to find alternate routes by climbing through the forest . About 15 minutes later i figured out that the stream was the route itself but it was hidden under tall grass. Problems of post monsoon trek when no one has trekked. This should not be an issue during other times as the route would be visible.

After going through the grass tunnel i was able to figure out the right way which led to a well marked route passing through a tunnel of large karvi plants

This path reminded me of the Manikgad trek which i did last weekend where there was a similar Karvi tunnel. From here with a little trial and error I managed to reach the plateau 1 where i got the view of a hill which i thought was the main fort but was indeed the plateau 2 .

One has to walk straight to the hill in front , but all that tall grass had me confused for some time before i figured out the route to reach it . Once here i could see a rocky slope which lead to the famous big rock wall.

After climbing it the forest opened up a bit to give me a view of the nearby areas. I could see some clouds approaching. I requested nature God to send them here as well . No respite as the sun was out with all guns blazing.

From here onwards there is only one route hence no chances of getting lost . Just keep on climbing to the top. The route was engulfed by the forest again to help me reach the second plateau

Though the fort appears near by there is still a lot of trek remaining as the gradual ascend doesnt seem to end. I ran out of water here and was looking out for a water stream which i got near by the fort. I was so happy as the cold water soothed my parched soul. The cold water gave me so much energy & positivity that i felt everything in this world is fine & exactly where it needs to be. Enough philosophy i went ahead to reach the entrance which was hidden in grass.

From the entrance you can get an idea about the forts dilapidated condition. There is nothing much to see on the Songiri fort. There is a water tank and few rock cut steps. I could not find the stairs as the grass covered everything on the fort.

But what you do get on the fort is a beautiful view of Bor Ghat and all the forts near by. I could spot so many forts . From the entrance of Palasdhari fort you can spot Rajmachi , NathBaba caves & Dukes Nose.

Here i spotted Manikgad, Karnala, Irshalgad, Prabalgad, Matheran’s Rambaug Point , Sondai, Matheran’s Garbett palteau & Nakhind.

I had spent about 4 hours to reach here in this extremely hot & humid climate. Hence I thought of resting for some time but the entire fort was covered in tall grass & the hot sun was driving me mad. I wished the Nature God heard my request and help me out with this hot sun. I sat on a rocky edge near the flag where i spotted all those forts mentioned above.

The irony of the situation was that the tall grass which troubled me throughout the trek was the one providing me with shade. How things work out when you consider some one to be your enemy turn out to be your well wishers. I sat on the edge requesting the nature god to show some love. And i kid you not in about 15 minutes I could see the clouds approaching me from front. I could see the mountains vanishing in clouds & the water in Palasdhari dam shimmering with rain water. Nature God had arrived

This point lies above the V-valley hence all the wind was getting diverted to this point. With rains in sight i could feel cool air reaching to me and soon it started blowing gusts of cool wind in my hair. I was feeling blessed. I will upload a Insta reel from here to show the power of wind & level of my happiness. Make sure to follow me on Insta.

After getting re-energised with all the cool wind I started to descend. Within an hour i reached Palasdhari dam at top speed. I sat near the dam for a while. But I was too hungry to take a swim and decided to go home instead.

Till next time.

Bye !

That’s it for the Songiri trek blog.