Ghoti to Ambewadi

A 5 km road connects Ghoti to Khairgaon.

The trail to Mordhan Fort is regularly used by Khairgaon locals to collect firewood and graze cattle. The mountain once held a large peacock population, earning it the local name Moracha Dongar — "Mountain of Peacocks." Mordhan Fort itself, mainly used historically as a watch tower, sits on the topmost part of the mountain.

From Khairgaon, the trail climbs through open scrub, through a small gully, and reaches the padar — the first-level plateau. A few trails contour southeast toward a dhangarwadi here, but the EST line climbs gradually to the top of the Mordhan massif instead.

From the top, Mordhan is a good vantage point — you can see the AMK (Alang–Madan–Kulang) forts and Kalsubai peak in the distance.

The top of Mordhan is tree-cover-free and mostly flat for the next 3 km heading south, on a thin, well-defined trail. After this stretch, the trail drops into a saddle and picks up an open ridgeline.

Trail-finding gets a little tricky near the saddle due to plant growth — expect to crouch through thorny bushes on the initial descent. Once on the side ridge, there's a single trail to follow: open landscape, gradual slopes, all the way to the hamlet of Kanadwadi.

The trail continues through farmland and over the wall of a water reservoir, then keeps heading south to the village of Indore.

This is one of the steepest trails on the EST — 950 m of gain in 5 km. The trail climbs gradually up to the Kalsubai Mata Mandir, then goes steeply the rest of the way to Kalsubai Peak. One water spring sits about halfway up the climb, followed by a set of rock-cut steps leading to the shoulder of the mountain.

Most hikers approach Kalsubai from Bari village — the Indore route sees almost zero footfall and is used mainly by locals. The trail keeps climbing south, with large iron ladders installed near the top. The peak itself holds the Kalsubai Devi Mandir. At 1,646 m, Kalsubai is the highest peak in Maharashtra, which makes it one of the most popular and crowded trails in the Sahyadri despite this particular approach being quiet.

Just below the peak, a few eateries serve food and rent tents and sleeping bags, so an overnight stay here is a viable option.

From Kalsubai, a quick out-and-back from the common saddle leads to the adjacent peak of Sakira — 2.65 km round trip, +135 m gain. The plateau here is open scrub with tall grass.

From the common saddle, the route drops steeply into a gully — this ghatvaat is called Nalichi Waat.

The trail hugs the gully for roughly 500 m of altitude loss. Near the 950 m contour, it leaves the gully and contours through thick forest — dense enough that very little light reaches the ground. This forest contour runs about 3 km, roughly half of it under this dense canopy. The canopy then opens up to a small, isolated dwelling called Kharketwasti.

From Kharketwasti, a single trail — mostly open ridgeline — leads to a roadhead, 2 km with 145 m of descent. A 30-minute road walk from there reaches Ambewadi, the end of this stage.