Khandichiwadi to Ghatghar

From Khandichiwadi the trail reaches the small hamlet of Rajwada, then runs through a series of farmlands between hamlets. The plan through this section is to circumnavigate the western outcropping ridgeline of Chaurya from its southern end, contouring roughly 50 m above the road. Once around the ridgeline, the trail turns north.

You pass above Devle, holding a higher contour, and reach Devlewadi — the Dhangar wadi of Devle, the shepherd settlement that belongs to the main village.

From here, look across at the south-facing rock face of Chaurya. There is a big crack in it. That is where you are going.

The trail crosses farmlands, enters open forest, and climbs on a good line to the base of the rock face before entering the gully.

Finding the entry point is the whole difficulty of this leg. From below, a crack in a rock face and a shadow on a rock face look identical, and the trail up to it only makes sense once you have committed to the right one. Working out which feature on a wall is actually a route — before you have burned two hours proving it isn't — is one of the 16 skills taught in the HikeX Hiking Field Course.

Inside, the gully is dry and full of boulders. You climb through them the whole way up, and it opens out onto open scrub on the southwest side of Chaurya. From there the trail circumnavigates the landscape through the scrub and brings you to the common saddle between Dev Daundya and Chaurya.

There is water on the saddle, and it holds through the full season. It is also the only source in this landscape from the moment you start climbing, so plan the ascent and the descent to Chinchichiwadi around it.

This saddle is worth standing on for a minute. Trails run off it in every direction — from Talmachiwadi in the east, from Devlewadi in the south, west to Chinchichiwadi, and at least one more from a hamlet north of Chinchichiwadi. Dev Daundya sits in the middle of them like a hub. People come up for firewood and wild herbs too, but the reason these routes exist at all, and the reason they are still walked, is the deity on top.

From the saddle a second gully drops west. The point where you enter it is tricky to find, but once you are on the trail it is a good line all the way.

The gully is broad at first. After a short distance it steepens sharply — and this is where you leave it. Look for the cairn. A thin trail breaks off and takes you down to the hamlet of Chinchichiwadi.

This is the route the people of Chinchichiwadi and Anjanwale, on the western face, use to reach Dev Daundya.

From Chinchichiwadi, cross farmlands to reach the main road. From Anjanwale it is an eight-kilometre road section to Ghatghar.

The stage closes with a loop off the Ghatghar plateau. You go down by Bhorandyache Daar, which brings you out on National Highway 61. From there it is about four kilometres on the highway, mostly descending, heading a little southeast, to the entry point of the climb back up.

That climb is Naneghat, and it is one of the best-known routes in the Sahyadri — broad, well laid out, and easy to follow. Naneghat worked as a toll gate on an ancient trade route, and the stone pot where traders paid their toll is still standing at the entry point of the ghat.

A final kilometre along the plateau brings you to Ghatghar, where you can find accommodation for the night.