Padharwadi to Kusur

From Padharwadi the trail climbs quickly onto a small plateau north of Wandrekhind. From there a gully route leads down to the village of Peth, the base village for Kothligad Fort.

The climb is short but Kothligad is special. Open forest at first, then a rock face with impressive rock-cut steps. One section of the old route is now in poor condition, but another trail takes you safely to the base of the rock face.

Here are the huge ancient caves — big enough to sleep in, comfortably 15 to 20 people. There is drinking water in one of the cisterns, and old shrines inside, with intricate carvings still visible on the pillars. What makes them remarkable is how close they are to the settlement: only a short climb. You can also see an old canyon from here.

From the caves, the rock-cut steps continue up to the top. Kothligad is a watchtower fort with a flat summit, usually flying an orange flag — a fine vantage point with wide views.

Return the same way to Peth.

The whole out-and-back from Padharwadi to the fort is roughly 6 km with about 260 m of gain.

From Peth, the trail circumnavigates the fort on its northern side, then follows a well-used path down to Meskarwadi. This descent is called Nisanchi Waat, dropping from around 450 m to 180 m.

There is no water on this descent. The terrain runs farmlands, then open scrub, then open forest before Meskarwadi.

Refill at Meskarwadi before you start climbing — the Payari Ghat climb is dry.

From Meskarwadi the trail climbs a ghatvaat called Payari Ghat — thin but regularly used, so navigation is not a problem. It is steep, taking you from around 150 m back up to the plateau at roughly 750 m. Open farmlands out of Meskarwadi, then open scrub, slowly into open forest, and a final rocky gully full of boulders. The trail exits at the roadhead near Sawla.

Now the 11 km road walk that circles a large reservoir all the way to Kusur.

Between Sawla and Gontewadi, in the post-monsoon season, a cut through damp terrain saves around 500 m. Near Khaandi, a small trail towards Vandev Prasanna Mandir avoids some of the winding road. Neither is worth the effort in practice — this is simply one of the few stages with a long, unavoidable road section.

There is little traffic up here. Kusur marks the end of the stage.