Makar Sankranti is close at hand. Instead of giving wing to your kite-flying spirit in congested Mumbai, hike to Rajmachi, where a kite flying trip is in the offing

Patang udao, on a plateau

Makar Sankranti is close at hand. Instead of giving wing to your kite-flying spirit in congested Mumbai, hike to Rajmachi, where a kite flying trip is in the offing

Watertight apartments and concrete structures wring the spirit out of the festival of kites that Makar Sankranti is. Instead, imagine having no time or space constraints on your kite flying spree. You are standing on a plateau covered with foliage like velvet; the wind caressing your hair and giving flight to your paper patang.

Better still, you are knocking off a friend's flier in mid-air. Later, you explore a recently excavated Shiva temple near a village pond. When hunger strikes, you gorge on fresh local food of the Sahyadris. You end the meal with sweet Makar Sankranti specialties Gudh Poli (jaggery chapatis) and Til Gudh (a ball of sesame seeds fried with jaggery)u00a0-- a famous line uttered during this festival is: Til Gudh ghya, goad goad bola (henceforth, let there be friendship and good thoughts between us).

Weekend adventure outfit Free Spirit is keeping the spirit of Makar Sankranti alive this year, with a trip to Rajmachi fort that stands right on the edge of the Deccan plateau. It was considered a guardian fort of the Bor Ghat on the ancient trade route. The fort is actually a plateau with two citadels, Shrivardhan and Manaranjan, and a tiny village called Udhewadi at the base.

"We have a fully-stocked campsite called Whispering Forts at the base of Manaranjan fort. With no electricity or any 'urban' facilities, this is truly wilderness at its best," says Seema Bhide, director, Free Spirit, an outfit by adventure veteran Countryside Outdoor Programmes.u00a0u00a0u00a0

"The road starts from Kune village, passing by the Tungarli dam, and then the trail enters the Rajmachi plateau where we relax at our campsite," says founder Milind Bhide. You'll spend two days exploring Rajmachi, taking a walk through a famous sacred grove and, of course, soaring kites high in the sky.

Free Spirit is organising a kite flying trip to Rajmachi on January 9 and 10. The one-day two-night trip costs Rs 2,150 (plus 2.58% govt. service tax), which includes travel, two lunches and accommodation (small camping tents on twin sharing basis). The trip starts outside Aswad Hotel at 6 am opposite Shiv Sena Bhavan at Dadar.

For registrations, Call 9869201443 / 24442944 or visit www.freespiritindia.inu00a0

How to get there from Mumbai:
By Train: Lonavla is the nearest railway station, approximately 20 km from Thakurwadi village, which is base to Rajmachi. You can also reach Karjat by rail and hire a taxi or take a shared auto to reach Kondavane village, the base for the Rajmachi trek.
By Road: Thakurwadi village (by Lonvala route) is the place from where the trek to Rajmachi begins. Regular bus service is available from Mumbai and Pune to Lonavala. Thakurwadi is 20 km from Rajmachi.
By car: Rajmachi is a two-hour drive from Mumbai. If you take Nariman Point as the starting point, cross Mumbai Central and Chunna Bhatti on NH3. At Mankhurd, take the Sion Panvel Expressway, cross Vashi, Kopri Village, Sukapur, Panvel East. Continue on Mumbai Pune Expressway and to NH 4. At Lonavala take the state road to Rajmachi.

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Rajmachi fort is on the edge of which plateau?
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