Khandoba hill - Kolewadi



This is one of my favorite mountain biking trails. Close to Pune city, it is an all-in-one adventure ride. What I really like is the silence on this trail. It’s a good trail for country crossing running practice as well.

The trail starts near Jambhulwadi Valley Bridge on the Pune-Bangalore high way. You can ride on cycle till this point if you are staying close by. Or you can travel by car and park it on the highway service road and ride uphill. If you do not prefer to ride the bike uphill then you can drive uphill and park your car atop the hill. It is safe to park your car here.




Once you reach the top of the hill you can take the road to right which leads you towards Khandoba-hill. You can easily identify the Khandoba hill. This trail is entirely mud and rocky road and takes you through lot of ups and downs. This is an MTB trail and not recommended for road bikes. This is the perfect trail to try and test all the features of your MTB, such as, shock absorber, gear combinations, weight, stability, and so on.




After riding for 15-20 minutes you’ll reach base of the Khandoba hill. There is a single house there at the base. Beware of the dogs at this house; they start chasing you from a distance. You can take a break here, park your cycle and do small trek to Khandoba hill. The trek from this point to the hill top takes around 15-20 minutes. It is a steep and slippery climb. During the uphill climb, you can find small water reservoir but note that the water is available only in the rainy and winter seasons. On top of the hill there are two water tanks. DO NOT drink the water there. Please carry enough water if you plan to trek to the hill top. You can refill the water at the house at base once you are back.  On top of the hill there is a small ancient temple. From this peak you get beautiful view of the entire Pune city and the Sinhagad hills range.





From the farmer’s house at base, there are many cycling trails that you can explore. The main trail goes straight from the way you came – the adjacent left, to the Khandoba hill. This trail goes till end of the valley. It is beautiful and quiet. Take the U turn at the end of the valley. It will take you to the Kolewadi village. You can continue on this route and go back to the highway via the Jambhulwadi village road. You can also turn back on the same trail from Kolewadi and return to your starting point.





Track details:


https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwSHWX__mzvoai1FTHpWN3NqY0E/edit?usp=drivesdk

Created by Google My Tracks on Android

Name: khandoba Dongar-kolewadi
Activity type: biking
Description: -
Total distance: 11.26 km (7.0 mi)
Total time: 1:24:54
Moving time: 1:22:50
Average speed: 7.96 km/h (4.9 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 8.15 km/h (5.1 mi/h) Max speed: 31.07 km/h (19.3 mi/h) Average pace: 7:32 min/km (12:08 min/mi) Average moving pace: 7:21 min/km (11:50 min/mi) Fastest pace: 1:56 min/km (3:06 min/mi) Max elevation: 735 m (2410 ft) Min elevation: 589 m (1931 ft) Elevation gain: 1481 m (4860 ft) Max grade: 30 % Min grade: -14 %
Recorded: 5/17 06:29

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jarseshwar

Image
Note: Recently my friend visited this place on cycle. Gatekeepers did not allow him to enter on the Jarseshwar road. So please check before you plan this trail. Jarseshwar is close to Pune yet largely unknown cycling destination. This is one of the destinations where you can cycle from Pune directly. I preferred to carry my cycle in the car as I wanted to explore more on the top instead of spending time in travelling till Jarseshwar. To reach Jarseshwar you need to take Khadakwasla dam backwater road from NDA gate. Keeping backwater at your left side, drive for 5-6 Kms and you will reach at the gate of ‘Splendor County’. This is a famous farm house project in the area. You can search simply for ‘Splendor County’ to know the route. I parked my car on the road to Speldor Conty, just next to the entrance gate. Gatekeepers there are much co-operative and they let me park vehicle inside. Route to the Jarseshwar starts from ‘Speldor County’ road only. There is concrete road til
Read more

Khadakwasla-Sinhgad-Panshet road

Image
When it comes to cycling around Pune, the Khadakwasla-Sinhagad-Panshet area is a favorite among the cyclists. Take a ride on these roads and you’ll know why. You’ll find many cycling enthusiasts on this road, in all seasons. The entire road till Panshet is in an excellent condition. It is the best route for road bikes, and also for gearless bikes. On this trail, you can go up to the distance you want; you can plan to cycle from 10Kms up to 100Kms. There are a lot of restaurants, cycle repair shops on this road. Note that the shops don’t start until 8:30 AM. You need not carry lot of water or food with you. Also, expect a reasonable public transport on this road. I usually start this trail from Karvenagar and travel via the Sinhagad road or Warje-NDA road. I prefer Sinhagad road because it is pretty straight and without any climbs. I recommend that you start very early morning when it is dark, so that by the time you reach Khadakwasla or Sinhagad base you don’t face sunlight.
Read more

Rajmachi

Image
Rajmachi is an all-time favourite trekking destination for many cyclists. It is a part of the Lonavala region. Lonavala needs no explanation for Pune or Mumbai trekkers. I myself have done this trek more than five times in various seasons. To reach Rajmachi, you must travel to Lonavala either by own vehicle or by the train. From Pune you can catch the local train and carry your bike in the train. Once you reach Lonavla, there are two routes from where you can start your trek. The first one is from Khandala. This road goes from the adventure club resort. The second one and my personal favourite is the one from the Tungarli dam. It is the closest route. You can park your vehicle at Lonavala or at Tungarli village. The benefit of parking at Tungarli village is that you don’t have to climb the peak of Tungarli village on bike. I planned this ride during peak monsoon, and intentionally, on a weekday to avoid the crowd. If you plan this trek on any weekend
Read more