How to reach to the top (of Sinhagad)

I have decided to share my experiences and tips that will help you reach the top of Sinhagad. [For the clueless, Sinhagad is one of the forts of Shri. Shivaji Maharaj (king), located at about 22 kilometers from the city of Pune]. The road that takes you to Sinhagad is obviously called as ‘Sinhagad Road’ (useless information, eh?).

So, my friend Gautam phoned me at 11:30 pm yesterday and asked if I’d be interested in trekking @ Sinhagad. I thought for a second and said “Yep”. He asked me to be ready by 4:30 am and he’d come to pick me up at my place.

I guess the oldies in Pune love the Sinhagad trek. Gautam informed me that by the time we start our trek, we’d see people coming back from the trek. 60% of the crowd I spotted on my way to the top (of Sinhagad) was 40-45+. Now here are few tips for the first timers -

1. If you are a software engineer who gulps kiloliters of coffee everyday and haven’t been to the GYM even after enrolling in one of the posh-est GYMs in the city; think again. You are bound to get tired midway. So I recommend that you should be regular at the GYM at least for 1 month before you think about climbing to the top of Sinhagad.

2. You must start your trek latest by 5 a.m. Otherwise, make sure that you can survive the heat.

3. Strict no to wearing jeans. According to Gautam (who’s climbed to the top many times), wearing jeans reduces your efficiency at least by 20 %. That’s huge loss if you are first timer.

4. Wear sports shoes. Forget the floaters, slippers etc. I wore my new Nike AIR shoes and they saved my feet.

5. Have a purpose - that you want to reach to the top. Otherwise, at some point midway the trek, you will say to yourself “Why the heck am I here? I can’t go up, I don’t feel like going down”. So make sure you have a purpose.

6. Keep walking/climbing at a slow pace. No hurry, no worry. Go slow & steady.

7. Do not mind free/useless advice by old folks who are coming back from the trek. If you are unlucky (like me), you will get lot of free advisers who will tell you “Hey, don’t sit even if you are tired! Just stand” Or “How old are you? Look at me, I am 60. Come with me…come, come ….come!”

8. Make sure you take each step with care. The rocks there don’t mind twisting your ankle for free.

9. Be very careful while you’re coming down. Oh, btw, do start your backward journey before 6:30. You must be careful while choosing the downward path. We lost our path thrice. Don’t worry too much, you will eventually reach the bottom :p .

Tips: What to do once you reach the top (of Sinhagad)

1. Do not gulp down more than 1 glass of neebu-paani [aka lime juice. Muwahaha, I was about to write lime-water ].

2. Always (optional) pee in the remotest corner without being noticed. Otherwise, be ready for taunts.

3. Do not order kanda-bhaji (you may if you are dumb). We got about 4 pieces of bhaji for Rs. 15/- . What kind of dish is that?

4. Idea subscribers: There’s no signal at the top of Sinhagad. So, you won’t be able to call your family to tell that you’ve climbed to the top of Sinhagad.

5. Crack jokes all the way, if you can.

That’s enough. Go & enjoy the trek. Let me know if you find my tips useful.

-The Big K-