Kondhane Caves Trek Experience by Pranay

 

Kondhane Caves Trek with Parvat Buddies
16th Oct 2021

By Pranay Agarwal

It was done. The deal was made; the guide and the driver were arranged. It was because of my mother’s insistence that my father (Sachin) finally saw the silver lining and sealed the deal. Each one of us had to carry our own bag; stuffed with things my mother (Dipika) said “was very important”. We soon realised that it was not only us going on the trip, our friend’s father and son; Sumit and Shaurya were also coming. I was all the more excited. We had to leave our house by 5:30 in the morning. We planned to sleep by nine o’clock. We tried to get some sleep as it was a two hour journey to the trekking area. We also picked the guide on the way. Finally after two long tiring hours, with our back slouched and our legs cramped, we stepped out of the automobile. We freshened up in the village, and after some time started our journey upwards. Shaurya was not used to such exercise but still climbed on, without complaining. Parin, our guide, was friendly and had a sense of humour. He showed us different spider webs, and the type of spider. I was fascinated by the size of the spider. When we first climbed, we found small gifts which the cows had given and we had to keep a good watch on where we step. We prayed to God for the weather to be cool and windy, not rainy, and definitely not sunny. Thankfully the Gods pitied us and the weather was just as we preferred. There were dozens of trees, with clusters of bright green leaves that provided us shade. Shortly after, my father gave a cry of exclamation. We hurried over, and we saw a sharp thorn that had pierced my father’s shoe that had caused him to cry. After much difficulty the thorn came out. We passed some streams, which my brother deduced was a perennial stream. We washed our hands and face with the cool, rushing water. Even though we were wearing shoes which had an amazing grip, we were slipping and sliding. After some time we could see the opening of a cave. It was actually a Buddhist temple, which Parin said was made in the first century BC! We stopped at a stall for some lemonade, and I was amazed by the taste of it. When we reached the mouth of the cave, I was stunned. Even though it was crumbling, and had been damaged, the carvings were undamaged and it looked fabulous. There was an ancient script on the structure. We didn’t know what script it was and neither does Google Lens. We climbed on the rocks and went to the rooms. We went to 2 of the many rooms. One of them was nothing fancy; there were what we thought were beds, and a dividing line between each of the beds. Parin told us that probably Buddhist monks would meditate in the room. The second one was interesting; there were different compartments, like a study. My dad clicked a photo of the three of us in different compartments. Finally we went to the waterfall. We took off our shoes and carefully went under the waterfall. It was wonderful. It was like an amazing full body massage. The force was so strong, it felt as if tiny rocks were falling on us, still I enjoyed it immensely. At the start, Shaurya was looking at us, enjoying ourselves. He wanted to come, but he was so scared of the stones. We tried to get him, but he stepped on some rock and ran back. He started moaning, when we tried to get him in the waterfall. Finally he came again, and this time, he didn’t moan. My mum wanted to go to another waterfall, but to get under it was difficult. At first my father said no, but my mother insisted, and finally my Dad asked Parin to check if it was safe. Meanwhile, we changed and started eating some of the snacks we had got. Parin checked the path thoroughly and announced that it was safe. I wanted to go, but I had already changed. Some minutes later my parents came, drenched, but an enormous smile on their faces. They quickly changed, and we started our journey downwards. I soon realised that descent was much tougher than the ascent. There was a higher chance of tumbling, and we had to use our hands’ support quite frequently. Now that the sun was out and shining, even staying for five minutes in the sunlight was torture. I was wearing my cap and sunglasses, but the heat was still scorching me. Once we made our way down, there was a long flat road, receiving the full burst of the sun. Luckily Parin had called the driver and within five minutes our car came. We got in, and the driver turned the air conditioner on full blast. We were having lunch at the village, and the villagers had very kindly, prepared a meal for us. Shaurya was in no mood to have Dal, Roti, Rice and vegetables, which was the meal we expected from the villagers. He thought that the food wouldn’t be tasty at all. His mind was set on having a meal from McDonalds. The villagers were really kind. They set mats for us, and got us our meal. I liked the food very much; it was not at all what I expected. Shaurya had decided that he would only fill half his stomach, and would fill the other half at McDonalds. We climbed in the car, and just when we thought we were going home, our front wheel got stuck in a hole. We had to get out of the car. The driver to reverse the car, but the front wheel did not come out. Finally after some time, and a lot of difficulty, it came out and we got in and left. For the first one hour, we slept and rested. We stopped at McDonalds, and ordered some a Mcflurry (an Oreo Ice-cream) and some fries. Only when I ate it, did I realise that even I was craving for McDonalds. We visited the restroom and came back in the car. Now that the three of us Ekansh, Shaurya and I were energetic we were exchanging tales, and were chatting about funny incidents. Finally my family and I got out of the car and went into our flat. Our journey was over. It wasn’t as tough a trek as we had done in Mount Abu, but it was definitely a trek I would never forget.