Hike to MaMa Bhanja Hills,Thane West: Higest Point in Thane and Mulund City
HIKE TO MAMA BHANJA HILLS THANE
Trek Details:
Grade:
Easy
Endurance level: Moderate
Height:
400m above sea level (1,300 feet)
History: Dargha of Mama and
Bhanje
Best time: Monsoon & Winter
Location: Thane West
Base: Lokmanya Nagar-Thane west
Parking Facility: Yes
History of Mama Bhanja Dharga
I asked one of the caretaker Baba to share if there is any history and religious beliefs behind the Mama Bhanja Dargha. Though there are no proper sources rather then an oral history that was passed on to each other and has become a piece of shared knowledge.
This is the story that Baba had narrated to me and I heard the same from other local people too.
It goes back around 400 years when two tall and
handsome gulf men came to Jumma Mahagiri Masjid in Thane and requested the
locals to help him to bury the two dead bodies lying on the hills.
The local people agreed to help and the two tall
men guided the local people to a hilltop. When they reach the top of the hill,
they actually saw a two dead body that was wrapped in a fresh white cloth
(Kafan) with a lovely perfumed fragrance emitting from the body. Hence the
people had to identify whether the corpse was a male or a female, so they unveiled
the cloth to see the body. This is when the local people got the greatest shock
that the dead body was the same as the two-man who had guided them up top. When
they turned back to see them, both the man disappeared. The locals believed
that they were an Allah Ka Banda ( God sent Man) who had come with a message to
bury his body.
Since they decided to bury the dead bodies. The hills were rocky and they do
not have any tools to dig. However, they heard a whisper that directed them to
use their hands. When they start digging from their hands, the rocks had
surprisingly turned so soft that they could easily dig a grave for the dead
body, they first bury the dead body which was called Mamu. They then went to
the other side of the hill to bury the second dead body that was known as
Bhanje.
My
Journey to Mama Bhanja Hills Thane
After successfully organizing a ABWA LITERARY FEST
2020 and I was a bit tired physically and mentally and need to refresh myself. As
a hiker, nature therapy works best for me to refresh myself. That’s how I decided to hike the Mama Bhanja
hills on the day of Gandhi Jayanti. September end is the ideal time to go for
a short hike as there is not much rain yet you can enjoy the lush green forest
and hill view.
There are many routes to approach Mama Bhanja Hills,
However, Lokmanya Nagar is the main base of the Hike Mama Bhanja Hills. Because It has good parking space to park
your four-wheeler or two-wheelers. The
trail is well marked and prominent rock steps up to the top. You can also ask
other hikers or morning joggers if you want to make sure that you are on the right
path.
A few of my Friends from Thane and Mulund had joined me
for this hike. They are also tired of sitting at home for almost 5 months
lockdown. We decided to go on this hike
on 2nd October early morning as it is a holiday for all of us. We had a long weekend.
I have given here the picture and the arrow marked to show the right direction. You will come across the first confusing route after walking through 15 minutes of a forest walk. There are a small stream and the path divided into two routes. One goes towards the left and another one is straight. There are a few houses there. You may not find streams if you visit in post-monsoon. You have to take the left route here. Then another confusing route comes just after 3 minutes’ walk. You will come to cross the three-way the route, one goes towards the right and one on the left side and another goes straight up to the forest which has proper rock steps. We took the rock steps route and after ascending few minutes towards the hill, we realized that we took the wrong route as there is no route. We had to come back and asked a local people for the direction. There was an open temple up there.
The third confusing route was when you come across another small water stream. There will be two visible routes after crossing the water stream. You have to take the right path and walk straight and you can actually see the green entry gate from the distance.
The actual trail starts from there. The trail is well marked and it is all uphill climb all the way to the top.
We had to ascend through the wide rock steps
surrounded by beautiful lush green forest and the hills. My friends from Mulund
are much elder than the thane friends but they are very active and frequent
hikers, on the other side friends from Thane are all ladies only except one male
and two young teenagers who have less hiking experience, and the lockdown has spoiled
their endurance. So I was trying to balance between the two different groups. However, I told Mulund friends to go ahead
and I decided to walk with the girl’s team to push and motivate them.
They are the ones who struggled a bit while climbing due to out of form.
After almost 45 minutes of climb, we reached a point where there are one or two shops and two Dargha. A good place to rest and catch up with your breath. I considered this as halfway through. They serve black tea as well. There are ducks and hens around.
After a good rest, we decided to move ahead towards the top. My friends from Thane wanted some more rest and they will come a little later. So I moved ahead with the Mulund friends.
There is another gate on the top. There are two straight routes once you enter the gate. It is a sort of junction. There are two routes opposite to each other.
The right route will take you the Mama Hills which is higher than the Bhanja hills. And left route will take you to the Bhanja Hill. I suggest you visit the Bhanja hills first. You can see the Bhanja Dargha and you will get an awesome view of National Park and the Thane City.
When I reached home, I took a shower and was actually feeling
fresh and better. That’s the beauty of Hiking.
TIPS:
- Wear a comfortable Hiking shoe
- Cap, UV sunglasses, and sunscreen lotion is a must when you are visiting post-monsoon or in winter.
- Carry at least 2-liter water bottles and the some ready to eat snacks
- Leave the trail, not the trash. Bring your trash back to the city and dispose of it in a dustbin.
- Be sensitive towards the caretaker of the Dargha when you are interacting with them.
- Respect the culture and the heritage of the site.
- You could buy milk, sugar, and tea to donate it to the caretaker on the top. They serve free black tea to all the visitors.
·
Make sure that you return it before 5 pm as it is a
national park area and leopards and other wild animals are roam freely to look
for food and water. I was told that the
leopards frequently visit the Dargah area in the night. They have even captured
a picture of leopards in their camera.
Picture shared by one of the caretakers
'
No comments: