India: Kalsubai Peak (Everest of Maharashtra) and Sakira Exploration

Hiking to the 1646 meters tall summit of Kalsubai mountain, the tallest peak of Maharashtra state in India.

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The highest peak in the world is Mount Everest. Likewise, Kalsubai is the highest peak in the Sahyadris in Maharashtra. Kalsubai is the Everest of Maharashtra.
To climb this Everest, you need no climbing equipment.
To climb this 1646 meters / 4500 feet peak, it just takes one day for either a Mumbaikar or a Punekar.

Kalsubai is a 6.6 km long trek with an elevation gain of around 2700 ft. This is a one day trek having easy difficulty level with lush green landscapes and multiple waterfalls. The peak attracts many trekkers and devotees determined to scale the mountain. To reach the summit there are well designated trekking routes.

We starred our hike from Bari village.
Once we reached the Kalsubai peak summit, we further explored the mountain towards Sakira peak.

This additional section was a very different terrain and beautiful with rain forest and green plateau.

On the top of the peak is a small temple, which can seat at the most 3 people.
The vastly spread out backwaters of Bhandardara attracts ones attention from the top.
On the north we see the mountain range having forts like Ramsej, Achala, Ahivant, Saptashrungi, Markandya, Dhodap, Rawlya , Jawlya and Koldher.

To the east one can spot Aundh, Vishramgad, Alang, Madan, Kulang, Matheran and Harishchandragad.
There has, however, been a massive deforestation on this mountain.
One can spend around an hour on this peak before starting to descend back to the village.


To reach this peak there are various trekking routes and animal grazing tracks.
The main route however goes up from the village of Bari.
This village is at a distance of around 6 km from Bhandardara.

To reach Bari, one has to reach Igatpuri in the Mumbai - Nasik route.
From Igatpuri take the early morning S.T. to Pune and alight at Bari.
It takes 3 hours to reach the top from here.

There are three iron ladders along this route.
You can reach the top and return back in around 5-6 hours if you leave your sacks at the base village.
As soon as you leave the village, u come across a stream.
Within a few minutes of crossing the stream you come across a temple.
The route going from behind this temple takes us straight up to the top of the peak.


There is a well near the last ladder. As the complete route is without water sources, one has to fill in the water bottles from Bari and carry it all through the route.

It is a moderate trek. The only difficulty is the inclination, which is quite steep at places.