PB: Offbeat Hill Forest Trail 2024 (Batch-2)

PARVAT BUDDIES: Offbeat Hill-Forest Trail on 7th July 2024

A fortnight into the month of June and the monsoon is starting to unveil itself. A wonderful way to welcome the rains would be to venture outdoors and explore an offbeat forest trail traversing through the hills. So here we are, bringing you yet another unique trekking experience! Our offbeat hill-forest trail involves a short and sweet trek up to a tribal hamlet near Vangani, which would be followed by a flattish trail walk through the unexplored forests circumventing the beautiful hill ranges of Sahyadri and culminating with a short descend trek to Gadeshwar lake.

Event Type: Trekking
Grade: Easy-Moderate
Endurance: Medium
Approx Trek Distance: 8-9 kms
Approx Elevation Gain: 225mts
Age: 6+ yrs

Why PARVAT BUDDIES?
Extensive painstaking preparations have been carried out by our team of experienced leaders in planning and organising this trek for you. Our leaders are well versed with the terrain and have a trekking experience of about a decade in the Sahyadri. Your safety is our prime goal so rest assured that we will take good care of you during the trek. Our USP is that we prefer to trek in small sized groups so as to have a better bonding and interaction among our participants. The average group size of our events is around 15 people making our events much more enjoyable and memorable. We maintain a reasonable Leader to Participant ratio which is about 1:10 on an average. We also have a good number of female participants joining our events. On an average around 45% of our participants in the past have been females, proving that we are a gender friendly group. We always carry a basic first aid kit with us. We follow a ‘Leave No Trace’ Policy and try our best to leave a minimum possible impact on our ecology while conducting the treks. We respect the Mountains and follow a set of rules to ensure discipline in our outdoor activities.

Trek Rules:
Climbing the Mountain is definitely an enjoyable adventure, provided we all follow some discipline. One must follow these basic rules strictly so that the outdoors can be enjoyed in a safe way:
https://parvatbuddies.blogspot.com/p/trekking-rules.html?m=1

Tentative Itinerary:
(These are approximate timings. Actual timings may vary)

Assembly: At Vangani Railway Station @ 7:30 AM sharp on Sunday, 7th July 2024

0745: Have Breakfast & Tea/Coffee
0830: Start journey for base village in auto
0900: Start ascend trek (approx 1.5kms, ~1hr)
1000: Reach tribal hamlet. (You may bring chocolates, goodies for the tribal kids)
1015: Continue offbeat trail through unexplored hill-forest (Lunch break midway).
1400: Reach destination village
1430: Journey for Panvel in Pvt Non-AC cabs
1530: Reach Panvel Rly Station & take the next available local train for Mumbai/Thane

** Trek Ends **

Things you should carry (COMPULSORY):
In order to have an enjoyable time in the outdoors, one needs to be well equipped with the following things:

Mains
1] Identity Proof.
2] Rucksack (~30/40L) (preferably with rain-cover).
3] TREKKING SHOES (must be in good condition) (Carry extra pair of socks and laces)
4] TORCH / HEADLAMP with extra batteries.
5] Windcheater / Poncho

Food & Hydration
6] Personal WATER Bottle/WATER Bladder (at least 2-3 litres)
7] Light SNACKS like biscuits, energy bars, candies, dry fruits & nuts, ORS, some juicy fruits as per your liking.
8] LUNCH for the day

Clothing & Accessories
9] Wear Full length track-pants & full sleeves Shirt (preferably dry-fit) to protect oneself from insects, thorns, cold and sunburn. Wear Clothing which allows flexibility in movement.
10] CAP / HAT, Sunglasses, Sunscreen.

Miscellaneous
11] Small garbage bag to dump wrappers, wipes etc.
12] Dry bag to store your used clothes & Shoes.
13] Personal Medicines, Toiletry Kit, Odomos, Wet Wipes etc.

Optional (recommended):
• Trekking pole.
• Extra pair of clothes, a lightweight towel, and flip-flops.
• Camera.
• Umbrella.

Registration Process:
Group Size: Min 5 & Max 13 participants. (First come First Serve on Payment Basis)
[The event is subject to minimum participation.]

Deadline for registrations & payment: 6pm, 3rd July 2024 (Wednesday).

Your seat will be booked only when we receive complete participant details along with the confirmation (transaction id/screenshot) of the online payment. Please call us on the below-mentioned number to know the Bank Details for Funds Transfer.

Cost:
Rs. 900/- per head (non-refundable)

Inclusions:
Insurance
1 Veg. Breakfast & Tea/Coffee
Travel in local auto from Vangani to base village and Pvt non-AC Cab from destination village to Panvel
Local Route Guide
Trek Guidance by Certified & Experienced Trek Leader of Parvat Buddies
First Aid Kit. (For minor cuts/bruises)

Exclusions: Travel from/to Mumbai, Lunch, Entry Fee (if any), Packaged drinking water, cold-drinks, any sort of personal expenses, any other thing not mentioned under ‘Inclusions’

IMP INSTRUCTIONS:
 Any outdoor activity is physically demanding and should NOT be confused with picnic. Do not expect home like comforts in the outdoors. Be open to raw and rugged experiences!
 It is important to be in good health and to have a basic level of physical fitness to ensure a happy time during the event. Consult your doctor before joining the event if you’re suffering from any ailment/injury.
 Smoking, Consumption of Alcohol, Intake of Drugs/Narcotics, Littering, Creating Noise and playing music is strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated.
 It is important for all participants to abide by the instructions of the team leader from time to time. Any violation of Event Rules or misbehaviour will be dealt with strictly and the participant will be expelled from the group immediately without any refund.
 The time schedule for the event has to be followed strictly by every participant so as to have a timely and safe execution of the event.
 Avoid Jeans/Belts/Sling bags as it is important to walk freely in the outdoors. Shorts, 3/4ths and Sleeveless tops are strictly NOT allowed. Avoid applying Deodorant/fragrances as it might attract honeybees/insects etc.
 Trim your nails 2 days before the trek. Ensure you get proper sleep before the trek day.
 Avoid bringing costly gadgets/devices and valuables like jewellery etc. Carry only sufficient cash. Try to keep the weight of your bag as less as possible. Wrap your belongings in dry bags to protect them from dust and/or rains.
 Read the itinerary, rules and checklist thoroughly. Lastly, leave a brief note about this plan at home.

For any queries, feel free to Contact us:
Parin H Shah
9869173138 (WhatsApp)
7718075422 (Call)
parvatbuddies@gmail.com

About Us:
PARVAT BUDDIES is a Mumbai based group of adventurers and nature lovers established in the year 2014. We organise outdoor activities like trekking, camping, cycling, outdoor Yoga, leisure trips, tree planting, etc. We have successfully conducted 212 enjoyable events!

Our Past Trek Events:
http://parvatbuddies.blogspot.in/p/past-events.html

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www.facebook.com/ParvatBuddies

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Disclaimer: While utmost care will be taken by the organisers, all participants shall be responsible for their own safety and belongings. Organisers will not be responsible for any injury, casualty, death or any other untoward incident. Decision of the trek leader shall be final and binding on all participants.

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