Mesmerizing karnala...

I moved to Mumbai in July n had been exploring this city of dreams n nearby places since then.  N looking fr sm secluded place let me to Karnala.  On byk it's a 30-35 km journey from Koparkhairane, near vashi. We (I along wd my 3 frnds) reached at the Karnala bird sanctuary at around 11 am. After having a cup of tea at a restaurant we started our ascend to the fort which is around 2.5 km from d main entrance gate. What impressed me at d entry itself was Rs.100 deposit for each plastic item tht we carried that was to be refunded back on your exit if you show the same item (like empty water bottle, plastic wraper, chips packet etc.). This has allowed the nature to work it's own way and maintain a pristine state in entire area. Also charging Rs. 100 for a Rs. 20 mineral water bottle discourages ppl to spread litters. As we started our ascend to the fort sadly we could see some birds in cage just lyk zoo. Although it ws a bird sanctuary, birds didn't had freedom to live their own way. Anyways, we started our journey. On d way we could see small streams of water running down the hill. The soil was damp n stones were slippery with algal growth on them. The forest was a typical blend of tropical deciduous n evergreen forests. One can see variety of flora in thr. Although this forest is travelled by many enthusiastic hikers n trekkers, it has been able to maintain its virginity thanx to government efforts n strict enforcement of no plastic rule. The trails are Stony n at most places one can see 6-7 ft long grass on both sides of d road. One can see crabs n sm rat snakes on your way to fort. The hike to top of d hill took us around 1.5 hrs. On reaching d top cool breeze wd light drizzle made our day. All d efforts taken to reach d top were really worth. And d real beauty was still awaiting fr us to be witnessed. The fort houses a Monolith supported by natural pillars. It ws lyk a 10 storey building standing on pillars having the ground floor filled with water. It ws really a mesmerizing scene. After having sm selfies n pics we started our descend. We finished our descend in about half hour n got our deposit (plastic bottles) back. We came out of d sanctuary n had lunch in a small restaurant tht is just opposite to sanctuary entrance gate. Well, i must say, prawns served thr were delicious. After lunch we went to see a small waterfall tht is just at a distance of 10 min walk frm restaurant. Already tired n soaked in our sweat we washed ourselves thr. N then it was tym to b back to d city again. Well it ws really a lovely n beautiful day supplemented with light drizzle n cool breeze.