TREKKING @POLO FOREST

Hey readers,

Hope you all are doing great and are safe in this pandemic. Here, I am back, with our second travelogue! If you haven’t read my previous one, check it out here: https://travelogue-upasana.blogspot.com/2021/05/ecocamp-little-rann-of-kutch.html. 

Do you like trekking? Come on then, this is exactly your blog! Let’s explore a terrain totally different from the Rann of Kutch discussed in the last blog. This terrain is famous for trekking and known as “Polo Forest”. 

It is located at the foothills of the Aravalli range. The ideal time to visit this trek point is after monsoons, from September to December; when the forest appears lush green and the rivers are fresh blue. This forest falls into the category of a tropical dry deciduous forest. The whole forest is spread around 400 km².

Below is the google map reference of Polo Forest👇

https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Ahmedabad,+Gujarat/Polo+Forest+Road,+Bandhana,+Gujarat+383460/@23.5109638,72.3734331,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x395e848aba5bd449:0x4fcedd11614f6516!2m2!1d72.5713621!2d23.022505!1m5!1m1!1s0x395d781ba305bbdf:0x3f6684bdb0317dc9!2m2!1d73.2912946!2d23.9819243?hl=en

Vijaynagar (the gateway to the Polo Forest) is approximately 160 km from Ahmedabad and 120 km from Udaipur. There is no rail connectivity, driving down in a car or a bus is the preferred mode of travel. We drove down to polo forest from Ahmedabad and it took us around 2 hours. On reaching we freshened up, then took a tour guide (as it was our first time there). Firstly we crossed a check dam at the foothill. Nature here was so mesmerizing, that we started taking some pictures!! Here are a few pictures enclosed for you guys!

Source: (Check Dam) https://inlandtourways.com/product/polo-forest-tour-package/

Source: (Bank of the Check Dam) That's clicked by me 👆😇

If crossing the check dam was fun, going further was literally an uphill climb. At first, it was quite tough & tedious because we were not the regular trekkers. But it started to become more fun and exciting while climbing down the hill. We clung on to a rope and hiked all the way down the hill. At the bottom of the hill, there was my favourite spot of this trip. There were natural roots from a Banyan tree, that were hanging down, which we used to swing to and fro. I had so much fun swinging like a monkey!!

Source: No Source Found! Cause, that's ME🤍

After we crossed over to the other side of the river, we sighted the relics of the ancient temples. One can still sight the remains, ruins of the ancient Vjaynagar city here. This city was built alongside the river Harnav by the Parihar Kings of Idar in the 10^th century. Now this site is  maintained by the state Archaeology Department.

We were tired and exhausted and relished lunch from a small ‘dhaba’.   Thereafter, we set course for another relic site located close by famous as “Shiv-Shakti Temple”. This temple was built in the 14^th century. Here Lord Shiva is the main deity, along with Surya and Suryani, which is why it is also called the Sun Temple (Surya Mandir). 

Source: (Shiv-Shakti Temple) https://www.gujarattourism.com/north-zone/sabarkantha/polo-forest.html

Our final lap of the day began after this when we reached the Dam. This dam is built on the upstream of river Harnav, hence known as Harnav Dam. 

Source: (Harnav River) That's clicked by me 👆😇

Both options for camping as well as lodging are available here; such as “Polo Tent City”, which can be booked if one wants to stay overnight or on weekends. Polo Tent City & Resort has family friendly rooms that are well-spaced and lots of other facilities. 

Source: (Tent City) https://www.trivago.in/himatnagar-567526/hotel/polo-tent-city---8452212

Hope that you all loved this blog! Thank You For All The Unconditional Support❤️

★ Feel free to share any feedback/suggestion. 

That's all for now, keep reading for more such blogs and exciting travelogues!!✨

See ya,

Upasana