On Republic Day, tricolour to flutter atop Maharashtra's tallest peak

For the first time, an official function will be held to hoist the Indian Tricolour atop Maharashtra's tallest but little-known mountain, the Kalsubai Peak in Ahmednagar district on January 26, an official said here on Wednesday.

"The idea is to promote tourism to this region and imbibe a sense of patriotism among the adventure lovers, hikers and trekkers who throng there round-the-year. This will be a regular feature henceforth," said Principal Secretary, Tourism, Vasla Nair-Singh.

The lush green and picturesque Kalsubai Peak stands at a height of 1,646 metres or 5,400 feet, offering a salubrious weather round the year, she added.

This makes it much taller than other popular and highly developed hill-destinations like Mahabaleshwar (1,353 metres), Panchgani (1,293 m), Bhimashankar (1,034 m), the tiny vehicle-free hillstation of Matheran (800 m), Amboli (690 m), Lonavala (625 m) and Khandala (550 m).

The top of the mountain is approachable by small paths and trekking routes from the Bari village, has a small temple dedicated to Goddess Kalsubai, a local deity who is worshipped by all visitors there.

Until now, small groups of hikers-trekkers have been organising their own small functions when they climbed atop Kalsubai Peak on Republic Day and Independence Day.

To mark the momentous occasion, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation has designed special all-inclusive tour packages from Mumbai and Pune to attract maximum tourists.

"The mountain top offers magnificent views of the hills and mountains of the Sahyadri range, the stunning backwaters of Bhandardara Dam, and other areas like Harihargad, Bahula, Anjaneri, Ghargad, Bahula, Tringalwadi and Kavnai," Nair-Singh said.

Incidentally, Kalsubai Peak shot into limelight in December 2014 when a Mumbai adventure couple Vivek Patil and Swapnali Dhabugade solemnised their wedding there along with relatives, friends and hundreds of trekkers turning up to wish them. (IANS reported the story on December 29, 2014).

Their unique wedding was widely covered in the local and national media drawing attention to the unexplored, hidden beauty of Kalsubai Peak.

--IANS

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