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Elevation: 28 ft 9 m
GPS: 19.01082, 73.03196
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Shared By: T T Niranjan on Dec 2, 2016 · Updates
Admins: Gokul G, Sandeep Bhagyawant, Gunkswest

Description Suggest change

Please click the area links on the left to access individual route topos

The climbing areas in Maharashtra include Mumbai, Pune and Nashik, the major districts, which cover most of the climbs.

The Western Ghats mountain range runs parallel to the Western coast of India, and the parts of it lying in Karnataka and Maharashtra are called the Sahyadris.

Climbing is mostly concentrated in the districts of Mumbai, Pune, and Nashik, Raigad, Thane, and a few others.

The traditional (as in historical) climbing type in Maharashtra has been pinnacle climbing; there are hundreds of hills rising 500-1500m msl and end with pinnacles that typically are a few hundred feet tall. The climbing style there is a mix of expedition style, fixed rope, and trad/aid, with grades being Easy, Moderate, and Hard. A typical outing would last 2-3 days including often setting up a little base camp/sleeping over at one of the caves or temples and climbing the pinnacle the next day. However, lately, "alpine" style (i.e. the normal style of two-person party) is also picking up, with Fr/YDS rating system.

Apart from that there is a decent amount of sport routes and indoor wall climbing that is picking up. Mumbai even hosted the 2016 IFSC Bouldering World Cup and is likely to repeat it in 2017 but that isn’t perhaps a true indicator of how popular climbing is in India or Mumbai for that matter, currently.

In the world of outdoor sport climbing, which is what this note focuses on (contributions on pinnacle climbing are most welcome), the most popular one is Duke’s Nose (pictured above). It often sees several hundreds of hikers on weekends, dozens of rappellers (yeah, abseiling is, in and of itself a sport, for some people; people hike up to the summit just to rap off and these are usually organized by commercial outfits), and climbers too. A 300-foot sheer cliff, in the moderate grade, about French 5c, with a single 6b crux move (see the upcoming page or a teaser here: supertopo.com/tr/Dukes-Nose…

The most iconic and arguably hardest in the Sahyadris is Konkankada , a big wall climb, approx 700m, first climbed by a party from IIT Bombay in the 80's.

There are several single-pitch crags spread over and can easily be done in full day or half-day trips from one of the major cities.

Rock is basalt; if you are coming from Hampi or Bangalore you will be pleased at how soft the rock feels on your hands. You can climb all day till your muscles are sore (or till you are dehydrated, on hot/humid days), but your skin of your hands will barely have a scratch. On the flip side, the rock tends to be much looser and scree and honeybees add to the adventure or unpleasantness depending on how you see it. Several people including hikers and climbers have had serious or fatal bee attacks.

The best season to climb:
November to March, with January being the best month. This region is a few degrees warmer than South Karnataka/Bangalore.

April-May are too hot but the climbs in shade or morning climbs are doable.

June-October is monsoon, almost continuous rains and hence zero climbing; that’s the season for the famous Sahyadri monsoon hikes. But that is the only time it rains here, the rest of the year is perfectly dry, whereas Bangalore/Chennai see irregular rains throughout the year.

Getting There Suggest change

The major cities listed are typically 3-4 hours by road/train. See the individual cities for local climbing details

71 Total Climbs

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Location: Maharashtra Region Change
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Classic Climbing Routes at Maharashtra Region

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
 5
Dyno trap
Sport
5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a
 4
Facetime
Sport
5.10a/b 6a+ 19 VI+ 19 E2 5b
 4
Dirty Harry
Sport 2 pitches
5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b
 6
Alternative facts
Sport
5.10b/c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
 4
Nose
Sport
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
 5
Grigri
Sport
5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b
 4
Crack route
Sport, TR
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b
 4
Golden Pocket
Sport
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b
 5
Rest Day
Sport
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c PG13
 4
Avalanche
Sport
5.11c/d 7a 24 VIII 25 E4 6a
 4
Lots of flies
Sport, TR
5.12a/b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6a R
 4
Skyhook
Trad 5 pitches
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
Dyno trap Pune > Sinhagad Fort
 5
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c Sport
Facetime Mumbai > Dighe/Thane
 4
5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a Sport
Dirty Harry Mumbai > Belapur (Navi M… > Belapur Left Side Crag
 4
5.10a/b 6a+ 19 VI+ 19 E2 5b Sport 2 pitches
Alternative facts Mumbai > Dighe/Thane
 6
5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b Sport
Nose Mumbai > Belapur (Navi M… > Belapur Right Side Crag
 4
5.10b/c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b Sport
Grigri Mumbai > Belapur (Navi M… > Belapur Right Side Crag
 5
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b Sport
Crack route Mumbai > Belapur (Navi M… > Belapur Right Side Crag
 4
5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b Sport, TR
Golden Pocket Pune > Sinhagad Fort
 4
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b Sport
Rest Day Mumbai > Belapur (Navi M… > Belapur Left Side Crag
 5
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b Sport
Avalanche Mumbai > Belapur (Navi M… > Belapur Left Side Crag
 4
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c PG13 Sport
Lots of flies Mumbai > Belapur (Navi M… > Belapur Right Side Crag
 4
5.11c/d 7a 24 VIII 25 E4 6a Sport, TR
Skyhook Pune > Lonavla
 4
5.12a/b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6a R Trad 5 pitches
More Classic Climbs in Maharashtra Region »

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