Monday, September 16, 2013

Field Photos: A Trek To Tikona Fort

Come September I am heading out again in the Deccan Basalt landscapes. Last Saturday I went for a day trek to Tikona Fort, about an hour and half drive from Pune on the backwaters on the Pavana dam.

An interactive map of the Tikona Fort area


View Larger Map

Monsoon clouds hover over the summit




The walk begins with the summit in the background


An unexpected friend joins us


Gaining altitude and a sun dappled village emerges from the gloom


Wildflower honey is being farmed


Cool weather and a walk through the woods


Suddenly a vista of a sharp ridge opens up


Often solitary, the summit approaches


And a very steep climb beckons


 Through an ancient stone chiseled stairway

 
We are on the top.. With the Pavana dam backwaters and battlements and ramparts provoking history discussions..


  Geology is everywhere.. A Perched Aquifer.. at the top of the fort..


 And going down.. the splendour of the Deccan Volcanic Province with layered lava flows in full view...


A break in the clouds and a final goodbye to Tikona Fort


 ... until next time.

many of the pictures.. courtesy Rajesh Sarde.

4 comments:

  1. wow ... looks like a spectacular hike on the ridge and summit!

    ReplyDelete
  2. yes.. the final ascent on all these forts in the Deccan Traps is very steep,, they are built on this thick compact lava flow which forms an erosional escarpment, best not to look down when climbing! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi,
    Those layered lava flow and perched aquifer look very interesting. Can you write about it some time about how they were formed, etc.?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Slogan Murugan-- the layering is due to there being separate eruption episodes of lava.. each layer is one episode that may have lasted weeks to months and there are difference is the type of lava that erupts which makes layers distinct.. perched aquifer in Deccan basalts - forms when a water bearing layer of lava on a mountain top is underlain by a lava layer that stops water from percolating down any further.. because of this impermeable foundation water remains in the topmost layer.

    ReplyDelete