I visited Empower Activity Camp, Kolad last Friday as part of company outing. It is a very nice place to spend some time with a group of friends and enjoy rafting, trekking, shooting and several other activities.
Timings: We started from our company office at Senapati Bapat Road in a Mercedez Benz bus at 15:45 in the afternoon and reached at the Empower Activity Camp at around 18:30. There were lots of panoramic scenes along the way to capture but unfortunately we didn't take any stoppages except for emptying our bladders where I coudn't snap any photos.
How to reach: We took the route
shown here. The route is only till Kolad but as per my understanding, I saw 'Roha' network being displayed on my phone so you might need to move a bit farther than that. Till halfway, the route is similar to reaching Tamhini Ghat. Since the bus was driven by somebody else, I don't know the exact route. I had just noticed pirangut and tamhini along the way and that's how I have provided the route. I got the following route from another website: Pune - Chandani Chowk - Pirangut - Paud - Mulshi - Tamhini Ghat - Vile Phata - Kolad.
Tariffs: The
company website mentions charges of around 1800-2000 per person per day. The company had made bookings of around 50 people so we were allotted 2 dormitories for 18 people each and 4 tents for 4 people each. The dormitories had two ACs with three separate toilets and three bathrooms. The tents were air-cooled with one toilet and bathroom. We were provided with soaps, towels and blankets. I was told that the company paid around INR 3000 per person which I think is what is mentioned on the company website (1800 per person + 200 for Burma Bridge + 1300 for white water rafting on weekend).
Activities: There were a lot of activities that can be performed but some are included in the basic package while some are add-ons and separately need to be booked with extra charges. The company I am working in had arranged for:
- Target Shooting: After reaching the place, we had our evening snacks of tea with onion-pakoda and started with the first activity planned for us. There were some targets like human body, animals and water bottles set up for shooting. Everybody was provided five rounds of air-gun and I scored just two out of five. There were two bonus round if you shoot five out of five. Unlucky me.
- Night Trekking: We went on a night trek after the target shooting. The trek was full of jungle but there were no wild animals so everybody came back one-piece.
- Campfire: We had a nice campfire and a round of antakshari just before the dinner.
- Burma Bridge: We were woken up early at 5:30 in the morning just like military life. The activity was quite difficult for people with more weight and I too felt a bit of nervousness when I reached in the middle but it was still not too much of a hassle for me.
- Trust Track: In this, there was was one route of pits, roofs, fences, obstacles etc... The team of 8 was divided in 4 pairs. In each pair, one person would be blind-folded and the other person has to guide him/her in finishing the route. The blindfolded person can talk but the other person can only provide guidance by tapping head, leg or back or by any other gesture to the other person. One group leader is chosen first and shown the terrain and the he is supposed to provide all this information to the rest of the group in five minutes. The pits should be jumped upon, roofs should be cleared bending on knees and fences and obstacles should be cleared without touch.
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- White-water rafting: We left the camp in a tempo to reach the Kundalika riverside. There is a dam built on the river which releases water everyday at around 10:30 AM that makes rafting possible in the river. We enjoyed some time before the water was released. When the water got released, we got training about the commands and what action to take for a command. The whole route was almost 14 KM and it took around two hours and thirty minutes to complete it.
All in all it was a trip worth remembering for the rest of my life.
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