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“Also known as Ghatkopar Tekdi, in Ghatkopar suburb, Mumbai“

How to reach

Not many residents of Ghatkopar are even aware of this hill. It is called as the Ghatkopar firing range or the police firing hill. The best way to travel is to reach the Sant Muktabai General Hospital. Note down the address – SG Barve Marg, near Muktabai hospital, Siddharth Nagar, Barve Nagar, Ghatkopar West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400084. You may use GPS to reach here. Once you reach the hospital, ask anyone around for the fire station or police firing range. You will not see this on any Google map, have to rely on the age-old technique of asking around for directions.

Closest railway station on Central Railway – Ghatkopar Station

Closest railway station on Metro – Jagruti Nagar.

Best time to visit

Ok, now the answer to this question will vary from person to person. There is a group of people who love to go here in the rains and experience multiple little waterfalls. But I would differ in my opinion. I had gone in the monsoon but found the mud too slippery, and could not complete the climb, I prefer not to get too dirty with muck on my body. I would not recommend this little hike in the summers as it gets too hot unless you start the climb at 5 AM. So, my suggestion would be to experience this little hillock from October to March, when the weather is pleasant. Start the hike 30 minutes before sunrise, and experience sunrise at the peak.

Where is Ghatkopar in Mumbai?

Ghatkopar is a suburb in the Central Mumbai, predominantly inhabited by Gujarati community (I am one of them), also known as mini-Gujarat of Mumbai. I had heard about this little hill in Ghatkopar West area from a relative. Apparently, there is a group of regulars who walk up this hill religiously every Sunday.

The Hike

Finally, the day arrived and a group of 4 of us decided to explore this area. After a little detour due to losing our way, we eventually reach the base of this hill at 7 am. There is a fire station at the base. We park our vehicle here and start the climb. There is a little pathway on your left as you start walking, that’s where you begin.

The initial half an hour of the hike is a steep climb, and we use all our fours for balance. A mind-blowing sight awaits here, so have patience and keep monkey-climbing. Thereafter, it is a pretty neat walk for another 45 minutes or so. So we enjoy photo shooting here and take in deep breaths to fill up our lungs with fresh morning air.

There is a proposed helipad area for the police personnel here. Enjoy a good workout and start your descend from here. A few minutes later we encounter a split and following take a right turn as per the regular hikers instructions. The road that goes straight goes to a different location and not the car parking at the fire station.

Again the last 10 minutes of the descend is very steep and finally by learning how to balance ourselves we manage to hit the base.