Pune: An online booking system, which went live last week, has helped the state forest department restrict the number of tourists turning up at Kundalika valley and for the Andharban jungle trek, two of Mulshi’s most popular weekend destinations.The website, officials said, kept the number of people at 1,000 at the valley and 700 for the trek during the Aug 15 long weekend. The decision to have online pre-booking was taken after severe overcrowding led to the closure of both spots on June 29-30, when nearly 6,000 people turned up.Andharban, known as the dark forest trek, and Kundalika Valley, draw tens of thousands of tourists from all over the state every year. Both spots are within the Sudhagad Wildlife Sanctuary and accessed through the forest department’s entry point at Pimpri village in Mulshi.“By restricting the number of visitors, we were able to handle the situation smoothly this weekend,” said Sagar Bhosale, Range Forest Officer (RFO), adding that those without prior bookings were stopped at the entry point and told to return.“People who had booked had a better experience. They were able to enjoy the scenery,” Bhosale said.Officials said local assistance was also roped in to make the Andharban jungle trek safer. “We stationed villagers at key points to guide and support trekkers along the route,” he said.The booking website impressed tourists too. “There was a feeling of relief. It used to feel like a stampede on weekends, especially in the monsoon. There were not enough forest personnel to manage the crowd,” one visitor said.But trekking groups said the lack of bulk booking was a problem. “The website lacks a group booking option, which means everyone has to book separately and upload their ID cards. This is very inconvenient,” said Anand Kenjale of Explorers Trek and Tours, which over the weekend took 50 tourists for the Andharban trek.Kenjale added the forest department could consider increasing the cap on visitors for the trek, stating that the route had the capacity to accommodate more people. “We also need to increase the number of ticket scanners at the forest department’s entry point. The queues were long recently.”Onkar Oak, director of Maha Adventure Council, said introduction of a system to manage crowds was crucial for the safety of visitors. “This new system by the forest department may have gaps, but officials have adopted a trial and error approach. They will now have the period from September to next June to fix all the problems,” Oak said.
