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PLACES
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MALA
Mala (Patan T; 17° 15' N, 73° 40' E; RS Karad 52 m. NE;
p. 195), a small village sixteen miles south-west of Patan on a plateau at the very edge of the Sahyadris, gives its name to a very favourite pass which connects the port of Sangamesvar in Ratnagiri with the Satara district. The road from Patan is by the Kumbharli metalled road as far as the Yerad ferry, then by Morgiri on to Kokisri, whereafter a long spur is climbed by an easy ascent. A ten miles level path along the spur leads to Mala. The path crosses a small ridge about a mile from Mala, and the camping ground adjoins a temple situated in a shallow basin of rice and flat lands surrounded by rounded tops of the neighbouring hills. A mile's walk over nearly dead level ground leads to the edge of the pass from where, on clear days a fine view as far as the sea is obtainable. There are a few bison and Sambar in this neighbourhood, but to beat the forest a very large number of men and two or three guns are required. In October, and, if the monsoon is late, after the first fall of thundershowers, there is a fair chance of falling in with game by stalking in the early morning. The Mala forests are not good for bear, but tigers occasionally roam in the neighbourhood. The climate in the hot weather is pleasant and the ascent at Kokisri once made easy a fair weather track for carts and rough carriages, would easily be maintained. The bullock traffic is chiefly along another spur from Dhebevadi, a village in the Vang valley. The ascent is not much steeper than at Kokisri and the ten miles of track along the ridge by Paneri and Humbarni are equally easy. These two villages as well as Pancgani on the other route are good places for bear and sambar shooting. There is also a track to Helvak but this is less used and the ascent at Nav is exceedingly steep.
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