Jaipur trekker maps over 2,000 km of Sahyadri trails for safer hiking

At the summit: Jaipur-based trail mapper Manav (Manvendr) Singh Shekhawat during one of his Sahyadri expeditions

For most trekkers, reaching a summit marks the end of an adventure. For Jaipur-based long-distance hiker and trail mapper Manav (Manvendr) Singh Shekhawat, it is where the real work begins.

Over the past four years, Shekhawat has walked nearly 3500 km across the Sahyadris, meticulously mapping more than 2000 km of trekking trails on the open-source platform OpenStreetMap (OSM). His work has made verified trail data freely available to hikers, rescue teams and conservationists.

Speaking to mid-day, Shekhawat said the idea was born from a simple observation. "I realised that roads existed long before Google Maps. Google simply digitised them. Forest trails also exist, but someone has to physically walk and verify them before they can be mapped."

Shekhawat records and verifies trekking trails before uploading them to OpenStreetMap. Pics Courtesy/Hike X

Shekhawat entered the outdoor world in 2017, initially leading trekking groups before moving to solo expeditions in search of lesser-known routes in the Himalayas and later the Sahyadris.

Unlike commercial trekking platforms, he uploads verified trail data to OpenStreetMap, allowing multiple navigation apps, including GAIA, AllTrails and Komoot, to access the information. During every expedition, he records GPS tracks before verifying and uploading details such as trail alignments, campsites, water sources and potential hazards.

Between 2021 and 2025, he returned to Maharashtra every post-monsoon season, completing long-distance community hikes ranging from 250 km to 650 km across the Western Ghats between Nashik and Mahabaleshwar. Along the way, he also encouraged trekkers to follow Leave No Trace principles and avoid using loudspeakers inside forests.

Shekhawat has been at it for nearly a decade

His work culminated in the Epic Sahyadri Trail (EST) - a 1724-km long-distance hiking route that links historic forts, ancient ghat routes, forests, plateaus, temples, caves, waterfalls and remote villages across Maharashtra. EST is a project of HikeX (Hiking Information and Knowledge Exchange).

Shekhawat stressed that the routes themselves are not new. "These trails have existed for generations and have been explored and written about by numerous hikers since the 1960s, but no one had connected, verified and documented the entire mountain range into a single usable route," he said.

He hopes the growing digital archive will eventually support search-and-rescue operations while preserving historic trekking routes that could otherwise disappear over time.

Why it matters

>> Open-source trail data can be used by multiple navigation apps.
>> Verified routes can help trekkers plan safer hikes.
>> Mapping may assist future search-and-rescue efforts.
>> Historic trails are digitally documented before they disappear.
>> Promotes responsible trekking through Leave No Trace practices.

Epic Sahyadri Trail at a glance

Last week, the government in the state legislature had announced a farm loan waiver. According to the government record, the farm loan waiver scheme is expected to benefit around 56 lakh farmers across Maharashtra and will involve an estimated expen

What is it?
India's first continuous, fully mapped and documented long-distance hiking trail.

Length
1724 km

Route
Gadgad Sanghvi (near Nashik) to Bombay Point (Mahabaleshwar)

Connects
>> Historic forts
>> Ancient ghat routes
>> Forests
>> Plateaus
>> Temples
>> Caves
>> Waterfalls
>> Remote villages

Project by
HikeX (Hiking Information and Knowledge Exchange)

By the numbers

3500 km walked across the Sahyadris
2000+ km of trails mapped on OpenStreetMap
2021-2025 period of field mapping
250-650 km covered during each community hike
2017 year Shekhawat began trekking