Dronagiri Fort

Fort:Dronagiri
Height: 1001 feet above MSL
Base : Uran
Grade: Medium.

Dronagiri is a fort located near Uran in Raigad district. This fort was build in olden days and was captured by the Portuguese during their rule. It also houses a church on top of the fort built by the Portuguese.



We came to the base of Dronagiri after doing the Belapur fort. Uran is around 30km from Panvel by road. Once in Uran we get near the ST stand and then to Dahanu Nagar which is at the base of the mountain. ONGC has its main office in there at the base of Dronagiri. We asked for the route to get to the top of the fort and found that the route is to go ahead inside the nagar and then go up winding on the mountain.We started the trek to Dronagiri to get to the top. The route was very slushy due to the constant heavy rains pounding us continuously.

We got to the top in about 1 hour and there are lot of remnants on top to check out. The main door is a beauty and then there are remains of the church and a beautiful well.

My camera was damaged here due to entry of water inside it.

Belapur Fort

Fort: Belapur
Type: Land
Location : Belapur - Navi Mumbai

This fort has only 1 of its bastions left and is located in Belapur (Navi Mumbai). This is located near the highway to Uran. This fort was supposed to be built by the Siddis of Janjira during 1560-1570. The British partially destroyed this fort. Nowadays only a bastion remains to be seen of the fort.

Sole bastion of the Belapur fort

Sewree fort

Fort: Sewree fort
Location : Sewree (E) - Mumbai
Type: Sea fort.

Route: Dadar (TT) -> Khodadad Circle -> Wadala (E) -> Godrej Foods -> Hindustan Petroleum (Sewree) -> turn right in front of Railway Gate -> ask for Colgate Company -> Fort is near a Dargah.

Some type of inscription describing when the fort was built

One of the room type structures inside the fort

The expanse of the Sewree fort
Old entrance to the fort

This fort was built in 1680 by the British to ward off attacks by the Siddhis of Janjira. This was basically used as a watchtower. Structures inside the fort have been renovated recently and hence we can see many intact things.

Worli fort

Fort: Worli
Type: Sea fort
Location: Worli (south Mumbai)

The Bandra Worli Sea-Link bridge from the Worli fort

The Worli fort
The Worli fort entrance

This fort was built in 1675 by the British to keep a watch over the sea and to ward off enemies and pirates from the sea. It now houses a gym inside the fort. The above pictures seem to be of a facelifted fort done by some NGO and is not the actual fort. The actual fort lies just behind this one and is razed to the ground.

Mahim fort

Fort: Mahim (Mahim cha Killa)
Type: Sea fort
Location: Mahim (W) - Mumbai.

The Mahim fort located in Mahim Bay

Bastions of the Mahim fort
Ruins inside the fort
One of the doors of the fort opening into the sea

This fort is located on the seashore near Mahim(Mumbai). It is currently in dilapidated condition and slums have made their way into the fort. Most of the walls are in crumbling condition. This fort is supposed to be built as early as 1716 or before when Portuguese tried to capture this fort from the British. The area around this fort is strewn with garbage, excreta and what not making it a bad place. The Archeological Survey of India has done nothing to restore this fort.

Dharavi Fort (Kala Killa)

Fort: Dharavi (also known as Kala Killa)
Type: Land fort
Location : Sion (E) - Dharavi Slums (Mumbai)

Route: Sion circle (turn right to Sion railway station) - cross to Sion east and ask for Kala Killa (near Hanuman Seva Mandal)

The plaque on the fort describing the details

The walls of the fort

Some remnants of structure on top of the fort
A tunnel on top of the fort - this goes to sion fort as per locals (myth or reality?)

This fort is also known as Riwa fort and was built in 1669-1677. This was built by the British as a watchtower. Not many people know of the existence of the fort inside the slum. Although many of the structures are in good condition.

Sion fort (Shiv cha Killa)

Fort : Sion (also known as Shiv cha Killa)
Location: Sion (west - Mumbai)
Type: Land fort





It was built by the British Governor of Bombay Gerard Aungier atop a conical hillock. The fort was built between 1669 and 1677 (source : Wikipedia). To get to this fort one has to goto Sion (west) (near Sion Circle - Mumbai) cross Sion circle and go towards Dadar. Turn left after the first signal and ask for Jawaharlal Nehru Park (udyan). The way to the fort goes via this park. It is a small fort in dilapidated condition and nothing much to see on top. However the view of the surrounding areas gives an idea behind the strategy of building this fort.

Thane Fort

Fort: Thane
Type: Land fort
Location: Thane city (Mumbai)



This fort is located near TalavPaali near Court Naka in Thane city. Locals do not know about this fort and this fort is converted into a Central Jail now and one cannot go inside to have a view. We saw this fort from the outside and got a view of the bastion. Nothing much known about the fort.

Jivdhani Fort

Fort : Jivdhani (better known as Jivdhani temple)
Grade: Easy
Base village: Virar (Mumbai Western)

Route: Thane->Ahmedabad highway->Virar (50 km)



This fort is located in Virar and is a temple now, a famous one of Jivdhani devi. It takes around 40 mins to get to the top via steps and there's nothing to see on top except the temple of Jivdhani Devi. No fort remains on top as most of it is gone in the reconstruction of the temple. Takes hardly 1 hour to go and come back.

Dativare (Sea fort) visit

Fort: Dativare
Type: Sea fort
Base village: Dativare

Route:
1. Thane->(Ahmedabad highway) Varai Phata->Tandulwadi->Safale->Dativare(75 km approx)

This was the 4th fort in the trek series and the first one today. As this was a sea fort we had ample time. We started from our base at Kelve in the morning at 6:30am and were on our way to Dativare via Safale.

Dativare is a small village on the west coast with a population of about 1500 odd. The Portugese had built a fort here when they ruled the coast here. However this fort is not known to many people including the locals.

We reached Dativare at around 8am and asked for the fort. First people looked at us like what we were asking as no one knew the fort existed here. Then they directed us to a talav and rocky structures nearby. We went near the talav and it was bliss there with Lotuses in the water and there were queer rocky structures where there was a temple.


After seeing the temple we went on ahead to check out the actual fort , nobody knew of the existance of such a fort here but some local boys told us that there is some fort wall which they can show. We went with them to check out and indeed there was the only sole remaining structure of the fort, a wall.





After seeing this we started back to check out the other fort Jivdhani near Virar.

Tandulwadi fort trek

Fort: Tandulwadi
Base : Tandulwadi Village (Thane district).
Height: 1900 feet above MSL
Grade: Medium

Route:
1. Thane->Varai phata->Tandulwadi (60 km)
2. Waghoba Khind -> Lalthane -> Tandulwadi (12 km).

We reached Tandulwadi from base of Kaldurg in about 30 mins. It was raining heavily now. Tandulwadi was a small village with the fort behind the village at some distance. We hired two guides to take us up the fort and come down as the route was via forested path and we didnt want to lose our way.


With the rain pelting down we started our trek at 3:30pm and at first it was ascent for 10 mins and then there was a clearing from where we got a good view of the fort on top. Continuing ahead it was continuous climb for around 25 more minutes and we reached one more clearing from where the fort seemed near but it was a very steep climb ahead. This was a supposed short cut to the fort.

Tandulwadi fort from base village

Tandulwadi fort after initial climb

We reached one more clearing ahead after a steep climb and some of us were hungry so we had chivda and water , refreshed ourselves and continued ahead where there was a rock patch which we climbed up without any problem and continued ahead. After some more steep climb we saw the bastion of the fort through which we came on top of the fort. On top we saw a series of water tanks which were full of water. It was raining on top too and nothing could be seen nearby due to the clouds.

After seeing the water tanks we inched ahead to the other way to get down which is supposed to be a long way but easy one. On the route we saw one more water tank with cool, crystal clear water in it and had our fill. We started climbing down from the other route. The route was full of waterfall stones and the rain water over it made life hell for us but it was easier than the route we climbed. We reached Tandulwadi village in about an hour and changed our clothes and got into the vehicle to get to the night halt for the day.

This was a nice trek indeed.

Kaldurg Trek

Fort: Kaldurg
Base : Waghoba Khind on road to Palghar (from Manor)
Grade : Medium
Height: 1547 feet above MSL.

Route:
1. Thane -> Manor -> Waghoba Khind (stop) route ahead goes to Palghar.
2. Varangade -> Kokner -> Waghoba Khind

This was the second fort of the day after Asawa and we left Varangade by 10.15am. We took the route to Kokner and the road of 10km was bad to worse and in about 45 mins we reached Kokner phata from where we turn right for Waghoba Khind. We could see Kaldurg's rocky structure from far away in fog. The rain too had now stopped and we prayed it shouldnt start for long as we wanted to trek Kaldurg.

Kaldurg in Clouds:

I had done Kaldurg before with friends and given my leg condition I didnt want to do it however I decided I would take a call at the base. We reached Waghoba Khind in about 45 min by 10.45am and there was a shop there where we ordered tea and had breakfast of bread / butter / jam and tea. Once refreshed I took the decision of not going up as I didnt want to get more cramps so I stayed back at the base and as I had done the fort before didnt want to do it again.

The route for Kaldurg goes from behind the Waghoba temple. Its an easy 1 hour walk to the top. On top there are a few steps , a temple of devi, some water tanks.


As I was at the base I decided to explore the temple and surrounding area.The temple had a nice shivling near it. The temple was dedicated to Waghoba. Not sure what exactly does that mean but its an incarnation of God Shiva.



Some distance ahead on the road I chanced across an amazing waterfall which was flowing in full glory. It was nice to see the waterfall and I sat nearby for some time listening to the sound of water and enjoying the nature nearby. Some time later drops of rain started coming down and I walked back to the temple. There were a few police officials there who were talking to me just like that to while away their time. They were talking about their experiences in their jobs and I had a good time chatting with them.

The others who had gone to the top came back in about 2 hours and we started for Tandulwadi fort our 3rd and last for the day. Its coming in the next blog.

Asawagad Trek

Fort: Asawa
Base Village: Varangade
Height : 1587 feet above MSL
Grade: Easy

Route: Thane->Ahmedabad Highway->Tarapur phata->Chillar->Varangade (75km)


We had gone on a mega trek of 14 forts in 3 days during last weekend of August. The first of them was Asawa fort. We started from Pune on Thursday night and had the plan to reach Varangade the base village of Asawa in the morning by 4am and rest and then on daybreak trek up the fort and come down. However due to the monsoon activity coming up in September , we encountered heavy rains on the way and the rains wont relent at all. We saw huge traffic jams on the NH4 and prayed that NH8 (Ahmedabad highway) shouldn't be like that.

We reached Thane at around 1am and continued ahead. It was raining very heavily , we connected to the Ahmedabad highway and continued. In between after Ghodbunder we had some snacks of Vadapav and Tea to refresh ourselves and continued. The highway roads were bad at some places due to the rain and hence our driver had to continuously check out the roads and keep speeding at bay. Adding to that the rain was relentless and didnt stop at all. We reached Chillar phata from where we take a turn to Varangade the base of Asawa. We turned and asked and found that Varangade is around 10km from here.

We reached Varangade at 4am and stopped. Due to the rain there wasnt an inch of dry land here and also there was no school in here to sleep so we had a problem. There was a factory here (Viraj) and we asked the guard about any place to sleep and he said there isn't any place. So we all slept in the sumo and it was uncomfortable to sleep but we did. Around 6.30 I woke up to find the rain still pouring on but the sun had risen. We looked towards the left side and checked out if we could see Asawa and we could see a hill from here and it resembled Asawa as seen in the photo.

Asawa fort from base village Varangade

We went towards the village and asked a person who told us that there is a temple on top of the hill and he knew that but he didnt know of any fort. Usually people in the village associate a hill to the temple and usually if you ask fort they dont know. So we went inside the village the road to which goes after the company ends to the left. We asked someone for the Mahadev temple and they told us that hill which we saw in the morning which confirmed that it was indeed Asawa. So we asked one villager for the route and by now the rain had stopped. So it was good. We trudged on the path ahead which the villager pointed out and continued. To reach Asawa we had to climb one hill before it and continue to the fort ahead.

We started our trek at 8.15am in the morning and continued. The climb was not hectic so we made good time and continued ahead.We reached the top almost by 9am and I didnt go on top but I could see the bastion of the fort. My legs got some cramps and I stayed some distance below. On top one can see bastion, water tanks and the temple. Nothing much on top.

Others came back in about 15 mins from top and we continued back down. We reached the base village in about 45 mins and by 10 we were near our vehicle. We started for the second fort of the day Kaldurg which was about 15 km from here.

Panhala and Vishalgad Trek

Fort : Panhala
Base village : Panhala
Height : 3177 feet (above MSL)
Grade : Easy
Region: Kolhapur

Fort: Vishalgad
Base village: Vishalgad / Gajapur
Height : 3630 feet (above MSL)
Grade : Easy
Region: Malkapur

This was a long awaited trek from many years and came true when i was talking to Rohit and he told me that they planned to do it on the weekend of 14-15-16 August 2009. I was interested and got bookings by Sahyadri to Kolhapur and started the journey on 13th August night from Pune.

We reached Kolhapur in the morning at 6am. The trekkers were Rohit , Anu , Parag , Hemant, Pinak , Tanmaya , Sameer and me. Stuff was distributed among all of us to be carried. We walked upto the Kolhapur ST stand which is hardly 5 mins walk from the Railway station. On arriving there post enquiries we found that the first bus to Panhala was scheduled at 7.45am so we decided to get autos to Panhala at 200/- bucks per auto instead of waiting upto 7.45am. We had a quick breakfast at the ST canteen which consisted of pohe, upma and chai.

We boarded the autos and were on the way to Panhala. Panhala is about 20km from Kolhapur city and is located on the road from Kolhapur to Ratnagiri (NH-204). We need to take a diversion from the NH at a village called Waghbil. We reached Panhala without any problem by 8 am. There was a thick mist shrouding Panhala and it was somewhat cold now. We had planned to see the fort in 3 hours upto 11am and then proceed to the route of Vishalgad via the Pusati Buruj of Panhala.

Just to give an idea we were to trek the route from Panhala to Vishalgad a distance of about 65 odd kms. The significance of the route is such that when Siddi's troops laid a siege on Panhala in the 17th Century Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had escaped from this route to Vishalgad not before losing his able aide Baji Prabhu Deshpande who fought bravely at Pavankhind (a pass in the mountains) so that Maharaj would get safely to Vishalgad. This tale of bravery and the beauty of the route spurs on many enthusiasts to do the route and thus pay obesiance to the warriors of the yesteryears.

Statue of Bajiprabhu Deshpande

Andaarbaav on Panhala

There is a statue of Baji Prabhu Deshpande at Panhala and we paid our tributes to the great warrior here. We started our tour of Panhala post freshening up and filling up our bottles with water. We first saw the Andhaarbaav , a three storeyed well type structure and went ahead. We saw the Parashar cave (guha) where supposedly sage Parashar had meditated in olden times. Going ahead we saw typical temples and bastions on the fort. We also saw the Veer Shiva Kashid samadhi , Shiva Kashid was a lookalike of Maharaj Shivaji raje and he sacrificed his life by letting himself get captured by the Siddi's troops and posing as Shivaji Maharaj so that Maharaj could safely get away.

Parashar cave on Panhala

There are a lot of temples and lakes on top of Panhala , Someshwar Talav is one of them.We could see Pavangad - sort of sister fort to Panhala from Panhala on the other side. We saw the Sajja Kothi (royal palace of the olden times) and then we went to the tabak udyan (garden). This garden is located inside the fort and was part of it from olden times. After visiting tabak udyan we visited the Ambarkhana (granary) and some other structures there. Finally we visited the Teen Darwaza a series of 3 doors through which you enter the fort from the other side. After all this we walked our way to the Pusati Buruz from where the route to Vishalgad starts. It was roughly 11.15am when we reached the route and waited for others to join in.

Pusati Buruj of Panhala from where the route to Vishalgad starts

We started on this route down Panhala with others. The first village on this route is Turukwadi as soon as you get down Panhala. From here the route gradually ascends to Mhalunge village and onto the Mhasai Pathar. Disaster struck me before Mhanlunge. While negotiating a path filled with stones my ankle twisted so badly that I could not walk without pain. I took a decision there that I couldn't walk the whole 60 km ahead without inconveniencing others so i told other to continue and i would return back to Panhala and get to Vishalgad and meet them. This was the saddest moment for me on the trek to come so far and not be able to do the famed route. Such is fate.

I returned back to Panhala limping in about 2 hours to catch a bus and the others continued on the journey. Coming back to Panhala I had lunch and took a bus to Kolhapur for the day and stayed at Kolhapur. Next day morning I decided to goto Vishalgad by bus and then meet the others who come by the trek route.

Vishalgad from Base

Steps to top of Vishalgad

Morning I got the 6.45 bus for Vishalgad from Kolhapur ST stand and it reached Vishalgad via Malkapur at 9.45am. I went to top of Vishalgad by steps. The fort is a huge place and is located in a strategic area. However people live on top of the fort making the fort dirty. There is also a famous dargah on top of the fort where people from far off places come and pay their respects. This fort contains the mahadev temple , amruteshwar temple , ganesh temple and the samadhis of Baji Prabhu Deshpande and Fulaji Prabhu Deshpande brother of Baji. After seeing all these points I came back to the base and waited for the others to join in. However they were not to be seen so I decided to get back to the point where the trek ends at Pandhrepani. I got a bus immediately from here and went to Pandhrepani. By then heavy showers had started.

I waited at Pandhrepani for almost an hour but finding no sight of the others decided to take the bus back to Kolhapur as I wasn't sure when they would reach here as there was no network too to call them up. I reached Kolhapur at 3pm and immediately visited Mahalaxmi temple and came back to the bus stand. I decided to return back to pune now as I wasnt sure when the others would come back. So leaving a message to the others I started for home by Asiad bus and reached home by 11.30pm in the night.

Although the trek didnt happen as it had to but i could do something and the views of both the regions was too good. I will do the route sometime surely.

Padmadurg - Samrajgad

Fort: Samrajgad
Base village: Ekdara (Murud)
Type : Hill fort

Fort: Padmadurg
Base village: Murud
Type: Sea fort

Had gone on the weekend of 25-26 April 2009 to visit Padmadurg (Kasa killa) with Vinay from Chakram. This was a private sort of trek and Vinay had called me if I would like to join for which I couldn't say No because I wanted to do Padmadurg from a long time and it wouldnt be easy to do it on own.

When I had visited Janjira last time , the guide had shown us Padmadurg from one of the windows of Janjira and had mentioned that this was built by Shivaji Maharaj to wage a campaign against Janjira. The fort of Padmadurg is around 4km inside the sea making it difficult to visit it and boats do not ply to Padmadurg because its too far and only on special request do boats ply there.

I started from Pune on 25th night for Murud on bike. The others would start from Mumbai for Murud. The going was easy with almost no traffic and I covered the distance upto Murud in about 2.5 hours (184km) and reached Murud at 2.30am in the morning of 26th April. The others would still take time as they would reach around 3:45am so I found refuge in a temple "Koteshwari Devi Temple" near Murud.

The others came in around 4am and we directly went to Rajpuri from where we were to get the boat. As it was 4am we slept for about an hour and a half near the temple and then everyone woke up. We had tea at the boatmans place (Kunbi koli) and it was followed by a round of breakfast , sumptous bread / butter / chutney and biscuits. After having our fill we started for Padmadurg fort visit with the boat man and his sons.

One more good thing was we had Sadanand Apte kaka with us , Kaka is learning history of forts and knows a lot about forts and its always good to know the history of forts when we visit. We finally went upto the Rajpuri jetty and the boat came in. It was a dual cylinder fishing boat and we all got inside not before everyone got their share of fright of falling into the water.

We started towards Padmadurg , in between we saw Janjira fort , the stronghold of the Siddhi's for a long time. The history states that the Siddhi's controlled the land from the Kundalika river to the Savitri river near Harihareshwar during their rule and were never defeated. Siddhi's were basically Abyssinians (current Eithopia) and had come here by sea. They built Janjira on the island and made it very strong and controlled the sea and land from here.

One history heard from Apte kaka was that Siddhi's came by sea-route to India on the west coast. However the island on which Janjira stands was occupied by Koli's at that time and it was a stronghold of Koli's. Siddhi's captured that island with treason by asking shelter to the Koli's there and then feeding them wine and then killing them.

Shivaji Maharaj waged a losing battle against the Siddhi's but he could not capture Janjira anytime. Shivaji Maharaj built Padmadurg to keep a check on Siddhi as he could not let Siddhi rule with oppression. Padmadurg was built around 1675 by Daulatkhan (an architect) and was in the control of Marathas until 1698 when Siddhi captured it and ruled it until the end.

The main fort of Padmadurg

The boat was rocking and we were approaching Padmadurg. The fort is divided into 3 parts. The main fort , the padkot (or the supporting fort) and the retaining wall of the fort. We reached Padmadurg and got off , the boat was rocking strongly as high tide was setting in and we got down with difficulty.

The sea door (darya darwaza) of Padmadurg

We came to the door of Padmadurg known as Darya Darwaza (or the door facing the sea). We could see what the sea had made of Padmadurg by lashing its waves on the structure but the cementing material keeps the wall still intact after so many centuries. We went around the fort to the main door and to the padkot where Apte kaka read out a letter from Shivaji Maharaj to Jivaji Vinayak who was responsible for providing logistics for building Padmadurg. The fort of Padmadurg is still in somewhat intact condition.

The padkot of Padmadurg

The main fort of Padmadurg (inside)

The route to top of one of the bastions of Padmadurg

We then saw the retaining wall (the 3rd part of the fort) which has withstood the ravages of the sea and protects against lashing waves. There are some barracks in here constructed by the indian customs dept who had their base here until some years ago. We then went inside the main fort area. The fort area consists of many structures and 3 water tanks and some store rooms.We made a round of the inside of the fort first and then went to the top bastions. There were a lot of cannons lying around the fort, a total of 47 in rusted state. This showed how the protection of the fort was carried out.

After visiting almost all parts of the fort and post some photosessions we started back our return journey. The return journey was uneventful and we came back safely to Rajpuri. We then started off towards Samrajgad , a relatively unknown fort built by Samraj Pant the lieutanent of Shivaji Maharaj. This fort was built to carry out planning of the campaign of the capture of Janjira which was never done. This fort fell to the Siddhi's in 1675 and that was the end of the Janjira campaign.

Part of retaining wall of Samrajgad

There is a small double wall showing that Samrajgad existed sometime at this place. From the top we can clearly see Janjira to the left and Padmadurg to the right. No notable structures exist on the top. After doing Samrajgad we came down to the base village of Ekdara and started to Murud for lunch at Patil's inn. After a sumptous lunch of konkani delicacies we started back. The others planned to do Revdanda fort but I planned to return home fast as I was on bike so started back at 2.30pm and reached back home by 5.30pm.

Nice trip and trek. Great history.

Purandhar - Vajragad Trek

Fort : Purandhar
Base village : Narayanpur (Saswad)
Height: 4520 feet (above MSL)
Grade : Easy

Fort : Vajragad
Base village : Narayanpur (Saswad)
Height : 4444 feet (above MSL)
Grade : Easy

This weekend (14 March 09) Purvesh was to come to Pune. So we decided on a trek to Purandhar and Vajragad near Narayanpur (Saswad). So we (me,purvesh,sharayu,vikram and chaitanya) decided to go for that. Purvesh and Chaitanya were to come from Dombivali on Saturday morning. Saturday morning as usual was 5.30 am wakeup and then left for Chaitanya's place in Kothrud at 6.45 as Purvesh promised he would be there by 7.15am. Reached Chaitanya's place but no sign of Purvesh and Chaitanya so picked up Chaitanya's home keys from a friend of his and went into his home. Purvesh called up saying they were at lonavala at 7.30 so they would take around an hour to be here. Damn! these guys never follow the time. So waited for them. They arrived around 9am and we started for Purandhar around 9.40am via Chandani Chowk - Katraj - Khed Shivapur - Kapurhol - Ketkawle - Narayanpur.

We could see the fort coming into view from before Narayanpur and then turned to go up the fort from the Narayanpur temple. The road ahead was very bad with stones lined up and steep however we made it and that too pillion. The bike rocks. :), the weather too was cloudy today and the sun was obscured due to this so it was perfect trekking weather.

We first saw the Bini Darwaza on the Purandhar machi and stopped there for photos. Then we parked our bikes near the Purandeshwar temple and went to see Purandhar first. Vajragad was visible from here. The route to the top of Purandhar is easy , we did shortcuts and reached the door quite fast. The first door is known as Dilli Darwaza. There are 2 more doors ahead. We first took the left side of the fort which is a passage to the Khandakada (on the left end). There are huge cacti on the fort due to no maintenance there. The views from the Khandakada are amazing. Coming back we entered the right portion of the fort where many remnants are situated and many water tanks. We visited the Balekilla of the fort which is supposed to be the birthplace of Sambhaji Maharaj. Coming back we went to the Shiv temple which is on the topmost part of the fort, on the way we saw Kalyan Darwaza , another entry into the fort from the Konkan region.

Once near the temple we had a nice lunch of theplas and parathas thanks to Vikram and Chaitanya. Once done we started back to the base for Vajragad. We were at the base in around 10-12 minutes and after having Nimbu sarbat started for Vajragad.

In between we saw the statue of Sambhaji Maharaj. Going ahead we took the route to Vajragad. The route to Vajragad is simple and we reach the main door of the temple in about 20 minutes from the base. Once there we sat for around 5-10 minutes and went inside. Vajragad is small as compared to Purandhar. Once inside on top we saw the Balekilla. In good times it must have been amazing, now there are only huge rocks there and broken. Going ahead we saw the 2nd level of the fort where there are 2-3 potable water tanks full of water and 2 temples one of Vajra Maruti (Hanuman) and the other of Shiva. Going ahead we have the bastion of the fort and at the end another bastion from where the views are awesome around. We can also see the Mastani Talav (Lake) far off.

Coming back we started for the base and came down in about 20 minutes. Again had a glass of Nimbu sarbat and started back for Pune around 4.30pm in the evening. Again post the bad road we hit good roads and with that good speeds came on. We were in Kothrud around 6.10pm. Nice trek and amazing forts.

Some history of the fort

(History)

Vajragad was one of the 23 forts given to Mughals in Purandar treaty in 1665. It was won back in 1670. After Shivaji Maharaj’s death, it was lost to Mughal and they named it as “Ajamgad”. Again in 1695, Shahu Maharaj won it and handed over the control to Peshwas. It is also called “Rudramal”. It’s height from sea level is about 4444 ft (~1355 m). Vajragad and Purandar are sibling forts very near to Pune (about 30-35 Kms). Its mythological name is “Indraneel Parvat”. As per Hindu mythology, when Lord Hanuman attempted to carry “Dronagiri” mountain range, a portion of it slipped off his hands and fell down to form “Indraneel Parvat”. There is a Siva Temple in the base village of these forts, “Narayanpur”, called “Narayaneshwar”. This temple is said to be from the days of “Pandavas”. Purandar and Vajragad always had a demanding place in Maratha Empire as Purandar was Capital of Peshwas for many years.

Ghargad - Bahula Trek

Fort1 : Ghargad aka Gadgada
Base Village: Ghargad Sankshi
Height: 3180 ft (above MSL)
Grade: Difficult (need technical climbing)

Route:
From Mumbai - take mumbai nashik road - ghodbunder - kalyan - kasara - igatpuri - vadhiware phata - vadhiware - ghargad sankshi (approx 150km)
From Pune - take pune nashik road - sangamner - bhandardara - ghoti - (join mumbai nashik highway) - vadhiware phata - vadhiware - ghargad sankshi (approx 220-240 km).

Fort2: Bahula
Base Village : nearest is Ambe Bahula
Height: 3120 ft (above MSL)
Grade: Easy

Did a trek with Chakram Hikers on 7-8 March 2009. Saurabh and Purvesh had done a trek previously with them and reported good feedback so decided to go for Ghargad and Bahula with them. They are offbeat forts located near Nashik. We (me and Sau) decided to goto Dombivali and join Purvesh and then go for the trek. Plan was to go on bikes from there.

Morning we woke up at 5.15am and post freshening up and calling up Mangesh Deshpande (the leader) that we would meet at the main junction at Kalyan - Nashik road we started at 6.15am only to find Sau's rear tyre punctured. We decided that Sau would take the jeep with the others and me and Purvesh go on the bike. We reached the junction at 6.45am and found the others waiting. Sau then went into the jeep and we went on our bikes. This was NH3 with heavy truck traffic and many diversions as it was being converted into a 4 lane highway.

The going was good as we were on bikes we could easily manuevor between trucks and vehicles fast ahead. It was decided to stop at Latifwadi post Kasara for breakfast. We reached Latifwadi at around 8am and had a nice breakfast of paratha , misal and chai at the same time i got to know the Chakram members.

Post breakfast it was the bad kasara ghat where it was a jam of slow moving trucks and 4 wheelers. But being on the bike has its advantages of going fast bypassing these slow guys. Post kasara ghat the highway was a beauty and I reached igatpuri in no time and further to Ghoti phata. Waited for the jeep to catch up and then trailed the jeep to Vadhiware phata and then to Ghargad Sankshi village. It was 11am now. We parked our bikes at a tree some distance ahead and took water and only pouches and kept the bags in the jeep. The route to the fort was easy and going ahead we reached the first part where there was a well with a shiv temple under the tree. Post some water break we started ahead to climb , Ghargad is a rocky fort and the route to the base is very easy. The sun was shining hard now. Post going to the base we had to traverse to a point from where the rock climb was to begin. Ghargad steps are blown off hence around 125 feet of rock climbing needs to be done to climb to the top. Rope needs to be fixed there for safety.

Reaching the point of the climb we stopped there listening to anecdotes from Vinay, Kiran , Sachin, Uday et all and laughing. Zahir , Anju and Mangesh lead the climb to the top to fix ropes. One by one all of us started for the climb. The climb was not so easy. The first patch is of around 10-12 feet and easy. The 2nd part is a little dicey where you need to get on top through a crack and holds are less, you need to press both ur hands to lift your body up. Here i wasted around 10 mins getting up and realised that I need to reduce my weight if i need to do such climbs easily. Going ahead there is a vertical rock with good hand and foot holds about 20 feet high , climbing that I almost reached the top where Zahir was belaying and Sau,Purvesh, Vinay were there. The top of the fort is almost barren except for some remnants. There are about 6-7 water tanks on top out of which only 4 hold potable water. There are some remnants of structures on top and nothing else. The fort offers a good view of Dangya pinnacle , Pahine pinnacle and some other unknown forts from top.

There is a old entrance below which there are steps ending in mid air. This must have been the actual entrance in old days before the retreating British devastated them. Everyone was on top around 4.30pm and we had our lunch on top comprising of theplas, chapati bhaji, chunda, humus (arabian dish thanks to sachin) and others including sandwich.

We were to rappel down from the entrance. The rappel session was also exciting and we reached the base by 5.45pm. Going down the sun was just setting and we went to our bikes and post everyone coming and getting into the jeep we started for Ambe Bahula village. Reaching Vadhiware phata we had a break of chai/cold-drinks and we needed to go ahead 4-5 towards Nashik to get to Ambe Bahula village. Some 4-5 km ahead there is a right which had a board proclaiming "Ambe Bahula" getting inside around 1-2 km we reached the village and found refuge in the school thanks to a kind villager who offered us water too.

Post settling down we had a nice dinner of khichdi thanks to Mangesh / Anju and Nitin. The night was uneventful and sleep came easily , it became a little cold towards the morning and we all woke up at 6.30am and post freshening up had a nice breakfast of upma/chai and started for the base of Bahula Fort. Some one from the village volunteered to get us to the phata from where we had to turn for the fort. We again go onto the highway and went towards Mumbai and some 3-4 km ahead there was a left turn of kaccha road going in. Some 2-3 km of road was no-road and the bike lurched but carried on. Some distance ahead there was a tar road! we went ahead and post some investigations put the bike into the no-road , off roading was nice and we kept our bikes and the jeep just in front of the fort some distance ahead.

Going up the fort was very easy but there was scree in the middle but there wasnt any problem.There was a water tank just from where the climb path started. We went ahead and the sun was shining now but the going was easy. We had to get into the col and turn right for the fort. Going ahead we had a tricky rock patch which was small. Some distance ahead we could see the massif of Bahula and a cave. Going ahead there were more caves where one can stay. The cave was clean. Some distance ahead there was a crack in the wall which had steep steps going up. There are good handholds to hold while going up. Going up we were on top. The top is very small with 2 dry water tanks. One interesting thing is that this fort is in the firing range of the army at Devlali who practice artillery and gun firing here so army permission is needed but we didnt have any such thing but there wasnt anyone who stopped us. We also found a big artillery shell on top which was unexploded , everyone was posing with the shell and we had group photos and introductions with everyone there.

Post that we started descending down ,the going over the steep steps was slow but we anyway made it , going ahead over the scree was slow and me and purvesh were last climbing down. We were down by 11.20am and had biscuits and jaljira and started back. We had to do Kavnai fort now but I opted to go to Pune skipping it. Took Kiran pillion upto the highway and stopped for 5 mins and then everyone came. Going ahead I took leave after talking to Mangesh I started back to Pune via Ghoti - Bhandardara - Rajur - Kotul - Bhramanwada - Bota - Alephata - Narayangaon - Pune. I took a lunch break before Narayangaon and reached home by 5pm. Nice trek and ride. But missed Kavnai though.

Jivdhan - Naneghat trek

Fort : Jivdhan
Height : 3754 feet (above MSL)
Base Village: Ghatghar
Grade: Hard

Place: Naneghat (it is a pass)
Height: 2800 feet (above MSL)
Grade : Easy

Route: Pune -> Nashik Phata -> Chakan -> Narayangaon -> Junnar -> Aaptale -> Chavand -> Ghatghar (approx 105-110 km)

This trek was in planning for a long time. Every time someone or the other was not there and hence it was cancelled. This weekend (28Feb-1March 2009) people were enthu for this trek hence we decided to do it. The trekkers were : Me, Sau, Sachin, Chhaya, Amey,Sarang , Abhijit,Som,Sam,Vikram and Sharayu. The plan was to start at 6.30 am from Nashik Phata and I was as usual there by 6.15am. Som had arrived there by bus from Hadapsar and he was my pillion.

Vik and Sharayu arrived at 6.30 exact. Post some time Sac , Chhaya, Amey, Sarang, Abhijit and Sam too arrived at 7am. Started at 7am from Nashik Phata and we zoomed on towards Chakan where Sau was supposed to join from Talegaon.

Chakan was quickly covered. We were there around 7.30am and then post some hi etc started off towards Narayangaon , it was decided to stop at Narayangaon for breakfast. We hit Narayangaon at around 9am. Breakfast was usual fare of poha,upma and chai. Post breakfast we turned off the highway to get to Junnar at 9.30am , the road from Narayangaon to Junnar is also nice and post Junnar we went straight past the statue of Shivaji Maharaj on the road to Aaptale. The roads ahead were somewhat broken and going ahead the last 10 odd km of the roads were pure hell with only stones / mud and like but the bike went ahead effortlessly though.

We arrived at Ghatghar the base village of Jivdhan at around 10.40am and after parking and securing our bikes at a house we started off for the fort. The fort looked formidable from below and we had to traverse some distance ahead to get to the stairs on top. The sun was shining on us and it was becoming hot. The region there is devoid of any green cover hence making the progress difficult. This fort was built in the Satvahan Era and has a quite of a history too.

Going ahead we had to climb a small hillock and get into the small dense forest on a path which takes you to the top to the steps. Going up was a pain in the sun and for the first time I was getting too tired due to the sun. I took a lot of breaks and at some point i couldnt continue ahead. I asked others to go ahead and lay down for 2-3 minutes and then mustering my will power went ahead and reached the steps. Going up was a pain for the first time in my trek experience due to the sun. Going ahead the steps are broken and some distance ahead there is a rock patch of 10ft which needs to be climbed because the steps are blown off here(done by the British in 1818). There are footholds and handholds in the rock for easy climbing to the top but care needs to be taken. The rock patch will be a nightmare in rainy season though. Going ahead we passed all our bags to the top.

I climbed on top of the rock patch quite easily and went ahead to some more steps and finally we reached the entrance of the fort where there is a big water tank inside a cave. Sitting in the shade was like heaven and venturing out in the sun was like hell but we had to get on top of the fort to the granary structure where we had to stay. Painfully trudging along I somehow reached the granary. Inside the granary it was like someone turned on the AC, it was cool and shady. The granary consists of many rooms inside but 2-3 rooms are accessible , the others are too dark to know whats in it and many openings are sealed here. Its unexplored. It was believed that it was a storehouse of grains during old days and the British destroyed this by burning it in 1818 , some inside rooms still contain a lot of ash.

Post some rest , we had a nice lunch of bread-butter, theplas et all and I lay down for sometime inside and slept for around 20-30 mins. It was decided than to take a round of the fort the see stuff. We started off for that. Some of the rock walls are amazing on top and still intact. There are a lot of ruins on top of structures. On the western side of the fort we can see Naneghat standing majestically and looks amazing. The Kalyan Darwaza (door) is on the western side of the fort and is another architectural marvel. I could only stare at these architectures which were built in the olden days when technology was not there.

Going ahead I saw the pinnacle of Vanarlingi (also known as Khada Parshi) , this pinnacle is seperated from the fort and stands at a height of 415 feet. It is an absolute delight for rock climbers and is quite difficult to climb upto the top. At its base there are many caves. This must have been part of the fort before I guess (nothing known though).

After seeing the pinnacle I could see a lot of monkeys near there hence I guess its known as the Vanarlingi. Coming back I saw Vik and Sharayu at the western side sitting on the rocks for the sunset. I too joined them and we sat staring at the amazing sunset , took a few photos. After sunset Vik and Sharayu went back via the hill and I went back round to the Kothi.

Post reaching the kothi we did some timepass and it was decided to have dinner soon as people were getting hungry. Post freshening up we sat on the open ground on top near the Kothi and had a nice time eating dinner and talking about many things. The topic veered towards animals and wild ones and how they come to drink water and they may also come here. People were getting afraid now as it was dark and the wild animal talk was going on :)

After a lot of discussions, singing and debates we finally set off for sleep inside the kothi. Post discussions everyone was in a state of fear thinking what if some animal comes in. We slept albeit that. Sleep was coming to me like anything as I was too tired. Others didnt sleep for sometime but eventually everyone slept.

Some or the other noise would make me get up and check what but it would turn out to be some one turning or some other noise. In the morning at around 5am , Vik who was sleeping by my side started shouting shuk shuk ... I saw someone standing in front and it was Som but he was having a shawl and looked at Vikram why he was shouting. Vikram was dreaming of "Stoneman Murders" before this and when he saw Som he imagined that Som was the character :). Post some laughs we slept again.

Everyone woke up at 6.30am to view the sunrise and fresh themselves. Post sunrise and snaps maggi was prepared hot and everyone gulped breakfast and packed things. Today we were to goto Naneghat and return back home. We started at 9.30am from the top , the sun was shining bright now. We got down to the Kalyan Darwaza and some others went to see the Vanarlingi pinnacle from the top. Post that we came to the Kalyan Darwaza and going ahead we started getting down. There is one small rock patch here about 8-9 feet in height but its ok. Everyone came down in about 20 mins with Sau and Sachin helping out the people. Going ahead there were broken steps and we need to turn left and go ahead on the trail.

The straight trail goes to the base of Vanarlingi pinnacle and there is a trail which goes down into the jungle below and towards Naneghat. Some enthu janta went to vanarlingi and some stopped at the turn including me. Others came in about 25 minutes and we started down via the rocky path and into the jungle below. It was still very hot and humid in the jungle even with a lot of trees. We came out of the clearing and started towards Naneghat , the sun was even brighter now and burning. We trudged towards Naneghat and reached there by 1pm and explored it.

Naneghat was a pass in the olden days where toll was collected and traders used to come into the region from Talkonkan. There is a well defined path which comes up. There are some caves with inscriptions at Naneghat and water tanks.

Post some snacks of bhakarwadi et all and drinking water we started for Ghatghar at 1.45pm , the sun was burning and we had to walk 4-5 km ahead to Ghatghar. I was tired but continued walking in the sun , we walked and walked and walked and reached Ghatghar at around 2.35pm. Post some freshening up at the handpump and collecting our bikes and some rest we started for Pune at around 3.30pm , the going over the bad roads was bad now as we were tired but we did it and when I hit the good road to Junnar it was like heaven. We stopped for 10 mins at Junnar for some cold drinks and started again at good pace for Pune. The highway was having too many vehicles on a sunday evening but we made good pace.

We stopped at Chakan for some chai et all and regrouping and after that bid farewell to all and i zipped off towards Nashik Phata. Reached Nashik Phata at 6.45pm and dropped off Som there who was to take a bus to Hadapsar from here. I reached home at 7.15pm.

This trek was amazing. Nice one but the climate is too hot now.

Chavand - Shivneri Trek

Fort1: Chavand
Base village: Chavand
Height : 3490 ft (above MSL)
Grade : Easy

Fort2: Shivneri
Base village: Junnar
Height: 3500 ft (above MSL)
Grade: Very Easy

One thing I have learnt - never plan with people. Either they fizzle out or have some reason not to come on trek. This trek was no different. I had planned to go with Vik because Deep was not there. Purvesh and Saurabh were going to Ankai-Tankai and Hadbi chi shendi.

Morning I receive a call from Vik , he's not coming. I was angry for a moment but then realized that he must have a strong reason not to come. So undeterred , I started out all alone for the trek. The initial plan was to do Chavand and Hadsar but when I reached Junnar I realized that they are way away from each other so I decide to do Chavand first.

The bike ride upto Junnar was ok on the 2-lane Nashik Highway and then the turn from Narayangaon to Junnar. Went ahead to the road towards Ghatghar after confirming with sau on which road to go over phone , some distance ahead the road deteriorated. Was broken in many places and was being laid at many. However I chugged on. Some distance ahead I could see a hill to my right but I couldnt figure out if it was a fort , Sau had said the same thing, watch out for a hill to the right.

I went some distance ahead on the road and saw a board Chavand to the right , so entered right and ahead went into the village. Post enquiry I parked my bike at a place near some houses and started on the trek. Initially the trek winds up over a small hill and goes ahead from where I could see the iron railings on the rock cut steps. Reached that place and went up on the steps.

Steps are pretty steep but thanks to the railings we can hold and go up. Once up there is a small cannon on the steps which juts out and going ahead there is a plateau from where I could see the fort walls and more steps going up. Walking up the steps is tiring but once you reach the top the tiredness goes away and the eagerness comes in to explore the unknown ahead on top.

The main door is well hidden and intact. Post some photos entered the fort. There are a lot of ruins on top and steps still surviving. Going ahead I saw two trekkers from Talegaon who initiated a conversation with me and we exchange pleasantaries and went ahead. The views from top are amazing.

Going some distance ahead I saw the coolest sight , 7 water tanks arranged near each other full of water. Nice view. Taking some photos moved towards the other end of the fort. Nothing much , all barren top. Many water tanks. Made a move to goto the top end of the fort where there is a temple. The route to the top is pretty good but dont missed the main trail , the bushes are very pricky on the sides and stick to your clothes and may bruise you.

The temple is a small one with some remnants on its sides and a small idol of devi inside it. Post darshan I climbed down the hillock by a non conventional way and had a bad time in between the bushes but anyhow came down fast. I reached the door side once again. Post some photos and some lunch which my aunty had given and some self timer shots because I was alone started down to the village.

It was around 1pm now and the heat was searing , post some slips on the scree I came down safely into the village and to my bike and started back to Junnar. Gave lift to an old man enroute who had to go to a village around 5 km ahead. Going ahead I saw the Shivneri fort again so I thought why not visit it too so that this part will be done now.

At the Shivaji statue in Junnar I took the right and went ahead on the route to Shivneri. Shivneri is the birthplace of the great Maratha warrior , Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Post some ghat road I reached the entrance and parked my bike.

The time read 1.30pm and it was very hot now. The initial climb onto the steps was torturous but I anyway made it to the main door and ahead it was flat plain walk for sometime. Going ahead more steps and stuff later reached the top of the fort. Looked like many people had come being a sunday and a weekend.

The top of the fort is renovated now leaving all old structures as it is and new pathways have been reconstructed. There is a new structure for a light and sound show on top. The water tanks Ganga and Jamuna are awesome and have amazing cool water. The heat on top was unbearable thanks to the sun beating down but however i went ahead.

Going ahead I came across the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. This place is well known and seen by almost everyone in their history books. This place has a special aura around it. Something mysterious. Entering the building there is a narrow alley to get to the top where there is a small room and a balcony. Coming down just in front of the entrance there is a locked room , supposedly the place where the legend was born. I became emotional at this place. This is the place where the great warrior was born and spent his initial years.

Post that I went to see the kadelot tok where prisoners , thieves , murderers were pushed down the cliff as a punishment. The view from there is indeed heartstopping. Coming back , I came back to the parking took my bike. The heat had taken a toll on me now. Riding the bike and getting hit with some air gave some relief.

Started at around 3pm from there and post joining the highway reached home by 5pm. Nice day and nice trek indeed.

Rohida aka Vichitragad Trek

Fort: Rohida aka Vichitragad aka Binicha Killa
Height : 3650 ft (above MSL)
Base village : Mankarwadi / Bajarwadi (near Bhor)
Grade : Easy

Deepak and me were deciding on a 1 day trek to some good place and we instantly said "Rohida". Rohida is a fort near Bhor and a nice one day trek. So it was decided we leave at 6am from Pune on 15th Feb 2008 and do the trek.


Started at 5.40am from home and picked up Deepak at IT park near Bopodi and went ahead to his friends room at Swargate. Vikas (Deepak's friend) joined in here and Tushar (old acquaintance from the VOF trek) too joined in. So me and Deep on my bike and Tushar and Vikas on Tushar's bike.

Tushar wanted cash so he was searching for an ATM but we didnt get any until Katraj and there we learnt that the old Katraj ghat was under repairs so we had to take the new bypass and backtrack upto the new bridge and ahead via the new Katraj tunnel. So off we went. The morning was chilly but not very much.

Going ahead and making good time we refueled and stopped at Natraj for breakfast. Breakfast was good with tea and I was full. Starting ahead we reached Kapurhol (the turn to Balaji temple) and turned towards Bhor (leaving the NH4 just after the HP petrol pump) and then we reached Bhor in about 20 mins. Wading through bad roads and narrow bylanes in Bhor we arrived at Shivaji Chowk from where we had to take the road to Mandhardevi enroute Mankarwadi the base village of Rohida.

Going ahead about 6 km there is a turn to the right through an arch clearly specifying Rohida 5km. The roads here are good. In some time we could see Rohida from the back, looked imposing now, post some photos went ahead. We passed Bajarwadi. Going ahead we found a small bus-stop for Mankarwadi and turned left from here , there are signboards here for Rohida fort.

Going in the village we kept our bikes at a villagers place. We also found out that there is ample place to sleep there in the temple if need be and we do a night trek.

We started climbing keeping the fort in the front , there is a clear path to climb up. After some distance we need to climb up a small hillock, do not climb from the side, make it on top of the hillock. We could see the front fortifications and the front door clearly now and the bastions on either side. Continuing ahead over loose stones and scree we reached the main door.

Most of the fort walls are gone but the bastions remain. The Raireshwar trust is rebuilding this fort with donations from many people to restore it to its past glory and also making people knowledgeable by distributing small books (Rs.10 each) about the history and stuff. Going inside the first door we found a second higher door ahead. The 2nd door is intact and has some carvings.

Entering the 2nd door and taking a right we can see the 3rd door and then we enter the fort. There is a flag fluttering bang in front of the door ahead. The 3rd door has some inscriptions on top of it.

Going ahead we have a board giving some information about the fort , on the left there is the Rohideshwar temple. Work is going on here to restore it and also create a garden in front and construct rooms on top to woo tourists. The area on top of the fort is quite small.

There are in total around 6-7 water tanks on the top but none of them is potable. All have green algae moss cover on top of them. On top it takes a max of 30 mins to roam about. Having done that and post some photos we came to the temple had darshan and came back to the 2nd door at about 11am to have some snacks. Post that we started climbing down to the base.

The climb down was uneventful and the sun had started burning but we made it in good time about 30 mins to the base and sat for some time had some more snacks and started for home at about 12.15pm.

Reached home about 3pm after having lunch on the way. Nice ideal 1 day trek!