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.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
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!
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!
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