Vandan Fort

Fort: Vandan
Height: 3400 feet above MSL
Base Village: Belmachi , Ibrahimpur
Difficulty : Medium

After completing Chandan I went to Vandan fort. The route to Vandan from Chandan is via the col between Chandan and Vandan. One has to traverse Chandan fort keeping the fort to your right and get to the col between Chandan and Vandan and then once at the col we can see a rock face in front of us. The route to the top would be taking a right from the rock face and getting on top of the face and then a route towards the left keeping the fort to your right.

On going ahead one can see the main door of Vandan fort but the approach to the door is no longer present as its destroyed and we climb from the right of the main door. The way is through rocks and bushes so be careful.



Once on top of the fort you get to the lower level of the fort where there is nothing and one has to climb steps to go to the main upper level of the fort. On top there is nothing to see except a dargah and a tomb of some saint. Also a granary on top. Other than that Vandan is covered in tall bushes as not many people go there. There is also a hill in the middle of the fort with nothing on top. Most of the buildings there were destroyed during British rule.
There are a lot of huge water tanks on top but not one of them is potable except one or two of them.

After completing Vandan fort I traversed back the whole route upto Ibrahimpur as I had kept my bike there. This trek was done after a long time and was very good.

History: Vandan fort was constructed as the same time during Chandan fort and there's no specific history about that fort.

Chandan Fort

Fort: Chandan
Height : 3400 feet above MSL
Difficulty: Medium
Base village: Belmachi, Ibrahimpur
Route : Pune-Katraj-Shirval-Surur-Bhuinj-Rautwadi-Ibrahimpur (90 kms approx)

Had gone to the forts of Chandan and Vandan on 16th October 2010. Initially it was planned with Rahul but due to some problem he dropped out and I went alone. Started at 6am and reached Ibrahimpur around 7.30am. Asked for the route to the fort and started along. The fort of Chandan has a dargah on top hence steps have been constructed at intervals for pilgrims to climb to the top however they are crude.



It takes about 30-40 mins to get to the top of the fort. The main door of the fort is no longer present however one part of it is still present. As soon as you enter the top you can see a shiv temple on the left side. This shiv temple is peculiar with multiple shiv lings on a single stone. A local had also come to the temple and was performing pooja there.

Going ahead there is a big dargah on top. Every year lot of pilgrims throng there during auspicious days (as per the locals). On top there are ruins of a wada with only the foundation remaining and one more ruined ammunition or granary room. There is also a well on top but the water is not potable. The fort is spread over a vast area but no other remains are present. On the other side one can see the looming Vandan fort but the way to the fort Vandan is not from there but one has to come back from the path where one started and traverse Chandan and get to Vandan fort. It takes about 40 mins to roam on top of the fort and come back.

To get to Vandan fort one has to retrace their steps back towards Ibrahimpur and at a certain point (where there is a shed constructed one has to take a right from there and traverse Chandan fort , one more temple is in the way) and get to the col between Chandan and Vandan fort to get to top of Vandan fort.

History of the fort: According to the evidences of copper-inscriptions(Tamralekh) of 1191-1192 B.C., these forts were built-up by king Bhoj II of Shilahar dynasty. Shivaji Maharaj overpowered Chandan-Vandan along with Kalyangad, Sajjangad, Ajinkyatara during the campaign of Satara in 1673. Later, during the regime of Sambhaji, Amanullah Khan attacked the troop of Maratha soldiers on Chandan-Vandan. 25 horses, 20 guns, 2 ensigns, 1 kettle-drum were lost in the hands of Mughals in this battle. Marathas ruled this region up to 1689 B.C. Afterwards Mughals ruled this fort. In 1707, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj won this region during rainy season. In 1752, Dadopant was accompanied by soldiers by Balaji Vishwanath to keep close watch on Tarabai. Later, British ruled over these forts.