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.