Rajgad trek Plan

Date of Trek : 27th August 2011.

Rajgad – King of all forts is at about 40km south west of Pune and is at a height of 4514 ft. Rajgad was home for Shivaji for over 25 years till he became Chhatrapati. The height of Rajgad from sea level is 4250 feet and offers spectacular views of Sahyadri Mountains.

Route :-
PUNE – Nasrapur Phata -Pali – Gunjawane

Useful tips:
Difficulty level is moderate.  3 1/2 hours via Gunjawane. The highest point of Rajgad is Balekilla which is a fort on Rajgad. Take plenty of water and some energy drinks with you as the trek is a bit tiring.
Places to see at Rajgad:
• PADMAVATI MACHEE: This is where you will find the Padmavati Lake, Chor Darwaja, Gunjawane Darwaja, Daru Kothar and a flag hoisting place.
• SANJAVEENI MACHEE: Machees were created so that soldiers could respond to an immediate/sudden attack. You can walk between the walls of this Machee.
• SUVELA MACHEE: Home of the leader Tanaji Malusare was here.
• BALE KILLA: Highest point of rajgad. You will be able to see the entire fort from Bale Killa.
• VIEW OF TORNA AND SINHAGAD

Reference : http://www.oocities.org/trekforts/f_raj.html

Sinhgad fort

Sinhgad fort is the nearest fort to Pune city.  On the weekend of 9th Jul 2011 me & my two colleagues Subhash Darade & Sandip Daware decided to climb up the Sinhgad fort for hiking.  We got together near khadkwasala dam & took a quick breakfast from a street vendor.

There are two main ways to go to Sinhgad fort from the base. One road is ghat road using which one can go to the top ( Machi ) by vehicle. Another road is for trekkers. We selected the second option. We reached the base of the fort ( Donaje  Village ). In this village, you can park your vehicles by paying nominal parking fees to villagers.

We started climbing at 8:20 AM.

At Donaje Village - start of trekking
At Donaje Village – the start of trekking

In below photo Sinhgad top looks hidden in the clouds. It was not raining much.

View of Sinhgad from Bottom..
Sinhgad fort in the clouds

We started climbing. There were very few groups to accompany us. Generally, Sinhgad is a favorite destination of Pune people. We talked with one old couple getting down from the fort. They had started early in the morning  & come down within two hours.

With few minutes of climbing, there was a beautiful view of a waterfall.

Water fall
View of a waterfall on Sinhgad road

Such scenery is refreshing. One does not feel tiredness of the physical activity. There are tough to climb slopes. But always there is one hard to climb short way & one long but easy way. We were using tough routes.

aslant paths
aslant paths

Here comes a beautiful view of Sinhgad Valley ( I should say “Maval” valley )

 

Maval Valley
Beautiful view of Maval Valley from Sinhgad

Climbing Sinhgad fort is a test of your physical endurance. We took about two to three small breaks. Since all of us are regular in exercise so we managed to reach the first gate for fort within one hour & fifteen minutes.

 

Gate of Sinhgad fort
Gate of Sinhgad fort

By the time we reached there, a lot of visitors already reached on the fort by vehicle using easy way. Many vendors sell boiled ground nuts, buttermilk, cucumber, raw mango etc food items.

Fort inside the gate is a huge area with a lot of points to see. At the entrance, there is a location map one can refer to

 

Location Map on the fort
Location Map on the fort

Some pictures on the fort.

Sinhgad fort in the clouds
View of a water fall on Sinhgad road
Beautiful view of Maval Valley from Sinhgad
aslant paths
Gate of Sinhgad fort
Location Map on the fort
A cannon
Home of Tilak
Tanaji Malusare Samadhi
Cannon
Temple
View of fort
Cloudy
Cloudy view

We visited many points on the fort. Wind point is a place where high wind for valley comes on the fort. The wind is so high that you could hardly stand there.  A small water stream falling in the valley was getting sprinkled up high in the air.

We walked all over the fort for a couple of hours & had typical Marathi lunch “Vange Bharit, Bhakari & Bhaji”

The weather on the fort was cloudy.

Cloudy view
Cloudy view
Cloudy
Cloudy

We took about one hour to come back down the fort.  That was a really good experience. I also shot few videos. I shall post them here soon.

View all photos of this visit on https://picasaweb.google.com/iphotic/20110709_SinhgadHiking