Trek to Lohagad - Ek Bhatkanti

Maharashtra is blessed by several natural wonders. The Western Ghats which is a hot bed for bio-diversity, the flora-fauna, the long and beautiful coasts, the Sahyadris and last but not the least, the ever so calm, historically significant and appealing Forts.

Monsoon is the best time to travel and plan for treks. With monsoon setting in, there is a lot of chatter around trekking activities. The climate is ideal for enjoying a long and fun filled weekend over a trek. Being a avid trekker planning a trek is not a easy task. Planning involves a lot of "ifs" that need to be considered along with the weather, the terrain and the capabilities of the participants. 

One weekend in July, I planned a trek with my wife Sneha (budding CA and one who loves traveling) and Mangesh (Student studying in Latvia but in India for summer break). We decided to trek to Lohagad also known as the Iron Fort. Prior to the travel day, Sneha prepared some homemade Methi Theplas along with Coconut Chutney, which was our lunch on the fort in case we got hungry. We had a wake-up call of 5:30 am so as to catch the 7 am train.

About Lohagad

Lohagad has a long history with several dynasties occupying it at different time: Satavahanas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Yadavas, Bahamanis, Nizams, Mughals and Marathas. Shivaji Maharaj captured it in 1648 CE, but he was forced to surrender it to the Mughals in 1665 CE by the Treaty of Purandar. Shivaji Maharaj recaptured the fort in 1670 CE and used it for keeping his treasury. (content borrowed from wiki)

Location of Fort

Lohagad is situated close to the well known hill station Lonavala. Lohagad is located 52 km from Pune towards Lonavala. The base village for the start of the trek is Malavli. One can travel to Lohagad via train or via other means of transport like car, bus, bikes etc. Local train are the best means of transport if you are planning the trek on a shoe string budget from Pune. We traveled via train and alighted at Malavli station. We reached there by 8.30am.

The road leading towards Lohgad from Malavli Station

School Assembly

Farmer ploughing

The Beginning

There is a saying, "The early bird, catches the worm", if you want to enjoy trek with the least amount of people, reach the fort as early as possible. So here we were nice and early at our destination station. As we made our way out of the station, there were taxis ready for hire who shuttled trekkers to and fro to the base of the fort. We decided to skip the taxis and travel by foot. Sneha and Mangesh were not so happy about that decision though. At Malavli village we had our breakfast. Mangesh had a hot and tasty "Vada Pav", while Sneha and me had "Poha"  the traditional Puneri breakfast along with hot and soothing tasty tea. 

After having breakfast we started our walk towards the Lohgad fort. The walk from the Malavli station to Lohgad is 8 kms with lots of climbs and slopes in between. The terrain gives you a good workout. When I was at the Lohgad a few years back it was still developing and was tooting commercially to cater to the flux of the crowds. Since there was no easy road to reach the fort, the crowd usually consisted of youngsters. But times had changed and people of all walks of live fluxed to the fort for a family picnic. Malavli earlier was a slow and steady village, but commercialization in the last few years had made it a buzzing place to be. 

While walking I told Sneha and Mangesh that the initial few minutes will be difficult as the body warms up and gets ready for activity. Sneha and Mangesh needed breaks on the way and this gave me opportunity to click pictures. I am also a photographer, if i had forgotten to mention that earlier. Its a great skill to possess, a traveler and a photographer.

Mangesh and Sneha taking a break

Some bright colors on the way

Crab Shy of the Camera

Few kilometers up the hill Sneha and Mangesh wanted to catch their breath again. I insisted that they keep walking. They did not like me pushing them to their limits at the very beginning but eventually prevailed as any trek comes with discipline of time. We clicked pictures on the way and also got a good glimpse of Vissapur fort whose bastions were now visible.

Vissapur and its Bastions

Vissapur Fort and its Bastions visible

One of the Bastion Windows visible

Bastion from a distance

Break time photo near Vissapur Lohgad road

Lohgad Fort now visible as you walk up the Vissapur Lohgad road

Base of Fort - Lohagadwadi

After 45 mins walk from Malavli station we were at the base of Lohgad fort. The base village is Lohagadwadi. Commercialization had reached the village as the road was now complete and vehicular traffic now reached the foothill. This was a boon for the villagers as they were not very well connected to the outer world. Their kids could now travel easily to school and buying daily necessities was now possible. The other side of the coin was that the villager could now do brisk business and offer services and make a living in the village itself than travel miles for work. The road and commercialization had brought unnecessary commotion and overcrowding to the place which we witnessed later while descending the fort. We took a break for 20 mins and had some good old lemon water at one of the many small food stalls. We then walked towards the entrance of the fort.

Entrance to Lohgad Fort

The Fort
Entrance to any forts that were built were very unique. The entrance were never straight  or easily accessible. They always wound up towards the main gate. In ancient time this kind of entrance did not offer a direct access to the fort for people and for animals as well. The main purpose was also to tire down any approaching enemy by such tricky climbs. This kind of architecture gave plenty of opportunity for the soldiers on the fort to target anyone climbing. We clicked a few pictures here and it started pouring. There was dense fog or rather shall I say the clouds had embraced the fort by the time we reached the Main Gate (Ganesh Dwar).

Mangesh and Sneha walking on steps leading to Ganesh Dwar

Ganesh Dwar
Ganesh Dwar is named after the Lord Ganesh. Every main entrance to the fort depicts a idol engraved to whom it is dedicated. Ganesh Dwar was in very good and working condition. The height of the entrance was close to that of a soldier mounted on an animal (most probably the horse) entering the fort. The side of the main entrance also depicted various other idols of gods engraved within the fort walls.

Sneha and Mangesh at the entrance of the Ganesh Dwar

Moodilipi (Ancient form of text) at the entrance of Ganesh Dwar

After making our way through some vertical steps we reached towards the upper entrance of the fort. As I had mentioned that no fort had a direct access the picture below depicts the same. Noticeably the area around this part of the fort was pretty wide. 

Cloud cover over the fort and the confusing entrance

Fun pics in between

Selfie Time

Narayan Dwar
We walked further towards the fort and arrived at the Narayan Dwar (named after Lord Vishnu). As you can see in the image, this entrance was narrow and not many people could pass through this easily if there was any rush. The height of the entrance too is now lower than the Ganesh Dwar. This was designed in such a way that if soldiers were to be involved in a man to man combat then soldiers on the fort were not to be outnumbered as only a small number enemy soliders could have made it through. This was something similar to the movie "300" and about holding the enemies at the "Hot Gates" The crowd was trickling in so it was easy to take some pics.

Sneha and Mangesh at the Narayan Dwar (Narayan Gate)

Visibly less space through the entrance

As we walked through the Narayan Gate, we encountered a series of turns which finally opened onto the top of the fort. The first sight that you see atop the fort is that of the RajaRani Mandir (Temple)

RajaRani Mandir

RajaRani Mandir Atop the Fort

The area beside RajaRani Mandir was utilized as a courtyard in ancient times when people resided on the fort. There are some remnant structure still there which are still intact. North of  RajaRani Mandir is the AstaKoni Vihir (Octagonal Well). It was designed in such a manner that water collected into the well from 8 different locations. One can get a great view of the well filling up during the monsoon. I could not click pics of the well as it was raining buckets and taking pics was not possible. It had been a while since we had started our journey and also had a very early breakfast. Sneha was hungry and wanted to have a small break where she could munch on some great home made parathas.

A little break for Sneha

Towards Vinchu Kada
Fort exploration too is a very satisfying activity. You get to visit some of the best locations on the fort which have scenic beauty. We visited one such location which is the most beautiful called Vinchu Kada which means Scorpion Sting Bastion. It has started raining again heavily and the 3 of us were completely drenched. I had visited this fort before too but at that time had missed visiting the Vinchu Kada as is was not considered safe due to degraded railing and the path being risky. This time I hoped that the point would be approachable and we would be able to visit and click some pics there. My wish came true.

Sneha at VinchuKada on Lohgad fort

 Vinchu Kada is a narrow strip of land attached to the main plateau of the fort. One can reach the end of the fort walking along the narrow ridge with the guidance of the railings. The view from the Vinchu Kada is breath taking and mesmerizing. One needs to thread the narrow railing path carefully as one fall can result in serious injuries. Do it safely is the moto one needs to keep in mind.

Vinchu Kada

Water Cistern at Vinchu Kada

Approaching the end of Vinchu Kada we saw water cistern that were constructed in ancient times. utilized for portable water storage to be used later in the year. These water cisterns are about 20-25ft in depth. Hence they must be storing enough water. These cisterns are examples for us to learn about rain water harvesting. If our ancestors and kings knew about it and implemented it on the forts they ruled, we should follow suit too.

Water Cistern on Vichu Kada

There is wildlife on the fort now due to the presence of humans Are commotion and love for packaged food has attracted monkeys as food from humans is easily accessible. One monkey visited us.

After walking for about 30 mins from the top of the fort, we reached at the end of Vinchu Kada. To the East of Vichu Kada lies the Vissapur fort. The Vissapur fort was looking scenic in the rain filled atmosphere.

Vissapur Fort from Vinchu Kada

To the West of Vinchu Kada, we can easily see Tung Fort. There are 4 forts in the region very close to each other which were strategically very important for the Marathas leading in the Lonavala valley onto the Mumbai route. Tung, Tikona, Lohgad and Vissapur are the pearl of forts that stood tall for enemies advancing towards Pune.

Tung Fort visible from Vinchu Kada

The 360 view from Vinchu Kada is very scenic in nature. You see the Lohgad and Malavli village, to the East you see the Vissapur fort and to the West you see the Tung fort.

After spending some time enjoying this scenic beauty and clicking pictures we decided to head back. The rain had stopped and it was pleasant atop the fort at Vinchu Kada.

On our way back to the fort

After reaching the top of the fort we were shocked to see the amount of people that had come to visit fort. The amount of people atop the fort was like that similar to a small town mela. Trekkers usually like calmness, but the crowd somehow put me off. One thing we did correctly to avoid the crowd was to start and end the trek early. 

On our way back after ascending the fort we had our lunch at the same food stall. We had a egg burji (scrambled eggs) and bread and 2 plates of Bhajji (Onion strands fried in lentils dough). The food tastes good when you are hungry and have had a great workout. We clicked pics on our way back to the Malavali Station as the weather had changed again and it had started raining again.

Vissapur Fort from base near Lohgad Fort

Me and Mangesh with Vissapur Fort in the background

Sneha and Me

At the End

We walked our way back to the railway station enjoying the moments we had spent atop the fort and discussing about the next trek we can go together. It was one of the best time Sneha and me had spent trekking. One thing that I loved about the fort was the visit to Vinchu Kada. The climate too made its easy and enjoyable.

Through this blog I have tried to bring the essence of the fort and the moments we spent. Hope you readers, trekkers and adventure enthusiast plan such outing with your family and friends. Until next time and next trek Ciao.

Travel Itinerary-

1) Travel via local train and alight at Malavli station. You can hitch a per seat ride to the base of the fort by bargaining with the taxi services.
2) One can also visit the Bhaje Caves which predates to the era of Buddha. There is a nominal entry fee.
3) Before reaching the base of the Lohgad at Hotel Viraj one can  take a left and go towards Vissapur fort. The route to Vissapur fort is via the waterfall.
4) One can stay at the base village at Lohgad as accommodation can be provided by local villagers at a certain cost. The stay can cost you INR 1000 for stay and INR 1500 (stay and food included) per person. Rates can vary depending upon the season.

Travel Expenditure-

1) Local Train - INR 20 per person return ticket from Akurdi Station as we boarded from this station.

2) Base village food and snacks - INR 500 (for 3 people)

Abhijit More

Pune