A day's trek to Rajgad- the KING of forts!

Posted: by Pulsurge in Labels: , , , ,
3

Journeys, like artists, are born and not made. A thousand differing circumstances contribute to them, few of them willed or determined by the will --whatever we may think......Lawrence Durrell

Come Sunday and I was out on a one day trek to Rajgad Fort situated approx 45 kms from Pune. Saving on the efforts to type an epic on this mighty fort in my own words, wikipedia makes the job easier and you can read about Rajgad HERE.

Getting back to the trip, I was supposed to leave at 5 in the morning, got up late and finally rolled out at 9.30.

Reached the base village and started the trek at 1 in the noon and the sun was sapping every bit of energy. Was carrying Glucon-D and Electral dissolved solution to counter the fatigue. The way I was getting tired taking halts every 10 mins

The view getting better with altitude.

Once I got to the rocky sections- it was easier and with the shade of the mountain- it was a lot less tiring. I thought it would take me 4 hours to get on top- but in the the end I was there in 2 hours 15 mins.

Localites on their return.

Entrance to the Chor Darwaza was fun- though it was surprising.


An absolute cracker of a Fort and stands true to its name RAJGAD- the spread of the this mighty structure is simply mind-boggling.
So here started my site seeing starting off with the Padmavati Talao.

The Samadhi of Sayeebai- the first wife of Shri Shivaji Maharaj.

The Padmavati temple- its more of a place for an overnight halt.

The Sadar (meeting hall) and the Talghar (underground room).


One of the best and thrilling experiences was making my way down to the Gunjanwan Darwaza. The path was covered with tall grass and shrubs giving me a scare of a snake-bite, plus the stunning silence was too much for my liking- was thrilled to the core.


And here comes the best sight of the trek...the view from Chilkhati Buruj...felt like I was on the Great Wall of China.

The Mahadarwaza, Balle Killa and the view from the top were icing on the cake.


Rajgad Deepotsav organised by a trekker group from Pune.
As it usually happens I got late on departure- the Pune trekker group mentioned they too would be trekking down. Assured by their words I waited back to click their pics and that was the biggest mistake. Their descend was only till Padmavati Machi and not to the base village. Feeling disgusted I started hurrying and by the time I even reached the exit, the sun had gone down.


Got through the difficult sections as fast I could, but after that it was a nightmare- I could see nothing, absolutely nothing. Was walking purely on judgment- stones and pebbles under my feet meant I was on the right track- a grassy section and I knew I went off the way- had numerous falls and crashes on the way- my every 3rd or 4th step was a fall, never crashed so much on my bike in 6 years. Reached a small hut kind of a hotel on the way and asked a localite to help me reach the village- he was not at all ready to do so. Got frustrated and just carried on walking as I had till there, but this time I got tensed- I knew I had landed in trouble and stopped walking. The hotel was at least a saving grace- didnt want to land up where I could neither reach the village and nor the hotel. Returned back and luckily there was a group returning and best part equipped with a torch. Joined them and in 15 mins I was at the base village. Resolved never to trek without a torch.

My watch had stopped working in the crashing process so didnt have an idea as to what time I started riding back- reached home at 1.30 in the night- but not before coming across a couple of terrible accidents on the way.

My route and distance: Mira Road-Thane-Panvel-Khopoli-Lonavla-Pune-Nasrapur-Gunjavne and back: 486 kms.

Minus the injuries- it was one of the best treks I had. Memorable enough to go back to the mighty Rajgad, and this time I'll be basking in the warmth of the sunrise next morning.

HERE is the complete set of pics clicked through my mobile phone.

3 comments:

  1. Nishant Singh says:
    March 22, 2010 at 2:52 PM

    ah have always wanted to visit Raigad Fort. Will probably do it soon enough :)..

    Liked the pictures and thanks for the route guide too!

    Sucks that u had a few injuries.. Hope you are better now :)....

  1. Pulsurge says:
    March 23, 2010 at 9:44 PM

    Not Raigad- its Rajgad ;)

    Thanks for the comments!

  1. Anonymous says:
    April 5, 2010 at 8:07 AM
    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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