Monday, December 4, 2017
It's been a long time, since I had been on a trek. By
trek I meant climbed a fort, as of
lately I have been visiting land forts around Maharashtra, so I decided to do
some easy treks between Roha and Mahad in Maharashtra.
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| Maha Darwaza to enter Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra |
As I was the man in charge of the itinerary, we decided to
visit Avchitgad Fort, Birwadi Fort, Ghosalgad Fort, Kuda Caves, Tala Fort,
Mangad Fort and Surgad Fort in a three day trip.
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| The well enroute Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra |
It had not been raining for the last couple of days, so we
were hoping that it would be dry and sunny on the trip. Fingers crossed.
There are two ways of reaching Avchitad Fort. The directions
to the fort are tagged on Google Maps. One can either travel via the Mumbai
Pune Expressway (Toll Road) like we did, exit at Khalapur and from there
crossed, Durshet, Pali, Bhise and finally Medhe the base village for Avchitgad
Fort.
The other route is the Old Goa route, from Panvel, cross the
Karnala Fort, Pen Nagothane , Bhise and finally Medhe the base village for
Avchitgad Fort.
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| Map of Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra |
We reached Medhe Village around 10:15 AM. The reason why it
took us time, is because we braked for breakfast on the way. Parked the car near
the temple. Inquired with the locals regarding the directions to the fort.
It was a sunny day, we decided to carry 2 liters water to
quench our thirst, after all we were climbing hill forts after a very long
break.
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| View of the land, enroute Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra |
History states that Avchitgad Fort was built by the Shilahar
Dynasty. It was later taken over by the Nizam of Ahmednagar, Shivaji Maharaj,
the Peshwas and finally the British.
Though it was not raining that they, it might have rained
before as the soil was damp.
We crossed two wells made of black stone, the water in it is
not portable though. The trek to the fort leads from here. One has to travel on loose soil, small
boulders to reach the top. To top it we had thick vegetation and mosquitoes for
company as we were wearing shorts.
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| Veergali, enroute Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra |
Midway up the fort, we saw a couple of stones placed near
each other. One of the stones had a
garland placed around it. As stone had the word "Veergali" written on
it in Marathi (local language). Maybe it is created in remembrance of soldiers
who died fighting on this fort. Here, we saw another route which leads to the
fort from Pingalsai Village.
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| Green cover all around enroute Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra |
We took a couple of breaks midway, finally in about 50
minutes we were at the top of the fort. How do I know, I saw the bastion
(though it was not intact, it had banyan tree growing over it).
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| Banyan Tree on the fort bastion at Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra |
We crossed the Maha Darwaza, there were no wooden doors,
just a arc shaped entrance to visit the fort premises. Next to the Maha Darwaza
we spotted this animal inscribed on the rock. Not sure which animal it is. If
you know then please mention in the comments below.
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| Animal inscribed on the rock at Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra |
The fort offers a fantastic view of the surroundings, blue skies, white clouds, shades of green on the hills and valleys
below, the closest railway station Nidi (Konkan Railway), cluster of houses in
a distance. The view was just amazing.
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| That's me at Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra |
We wasted no time, we started exploring the fort, on the
fort are placed three cannons at different locations, the first and the third
can be easily located. I want you to visit the fort and find the second cannon.
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Cannon no. 1 at Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra
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We then saw a octagonal shaped pond, it has steps to reach
the base of it, it was filled with water, the water is not portable.
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| Octagonal Pond at Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra |
There is a Shiv Mandir in the fort premises, with a statue
of Nandi, Ganpati and another two deities (not sure who those deities are)
There are a series of water tanks, placed near each other
(water is not portable). There is also a stone carving (that of a God, not sure
the name of the God)
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| Shiv Mandir atop Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra |
There is fortification within the fort premises, though the
exterior walls have broken down. There
is a flag hoisted near one of the bastions of the fort. Some more water bodies
on the fort premises.
It took us around an hour to see the fort premises. The wild
vegetation made it a bit difficult for us to travel on the fort premises.
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| Water tanks atop Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra |
The sun had now hid itself behind the dark clouds, we
decided to descend the fort, before it starts raining.
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| Dom, Manohar and me at Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra |
As we were descending the fort, we met a couple of trekkers
who too had come to visit the fort premises.
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Another Darwaza within Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra
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In about 35 minutes we were at the base (temple, where the
car was parked).
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View of the land from Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra
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There is no provision for food and water at Medhe Village,
if one comes to the main road, then it is available.We refreshed ourselves and then headed to visit BirwadiFort.We did see buses playing from Roha and Pali on the main
road.
NOTE: Please click on the words in large font in the blog to read about them.
NOTE: Please click on the words in large font in the blog to read about them.
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