Thursday, March 27, 2014
I was planning on visiting Raigad fort for quite some time
now, but due to some or the other circumstances could not visit this fort.
Finally a sudden decision to visit Raigad was made, with
Pravin Kamble as my trek buddy.
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| Maha Darwaza |
We wanted a direct bus to Raigad Fort from Mumbai. As we
didn’t get any direct buses after making a couple of inquiries a day in
advance we decided to take a bus to
Mahad and then from there change to a bus plying towards Raigad. From Mumbai buses
run around the clock to Mahad and from Mahad buses run around the clock to
Raigad.
As decided we met at Dadar Railway Station on the Western
Side and walked to the nearest ST bus Stop. The ST Bus Stop is very close to
the place from where private taxis and buses ply to Pune.
At around 10 pm we finally got a bus to take us to Mahad. We
hopped on to this bus and within2 ½ hours time we were at Mahad. As it was
night and thanks to less traffic on the road we were there in 2 ½ hours time
which was surprising as we were expecting to reach in 4 hours time. The bus journey cost us Rs.130 for two.
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| Coronation Place |
As it was January the weather was very cold outside. Was
feeling cold in the jumper I had worn.
Now we had to kill time at Mahad ST Bus station as bus to
Raigad Fort was at 3:45 am. This was not a direct bus, but a bus passing
through Raigad, going to Sandoshi as instructed to us by the attendant at the
bus stop.
This bus arrived at Mahad ST Bus station at 3 am but
departed for Sandoshi at 4 am. Now it was very cold at the bus station itself.
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| View of the fort from the Ropeway |
Was shivering from the inside and wanted a cup of tea to keep me warm. Could
not locate any stall serving tea in the morning and so had to take my chances
and see if I can locate a tea stall at Raigad. The bus had arrived from
Borivali in Mumbai and had left Borivali around 11 pm in the night. That means
there is a direct bus that passes from Raigad to Sandoshi. Eeehaa.
Finally after a 45 minute journey through the cold we
alighted at Pachad Naka. The ticket cost us Rs.50 for two.
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| Pravin and Me |
Finally at Pachad Naka which is the base village for the
Raigad Fort we located a tea stall which was just starting business for the
day. We were the first to give him business for the day. Had a hot cup of tea
at Rs.10 each. The tea reduced the shivering
in my body to some extent.
We then decided to wait till dawn to start climbing the
fort. Dawn was around 1 ½ hours away. What will we do sitting there for that
long? Finally Pravin said, let’s start right away. Now we faced another
problem. After we started walking and
were about to exit the base village we noticed that there were no street lamps
nor were there any stars in the sky. Pitch black. On Pravin s insistence we decided to move on
in the dark using his mobile phone as a torch to show us the way in the dark.
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| Remnants |
As the approach road to Raigad had proper stairs we didn’t
face much problem climbing up. We took ample rest on the way and finally at
around 630 hours we were at the base of the two huge bastions of the fort. For
the record at 7 am we were atop the fort.
We entered the fort via the Maha Darwaza. A narrow or not so narrow entrance flanked by two
huge bastions on either side. Just imagine what if the enemy had attacked via
this route. They would have been ambushed by the soldiers atop the bastions.
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| Remnants atop the fort |
We hurried to reach the Coronation Point of Shivaji. Why? As
it was morning we wanted to capture some good shots on our camera of the
morning sunrise on the statue.
We were then greeted by Hunger Attack. Our stomachs had
started growling as we hadn’t had anything since last night. We finally managed
to find a few other trekkers on the fort who had camped there for the night and
they gave us directions to the one and only hotel atop the fort run by MTDC.
I always wanted to camp on the fort for the night, but with
a strength of two, it’s a bad idea. So maybe someday when I come with a big
group will keep this option open. Which
might never happen as, I always travel in a twos or threes company. LOL
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| Towers |
A little bit of history of this fort. In 1656 A.C. Chhatrapati Shivaji took charge
of Raigad Fort from Jawali’s Chandrarrao More. The Marathas ruled it
from the 12th to 15th century. The Maratha’s lost the charge of the fort in
1436 A.C. after beaten by Bahamani King Alluddin Shaha II. Later on in 1479
A.C. and 1636 A. C. AhmadNagar’s Nijam and Vijapur’s Aadilshaha ruled
respectively. Aadilshaha renamed the fort as ‘Islam gad’ and hand over the
charge of the fort to Siddi of Janjira. In 1674 Shivaji Maharaj made this fort
his capital and was coronated King at this place.
Rajyabhishek (crowning ceremony of King Shivaji) is an
important event in the History of India and is held in the month of June each
year and attracts a huge number of travelers and followers of Shivaji Maharaj.
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| Shivaji's Palace |
Raigad Fort is located around 2850 feet high from the sea
level. There are around 1737 (a rough figure) steps leading to the fort. In
April 1680, the King Shivaji passed away and Aurangzeb took charge after
beating Shivaji’s son Chhatrapati Sambhaji. Chhatrapati Shahu’s army re
conquered the fort in 1734 and ruled over it till 1758. The British latter
attacked on Raigad Fort in 1818 and destroyed most of structures including King
Shivaji’s and Queen’s palaces. Now what stands atop the fort are just ruins
which stack plenty of history.
Guides are available at cheap costs, as low as Rs.100 to
show the main points on the fort. But we planned to explore the fort in
entirety and so decided to skip the services of the guide.
We had Misal and tea at the MTDC hotel at a whopping price of
Rs. 172. Too high a price to pay for
breakfast and as it was the only hotel there; they do have a monopoly on the
prices. But do remember that breakfast is served post 8 am in the morning and
tea is served all day long at Rs.20 a cup. Tea is served from the vending
machine. The hotel also offers choices in biscuits, cold drinks and ice cream
to choose from.
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| Throne of Shivaji Maharaj |
The hotel is situated very close to the MTDC rooms available
on the Fort and the ropeway leading down to the base village below. The price
of one way ropeway is Rs. 110 and return journey is Rs. 175. It takes 4 ½
minutes to reach the base village. Shortest travel time. Please note that the ropeway operates based on
the passengers taking its services and that there are no timings for the same.
Tickets to the fort are available at both the entry points
of the fort being the ropeway and the Maha Darwaza, it costs Rs. 5 for Indians
and Rs. 100 for foreigners. No charge for Still Camera and Rs.25 charge for
video cameras.
Most parts of the fort are in ruins and Archaeological
Survey of India (ASI) has done a pretty good job in maintaining what remains of
the fort.
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| Nagarkhana Darwaza |
There are plenty of places to see atop the fort , a few of
them are Maha Darwaza, Chit Darwaza, Hirkani
Burj , Lahandarwaja, Palakhi Darvaja , Nagarkhana Darwaza, Mena
Darwaza, Queens Palace and Shivaji Maharaj Palace, Palanquin Gate, Gangasagar Talav, Bazaarpeth, Samadhis of
Shivaji Maharaj and his Dog Waghya, Beautifully carved Twin Watch Towers and
Jagdishwar Temple. Though sign boards were missing at a few places.
We walked through the ruins on the fort. Though what stands
now are just walls with loads of history stacked in between them. Had we taken
the services of the guides, am dam sure we would have heard unique stories
about these historical monuments.
We located an Indian style toilet on the premises, the
second one after Lohgad Fort. See photo
attached. We were wondering where the other end of this hole led too.
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| Indian Style toilet atop the fort |
The Jagdishwar Temple is beautifully carved. Though from a
distance it looked like a Masjid to me, I was taken aback when I came to know
it was a Temple. The temple featured Islamic architecture. In its premises is the
stone statue of Nandi Bull.
There are ruins of what I believe are houses all over the
fort.
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| Structures a top the fort |
Please note that lemon water, butter milk and cold drinks
are available at small joints put up by the villagers all over the place. We
patronized a few stalls for quench our thirst for a glass of lemon water for
Rs10 for two.
The highest most point of the fort offers a jaw dropping
view of the other hill ranges nearby, the villages and the valleys below and off
course the fortification of the fort. We
located a bunch of kids hanging around a cave in its premises and tried to
reach there, but sadly we got lost down the way in the wilderness and had to
return back to the main road.
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| Jagdishwar Temple |
I located just two cannons on the fort premises that too
near the walls of the fort. Finally
after walking for 4 ½ hours we explored the entire fort.
We finally reached the main entrance or the Maha Darwaza. We
met a bunch of school children here who had also come to view the fort. I lost
count of the no. as there were two many of them flanked by their teachers. They gave us company while getting down from
the fort. The children had carried food and water to have on the fort.
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| Shivaji's Samadhi |
In an hour’s time we were at the bottom of the fort. i.e.
Pachad Naka where we had lunch in the form of Egg Thali for Rs. 182 for two.
Had our full and again we were on a prowl to see some more
historical monuments. It was around
14:30 hours and the sun’s rays were the harsh. The weather hot as hell but that
didn’t dampen us from exploring the Jijamata Wada. Ten minute walk from here lead is to Jijamata
Wada again an ASI protected monument. The Wada almost looked like a mini fort
on the ground. Fortification as good as that of Raigad Fort. From the Wada the
Fort was clearly visible. The Wada had
ruins of broken down houses all over the place. It took us around 30 minutes to
see this place. The good news is that parts of the Wada are being reconstructed
to restore it to its past glory.
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| Samadhi of Shivaji's Dog, Waghya |
We then walked ahead for around 30 minutes in the hot
scorching sun to locate the Jijamata Samadhi. But no sign of the same. At
Pachad Naka there is a board stating that it is around 1 km from there and we
walked for at least 3 km but no sign about the same. Finally we met two localities’ on cycles who
advised us that the Samadhi is around the corner. Finally we reached the
Samadhi.
The Samadhi is enclosed in a garden and is quite a peaceful
place. Here lies the Samadhi of the Mother of Shivaji. The Greatest Ruler
Maharashtra ever had. We paid our respects here and then headed off to Pachad
Naka from where we were planning to board a bus to Mahad. As always the ST
buses are unpredictable L
we then boarded a rickshaw at Rs. 50 for two that landed us at Mahad Bus
Station.
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| Fortification |
The time was now 5 pm and there was no sign of a bus to
Mumbai. Finally after making a few enquires we were informed that there is a
bus at 6:30 pm to Mumbai. This was our only hope to take us to Mumbai.
We finally managed to board the bus and got a place to sit
in the bus also. Woohoo. The ticket cost us Rs. 152. I guess the ticket prices
differ from conductor to conductor as we were charged Rs. 130 to reach here
from Mumbai. Never mind the ticket price at least we are in a bus heading to
Mumbai. Finally at 10:45 pm we were in Dadar. From where we departed to our
homes.
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| Jijamata Wada |
I enjoyed my trek to Raigad Fort. It was an easy trek as
there were steps to climb up and down the fort so it didn’t put much pressure
on my knees and legs. Thank God. But what I liked most about it is that there
are plenty of ruins atop the fort that give me a feel like I was living in that
era. Also have to mention that the ASI is doing a good job in maintaining and
renovating this place.
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| Jijamata Samadhi |
Thus ends my trek to Raigad Fort. See ya soon, on a
different trek after all there are many more to conquer.
