Dahanu Fort in Dahanu near Bordi in Maharashtra

Monday, February 20, 2017

Dahanu Fort is located in Dahanu, it can be reached both by rail and road transport. One has to alight at Dahanu Railway station and from there board a shared rickshaw to reach the fort, or you travel by a private mode of transport. 

Entrance to Dahanu Fort 

Dahanu Fort is very small in size and can be done in 10 minutes time.The big bastion with a banyan tree growing on it was beautiful. There are two ways of entering the fort premises. 

We traveled to Dahanu Fort from Aswali Dam. 

Currently the fort houses government offices, but one can freely roam the fort premises. Thanks to the government offices, they have made us of the houses in the fort premises. It was another busy day for the government officials there. 

Banyan tree on the bastion of Dahanu Fort

I was informed by one of the ladies on the fort, that CID has got their office there. ACP Pradyuman from the famous tele-series, CID flashed in my mind. BTW if you wish to see it, it features on Sony TV. It is a hilarious series, I should say. 

The other entrance ot Dahanu Fort

There is a Maruti temple in the fort premises. Orange..

Handprint on the fort walls of Dahanu Fort

Maruti temple in Dahanu Fort premises

Across the fort I saw, hand prints in orange. Not sure what they meant or resemble. 

Hansel and Me at Dahanu Fort 

Beautiful waterbody

After exploring the fort, we headed via the Jawahar Dahanu Road to reach the Mumbai Ahmedabad highway. 

Banyan Tree

En route we stopped near Ashgad, there is a temple and dargah here. Saw a couple of boys somersaulting near the river bed. Took pics of this extraordinary tree and banyan tree. We then headed to Hotel Mini's to have lunch.

That me near the tree

Lunch at Hotel Mini's

Traveled by the Jawahar Dahanu Road, till we reached Mumbai Ahmedabad highway, then we raced on the highway. There was no traffic so we managed to reach Andheri by 5 PM. I was happy that we were not stuck in traffic near Hotel Fountain, like we did on the Gujarat Trip. 

Boys somersaulting in the waters

Bike journeys have always been tiring for me, luckily my back was not in pain. Not sure if my body is getting used to it or was the travel time on the bike which was lesser than the other bike trips.
Keeping the bike travel aside, I did have a good time on the trip. As this place is not very far from Mumbai, it can be done in a day's time. You should try...

Aswali Dam in Aswali near Bordi near the Maharashtra Gujarat Border (India)

Monday, February 13, 2017

Aswali Dam is located near Bordi. It is around 151 KM away from Amboli in Andheri west. 

Aswali Dam

Hansel, who had accompanied me to Shiv Kalin Vihir in Badlapur, joined me on this trip. 

Sunrise on the way to Aswali Dam

We met at Amboli, near my house at 5:20 AM. We immediately headed to our destination, Aswali Dam.

Hansel and Me

As it was early morning, the roads were empty, so Hansel managed to pickup speed. We crossed the Fountain junction without any traffic, which was good.

Can you spot the aeroplane in the sky

We rode on the Mumbai Ahmedabad highway, as the bike gained momentum, it started growing colder. We were wearing warm clothes, but our hands were numb due to the cold. Hansel added that due to the near water bodies and trees, the temperature will always be lower than elsewhere. He was right.

Every time we braked to stretch, it grew cooler.

Tody trees on the way to Aswali Dam

The directions to Aswali Dam are tagged on google maps, follow the map and you will not get lost. We did the same. 

We exited the Mumbai Ahmedabad highway at Talasari, and traveled by a narrow village road to Aswali Dam The roads are in good condition. The journey was picturesque. We passed by Toddy trees, Banyan Trees and water bodies. Life here was so laid back. Everyone has relaxing. How I miss this kind of life in the city.
Toddy wine, created from the Sap of the toddy tree is a alcoholic beverage. We saw sap being collected from the Toddy trees while travelling to Aswali Dam. Some one is going to have a party tonight. 

Sap from the Tody tree

We travelled in and out of Maharashtra into Gujarat a couple of times to reach our destination. How we know, there were police check post. 

Finally around 9 AM, we reached the school, located very close to the Aswali Dam. I quickly asked one of the school teacher for directions to the dam. He immediately showed me the rocky trail that leads to the dam. I inquired about the whereabouts of Bahrot Caves located nearby. He told me that those caves exist, though he has never been up them. He told me that it would take us around 2 to 3 hours to reach the caves from the dam. The dam, we would reach in 30 minutes. He also advised us to take a local with us , if we planned to visit it. As the trek is through a jungle and there is a possibility of us getting lost as the directions are not marked.
Hansel and I decided to skip the caves for the time being, visit the dam and do the caves later. 

The school near Aswali Dam

We walked on the rocky road that leads to the dam. As the road was not motor able, we parked the bike under the shade of a tree and walked it out.

En route, Hansel, heard a couple of ducks, we immediately located them, took a couple of photos and then headed back to the dam.
Finally we reached the dam premises. The view of the dam was just beautiful. The green waters was surrounded by hills covered with thick forests on three sides. It reminded me of my trip to Pelhar Dam near Vasai. Equally beautiful. 

Ducks on the way to the Aswali Dam

There is only one control mechanism for the entire dam. Access to it is denied. We walked on the small muddy path. There were school kids here, I guess they had bunked school to spend sometime at the dam. 

View from Aswali Dam

There was a tiny hole in the dam wall, from where the water was oozing out. like a mini waterfall post the rains. 

Aswali Dam

We parked ourselves in the shade of the trees and had some mouth watering sandwiches prepared by Hansel's wife. 

That's me

Miniature waterfall

I noticed something very unusual here, I noticed a cow, swim or should I say walk in the water with its head held high so that it can breathe. It walked for around 20 minutes in the water to reach land.
Watching the calm waters, greenery around us, was so soothing to my eyes. I wouldn't mind suspending a hammock between two trees and sipping on some ice cold beer. 

Aswali Dam

Aswali Dam

Now that we have visited Aswali Dam, what do we do next, is the question I had in my mind. I started to research on google. But due to the poor internet connectivity we were not getting any signals. We decided to go back to the village located near the school to try our luck there. 

Aswali Dam

Aswali Dam

Near the school we got better connectivity, as compared to the dam, we then decided to do the coastal road-trip starting at Bordi beach and terminating at Dahanu Beach.

Ballalgad fort in village Kajali near Talasari near the Maharashtra Gujarat border (India)

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Ballalgad is a small hill fort located in village Kajali near Talasari near the Maharashtra Gujarat border. The village of Kajali is located very close to the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway.

View from Ballalgad Fort

Fathima and I had visited Valsad, last week to explore the forts of Parnera, Kille Pardi and Bagwada aka Arjungad Fort. Due to shortage of time, we couldn't explore Indragad and Dhinsu For located near Vapi. 

Raj wanted to do bike trip. We decided to explore these forts in the bike trip. As it was a one day trip, we decided to explore Ballargad near Talasari, Indragad near Moti Daman and Dhinsu Fort near Phanse village, again near Moti Daman in a day's time.

Watch out for this signboard on the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway

I had asked Martina, another friend of mine, if she would be interested in joining us, to which she readily agreed. So on Saturday morning we set out. Raj and me on his Royal Enfield, Martina and Horatious on their Yamaha Fz.

This is my second bike trip on a Royal Enfield, the first one was with Massey to Indurigad near Pune. To read about Indurigad click on it. We had a great time on that trip. 'This trip should be nothing less, I said to myself.

That's us at GHORAKH CHINCHA’ (African Baobab) near Ballalgad Fort

We all met at 6:15 AM in the morning at Borivali at Anupam Superstore, from there we headed over via the Dahisar flyover to the Western Express highway. We got stuck in traffic at Hotel Fountain. But the traffic was just for 15 minutes,after crossing Hotel Fountain, we were on the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway. The roads were clear so we managed to accelerate on the highway. As it was early in the morning, it  was cold but that didn't stop us from accelerating on the highway. We were hoping the sun to come out and shine, to make us warm. 

That's us atop Ballalgad Fort premises

We braked at Simla Inn around 8 AM, near the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway, to have some snacks and hot tea. But the weather was so cold, that our teeth were chattering. We had snacks followed by hot tea, took a couple of selfies and then headed on the road to Ballargad near Kajali, the first fort on our itinerary. 

After crossing Talasari, watch out for a signboard stating Kajali on the left hand side of the highway. After traveling for around 5 minutes on the bike we reached a small school. The trek to the top of Ballargad starts from near the school, but on the opposite side of the road.  ‘GHORAKH CHINCHA’ (African Baobab) trees near the school premises. They would be the perfect prop for a haunted tree. Lol. 

Fortification of Ballalgad Fort

There are a couple of houses near the school premises. We asked for directions and started on our trek. Walked a little and reached a dead end.

I immediately walked to the school and asked if the boys could accompany us to the top, to which they readily agreed. It was a smart move to take the boys along, else we would have been lost on the hills.

Fortification of Ballalgad Fort

It took us around 25 minutes to reach the top. It is a easy trek.  Again there is no proper route to go up, so make your way uphill.
We finally reached the fort walls, though portions of it are broken. The fort is very small in size and can be seen in 15 minutes. The fort is in complete ruins. There is wild growth within the fort premises. It has a small water body within its premises. It is currently filled with huge stones. The boys informed us that during Navratri, water appears at one corner of the water body and disappears post Dassera.

Looking at the size of the fort, I guess it might have been a watch tower to guard over the land. As it offers a fantastic view of the land below. 

Spot to sharpen swords on the rocks atop Ballalgad Fort

We could see the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway from here. The sound of the trucks was audible even at this height. 

We walked on the other side of the fort walls, the boys should us a two stones, as per them one has bullet marks on it and the other was used to sharpen the swords. The boys also told us that a couple of the stones are worshiped by the locals. Not sure how much of it is true, or if it is just a tale told by the village children. 

Bullet marks on the rocks atop Ballalgad Fort

Stones used for worship atop Ballalgad Fort

I am not aware of the history of this fort. 

After exploring we headed back to the school, where our bikes were parked. It took us 20 minutes to reach base (school). 

The school at Kajali Village

There are no hotels here, so one has to carry food and water.
Also not sure if there is any public mode of transport to reach their village. The closest rail station is Talasari and Bhilad. 

The motobikes

We then headed off to see Indragad near Pali Karambeli the next on our itinerary.

Arjungad aka Bagwada fort in Bagwada near Vapi in Gujarat (India)

Monday, January 30, 2017

After visiting Kille Pardi, we decided to walk on the over crowded roads of the Pardi town to reach the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway.

Fortification of Bagwada fort aka Arjungad

We had refreshments there and boarded a shared rickshaw to Chauraha (Crossroad of four roads) at a cost of Rs.20 for two. From there we boarded another shared rickshaw to alight at the Bagwada Toll Plaza. It cost us Rs. 20 for two. 

Bagwada Rail station

We asked the locals for directions and they asked us to cross the railway line to reach the Bagwada fort base village. The Bagwada Rail station is located very close to the rail crossing. So if you alight at the station, when travelling by the passenger train to Valsad. You can walk it out to the fort. 

It took us around 25 minutes (walking) to reach the Bagwada Fort base village from the Rail crossing. We asked the locals of directions and finally reached the stairs that would take us, straight to the fort. 

Stairs to Bagwada fort aka Arjungad from Bagwada base village

After climbing up the stone staircase for about around 20 minutes we reach the Main and only entrance to the fort. The shade of the trees will stop the sun's heat from reaching you. There is a bell at the entrance. We rang the bell and then walked in the fort premises. 

We were greeted by identical rooms  on either side once we entered the fort premises. Not sure of the significance of these rooms. 

Entrance to Bagwada fort aka Arjungad

The fort is rectangular in shape and has four bastions on the four corners. The bastion offers a fantastic view of the land. We can see the railway line, Mumbai Ahmedabad highway and the  long and winding Kolak River from the side that is not fortified. The fort is fortified on three sides. 

Not much is known about the history of this place. But if you know about it, then do share with me, so that I can upload it on my blog.
The fort is very small in size, it will hardly take 15 minutes to see it. There is a Mahalaxmi Temple atop the fort premises. There is also a water body near the fort premises. Not sure if the water is portable. As there was no one atop the fort premises. 

Thats us

There is no food and water available on the fort premises. So food and water needs to be carried. Food and water is available in the base village.  

We then headed back to Bagwada village and from there to Bagwada Toll Plaza. From there we boarded a shared rickshaw to drop us to Chauraha (crossroad at Vapi). It cost us Rs. 40 for two. 

From the crossroad, we boarded another rickshaw to reach to Vapi Rail station. It cost us Rs.20 for two. 

Mahalaxmi temple atop Bagwada fort aka Arjungad

Fathima stood in the line to book a ticket to Valsad from Vapi. She booked the unreserved tickets at a cost of Rs.90 for two. By then Mohsin messaged me that our return tickets to Mumbai from Valsad via the Jodhpur Express have been confirmed. That bought a smile across my face. Now we didn't have to travel by the general compartment to Mumbai. 

View from Bagwada fort aka Arjungad

We boarded the Karnavati Express, from Vapi to reach Valsad in around 25 minutes. Now we had a major task ahead of us. We had to hunt for a place to stay in Valsad. As it was the Diwali, we were sure that we might not get a place to stay. After checking out a couple of hotels,  finally we got a place to stay in Hotel Sunshine near the Chauraha (crossroad at Valsad). The rooms were descent, though the cost was a bit high. Rs.900 for a double bed, non ac room. 

We had dinner in the form of Gujarati Thali at Hotel Mansarovar. It was filling, Cost us Rs.80 each. but I was more happy and content with the Thali I had at Junagadh.

Bastion at Bagwada fort aka Arjungad

The next morning, we woke up and headed to Raja and Rani, to have some mouth watering vada pav and cutlet. It was the best food I had on this Valsad trip so far. The Vada in the Pav was big and size and very tasty.

We then boarded the Jodhpur Express at 9:52 AM at Valsad to reach Borivali in Mumbai around 11:45 AM. The train traveled non stop to Borivali from Valsad. Again shortest travel time. There was hardly anyone travelling in the train. 

Gujarati Thali at Hotel Mansarover

On our return we could locate, Parnera Fort and Arjungad Fort perched atop the hill when we passed by from the respective closest stations. 

I was happy that I managed to explore Parnera Fort, Kille Pardi and Arjungad in Gujarat. I was saddened that I couldn't explore Ballalgad in village Kajali, Dhinsu Fort in Phanse and Indragad in Pali Karambeli. These formed the itinerary of next bike trip. 

Morning breakfast

We enjoyed the trip a lot, thanks to the winters, it wasn't that hot and made travelling easy up and down the hill. it didn't tire us out.

Keep reading and Keep exploring...

Kille Pardi in Pardi near Valsad in Gujarat (India)

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

After exploring the Parnera Fort in Atul, we headed down the stairs to reach the base. From there we boarded a shared rickshaw to the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway. The rickshaw driver agreed to take us to Kille Pardi in Pardi a couple of KM's away at a cost of Rs.80 for two. 

Fortification at Kille Pardi in Pardi

The moment we exited the highway, we entered the small and crowded town of Pardi. Looks like everyone from this town had taken the road, which made travelling on the road a difficult task. The rickshaw driver managed to dodge the traffic on the narrow and winding roads and finally alighted us at the entrance of Kille Pardi. 

Kille Pardi in Pardi

Outside the fort premises is a small bust of Shivaji Maharaj, with a write up in Gujarati. There is also a Post Office outside the fort premises. Another landmark to reach the fort. 

Post Office outside Kille Pardi in Pardi

Statue of Shivaji at Kille Pardi in Pardi

The fort is in ruins and is not occupied at all. Most of the structures on the fort premises are in ruins. 

A couple of houses had the no. 1745 and 1910 atop them, so not sure if the structures were built in that year or if it is just a number given to the structure. Dogs have made themselves a home in a couple of structures. So the moment we walked in they started barking at us. Oops, looks like we trespassed in their homes without their permission. 

Fortification at Kille Pardi in Pardi

Structures at Kille Pardi in Pardi

There is a lot of wild vegetation growing in the fort premises. There is also a bastion with a cylindrical pillar made of stone in its premises. Not sure about the significance of the stone pillar. Have been to forts in plenty, but haven't seen anything like this one.
There are a couple of house like structures in the fort premises. Again they are like ghost houses.

Ruins at Kille Pardi in Pardi

There is also a Dargah here.It is in use and prayers are offered. I am not sure of its name, but if you can read Gujarati then do post it in the comments. 

Structure at Kille Pardi in Pardi

The couple of walls are still standing in the fort premises. Some of them are still standing thanks to the support of the Banyan Tree.
We also saw a snake roaming freely in the fort premises. Fathima was stunned when she saw the snake. We didn't harm the snake nor did it harm us in any way.

Fathima and Me, at one of the bastions at Kille Pardi in Pardi

There is another way to enter the fort premises from the other side. There are a couple of bastions too, again due to thick vegetation we couldn't visit certain parts of the fort. The ASI should take this fort under its belt and work towards the renovation of the fort to be accessible to the public. 

Structures at Kille Pardi in Pardi

I was happy to see that there was no graffiti on the fort walls. Thank God, idiotic people have no visited this fort premises. 

Structures at Kille Pardi in Pardi

No food or water is available in the fort premises, the fort can be explored in 30 minutes. As the Pardi town is close by we can easily get refreshments there. 

Structures at Kille Pardi in Pardi

Pardi Rail station is close by, again only passenger trains stop at this station. One can reach the Rail Station and then board a rickshaw or walk it out to the fort premises. 

Structures at Kille Pardi in Pardi

Dargah at Kille Pardi in Pardi

We then had refreshments and headed over to the last fort on our itinerary. The Bagwada fort aka Arjungad located in Bagwada.