Bhandardara

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

My brother had been planning this trip for quite some time now. As the place is Bhandardara he didn’t want to go on the weekend as it would be crowded there.  There are only a handful of hotels up there. So he decided to go on a Thursday.  As that was one of the days in the week, when my nephews have an weekly holiday in school.

On the highway

Now I had to make the choice whether I should join them or not.  Finally I got my holidays confirmed for both Thursday and Friday and we decided to head out on Thursday morning.

As a family we have done two road trips previously. The MurudRoadtrip followed by the Ganpatipule Roadtrip. But this one was special. Guess Why?  The above two road trips were done in hired private vehicles. This was to be done in our own Honda City.

Houses in the midst of the greenery

Ashley had made the arrangements for us to stay at Yash Resorts located high up on the hills of Bhandardara.  He was the man who had planned the entire trip.

So as decided we. We comprises of Ashley, his wife and two kids, Our Parents and me, left for Bhandardara at 7 am in the morning.  We left early because we didn’t want to be stuck in traffic, and wanted to reach Bhandardara at the the expected time.

Racing an outstation train

So the first pit stop was the gas station.  Filled our car tank to the brim with Petrol. Hit the highway.

Initially when we started off he had building for co. on either side of the road. Soon the buildings were replaced by farms and hillocks. Guess what, in no time we were on the highway headed towards to Nasik. 

Magnificent Hills

The journey was very smooth as we were not stuck in traffic both within the city and on the outskirts of the city.

As Ashley was driving I was the official photographer for the journey.  As the mercury outside was rising the glasses of the car were rolled up. All snaps were taken from the car.

Countryside at Bhandardara

We ran parallel to the railway line so even raced the train to some extent.  Reminded me of the Hindi movie Dil Chata Hai, where they race an outstation train on their journey to Goa.

The sides of the roads had all the possible shades of green, once could think off. Greenery all around.

Countryside at Bhandardara

The blue skies, brown hillocks either covered or not covered with trees in various shades of green. The green farms and the farms filled with hay. The farmer’s houses far away in the distance covered with mango trees around them as a nice sight to see.

Second Pit Stop. Finally after 2 ½ hours we decided to take a break to have refreshments. It was just 9:30 am and I felt like it was noon. The sun shining angrily at us. Made us sweat even more.  In no time we were done and decided to head to Bhandardara. This was the last pit stop before we could reach the Resort.

Countryside at Bhandardara

To head to Bhandardara we had to leave the Nashik Highway and take the curvy and narrow and not so good road. The ride was a bumpy ride all  the way up.

Bhandardara is located in Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra. It is approx 185 km away from Mumbai and around 191 km away from Pune.  It is rested high up in the hills.  It can be accessed only by road. There are a lot of places to see in Bhandardara.  The highest peak in Maharashtra, Mount Kalsubai is located very near to it. It also has the Wilson Dam, Arthur Lake, Amriteshwar Temple, Ghatghar, Ratangad Fort and Radha Falls in its vicinity.

Amazing reflection of the hills in the water bodies

The three good resorts here are, the MTDC Resort, Yash Resorts and Anandvan Resorts. We were putup at Yash Resorts.

We finally reached Yash Resorts at 11:30 am. Rest for sometime there. The place was very well done up. Rested there for some time and then decided to head back to the hills and valleys.

We had our lunch at Anandvan Resorts. It was quite an expensive lunch and then started off.

Wilson Dam

The narrow, curvy roads that went up and down the hills and valleys gave mind blowing views of the hills, valleys and water bodies.  Not a soul wandered off alone, on these roads. The villages, a cluster of houses were far away from each other.  A ST bus  and Jeep (local modes of transport passed us by.) No one dared to overtake us. As there was no one around.

The views all around were amazing. Especially the colors nature had to offer us.

The hill ranges around reminded me of the movie Cars, which features Lightning McQueen when he is driving up the hills of Radiator Springs with Sally Carrera for company. Even my nephews shared the same feeling. 

They have watched the movie a zillion times now. And never get bored watching the movie.

Countryside

We reached Ghatghar; saw the Wilson Dam and the Sahayadri hill ranges from there.  The view from up here is amazing. A photographers delight to shoot photos from here.

We reached Amriteshwar Temple, The temple is beautifully carved. History states that this Shiva temple was made by Shilahaar family when they ruled over Maharashtra in 900 AD. The temple is active and services are held here.  The temple has two statues of Nandi outside it. As per the villagers there, they informed me that kirtans are held there in the morning and evening.

As it was growing dark now we decided to head back to our Resort. It took us around 3 hours to see the place in entirety. A car is a must on these hills.

Amriteshwar Temple

Finally at 6 pm we were at the Resort.  As it was a weekday the resort was half , full. We had a good dinner at night and immediately headed off to sleep. As we had to start for Mumbai the next morning.

The temperatures drop to 16 degrees at night here.  The days are pleasant and nights chilled. Wrapped in blanket I slept in the night.

Next morning woke up to the sounds of the birds chirping near the window pane. Wow for a change the birds had replaced my alarm clock.  The chirping was soothing to my ears.

Kalsubai

We then headed to have our breakfast at Yash Resorts Cafeteria and then headed back to Mumbai.

I didn’t wish to bid farewell to this beautiful place but had to, as we had a long journey back to Mumbai. 

Usually I don’t do a place again. But I would love come back to this place again in my lifetime.

Vijaydurg

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Finally at 11 am we reached Devgad ST bus stand. The bus to Vijaydurg was at 1130 am. So we decided to refresh ourselves with some sugarcane juice at the sugarcane juice centre located at the entrance of the bus depot. 

Vijaydurg Fort from VIjaydurg Village

We then headed to the bus, only to find that the bus that had dropped us here from Kunkeshwar was going to take us to Vijaydurg.

Got ourselves a ticket at Rs. 58 for the 1 ½ hour journey only to be dropped off at the entrance of the fort. 

We were told by the bus conductor that the last bus is at 1630 hours to Devgad ST bus stand. 

Temple in fort premises

History states that this fort was constructed by Raja Bhoj of Shilahar Dynasty between 1193 AD to 1205 AD. Its original name was Gheria Fort. It was situated near village Girye.

Shivaji Maharaj won this fort from Adilshah of Bijapur in 1653 and renamed it Vijaydurg.

The massive walls of the fort were impressive. This 17 acre fort is 2/3 in the water and 1/3 on land access via land and has 17 bastions on it. Each of the bastions named after a particular person or God I guess. 

Cannons placed at the entrance of the fort

At the entrance of the fort is a house and a temple, the temple is painted orange in color. A few cannons were located there; they were mounted on the mud bricks.

At the main entrance of the fort are placed cannon balls on either side of the passage. There are many houses in its premises, though most of them are unoccupied but they are in good condition.

We decided to survey the entire fort by walking on the walls of the fort.  The walls give an amazing view of the sea and the village based near the fort.  It also offers a view of the fortification, similar to the one I saw in Lohgad. located near Visapur and Bhaje Caves.  

Fortification reminded me of Lohgad Fort

The walls were so broad that they could accommodate house like structures, a few of them have shapes in them like doors and windows and a few have tiled roofs. There are many with broken roofs too which have fallen within the structures.

Couldn’t stop myself from taking at photo at this place. Photo courtesy Hithakshi. 

That's Me

This fort had two walls for protection, one on the outside and the other on the inside, the outer one being small in height compared to the one inside.

Some parts of the fort are being redone, a big thanks to the guys who are trying to conserve our history.

We saw that one of the bastions was broken down; I guess this was done when a cannon ball was fired onto it from a sea vessel. I could see the damage it created. The impact bought down the entire bastion. 

View from the Fort Walls

I noticed that there are small openings in the wall for guns to shoot at the sea vessel, but what caught my eye is this mother opening that housed six small openings. I have been too many forts but something like this I noticed for the first time.

There were rooms for ammunition on the fort as well.

There are many huge structures placed all over the fort, they have windows in them but no roofs. No wonder what these were used for?

How I wish I had a time machine that could transport me in time.

One of the many structures built on the Fort

There are guides here who give information on the fort, but each guide interprets the fort differently. There is no uniformity in the information provided.

It takes around 4 hours to view the fort in entirety.

Again there were many idiots here who have ruined the walls by writing their names all over it.

Few visitors, maybe it was afternoon so it didn’t attract many. But to see this fort it takes around four hours so you will be baked in the sun. 

I located many of these unique slots on the fort walls, Maybe they were used to shot at the enemy outside the fort

This journey of ours through this magnificent fort was truly amazing. But we had to leave at our bus was at 1630 hours and to top it, it was the last bus for the day.

This fort surely ranks in the class of Murud Janjira. A beautiful fort.

A must on your trip to Devgad. 

Sindhudurg Fort

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Sindhudurg Fort 

Standing nautical miles away from Malvan Jetty on the Malvan Beach, this fort looks so massive, Imagine if I was near it how massive it would be. The walls of this fort are made of stone.

A few coconut trees grew in its premises, it looked like hair on the face of the fort. Hehe.

A few rocky patches too were near the fort and a few sand patches which made my photos desktop material. 

Boat plying to Sindhudurg Fort from Malvan Jetty

We got ourselves a ticket to fort on the Malvan Jetty at a cost of Rs.37 each and the boat was our mode of transport to take us there.

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving sessions are also conducted here. The rates differ from season to season, so it’s better to check out the rates before venturing into it. Hithakshi wanted to try both of them but the cost worked out to Rs.1700 for just 30 minutes, which I guess is highly priced. The boat in which you travel doesn’t look appealing at all.

It takes around 20 minutes to reach to the fort. The boat is small but can accommodate 20 people along with two crew members. The boat has got a side car placed; it helps in turning the boat so that the boat does not capsize. 

HIthakshi and Me on the fort premises

For Example, when you learning to ride a cycle, you have two additional small wheels attached to the back wheel so that you don’t fall while trying to balance. Something similar.

Be prepared to get drenched in water when the waves are high at sea the way I did. There are no life jackets provided and I don’t know how to swim. There are many who don’t know how to swim. God alone knows how they will manage if the boat capsizes. Hope it doesn’t happen.

There is no jetty near the fort so have to alight on the rocky patches and from there we need to proceed to view the fort. The crew said “you have an hour’s time to view the fort. You should be back here at 1305 hours as the time now is 1205 hours.” The crew said the above in Marathi, I just translated in English.  And an hour is not enough to view this fort looking at the size of this fort. 

Fortification

We started off to see the fort to make the best use of it. As we had loads to explore and capture on camera and we were short on time.

Sindhudurg Fort is built on Kurte Island. In 1664 – 67 AD Shivaji Maharaj had constructed this fort on the 48 acre island. The fort has 42 bastions. 

Print of the Palm of Shivaji

The walls made of stone were cold in the hot weather. Like the heat has no effect on the stone. Felt cooler when we entered the fort premises. The stone used to build the walls were big and huge, wondering how they might have put them together as no adhesive is used to join them and the stones were places in such a peculiar way that they interlocked each other.

At the entrance of the fort there is a broken cannon placed. Near the door is placed the Hanuman Mandir painted bright orange. Which catches your eye?

There are many broken down structures in the fort premises. Imaging how bustling this place would be in its hay days. Now it lies in a state of despair. 

One of the many steep stairways 

There are many temples on this fort, what caught my eye is the temple dedicated to Shivaji Maharaj. Even at Panhala there is a temple dedicated to Shivaji Maharaj. The temples though old are still in use. 

There are a few water bodies here which supply fresh drinking water on the fort.

We decided to explore the fort by walking on the walls of the fort. As from the walls we can see both the inside and outside of the fort. The walls of the fort were very broad, six people could walk easily on it, side by side. 

View of the green waters of the sea from the walls of Sindhudurg

This fort has got the footprints and print of the palm of Shivaji, placed in a small temple like structure on the walls.

A team of individuals dressed in white shirts and blue pants look after the fort, as in the caretakers of the fort. It’s good to see that some parts of the fort are being restored. This bought a smile across my face.

The fort offers a beautiful view of the sea, green waters a few rocky patches and a breath taking view of the Malvan Beach. 

Shivaji's Temple

The water near the fort was so clear that from the walls I could see the small rocks placed at the bottom of it.

Another unusual thing I noticed is these multiple staircases that I noticed all over the inside of the fort.  These were narrow and huge steps and were extremely steep.

A few broken down walls made of stone with no roofs appearing like houses too were placed on the walls.

This fort has many bastions which offer a good view of the sea and the land around it. 

Ruins in the fort premises

A part of the wall was broken; I guess this was the impact of cannon being fired on the walls of the fort when it was attached was taken into custody.

There is a small rock patch in it which has got bullet marks on it. Maybe the soldiers used it for firing practice.

I enjoyed exploring this fort with Hithakshi. It bought back memories of my exploration of Murud Janjira.  

Please do visit this fort whenever you pay Malvan a visit. A must for all history lovers. 

Murud Roadtrip (includes Korlai Fort, Padmadurg Fort, Palace, Murud Janjira Fort and Bhalegaon Caves)

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Work, work and more work, I was stressed out big time. I need a break said my body. So I decided to go on a road trip. Where to go was the question I had to ask myself. Beach or hill station? It was tough to decide because of the soaring temperatures. Finally I made up my mind and decided to go to Murud, a lonely fishing village situated 170 km from Mumbai in Raigad district, Maharashtra, India.

So I packed my bags and decided to go on my road trip. I booked a Chevy Tavera to take me to Murud. Heavy city traffic made it difficult for us to make good progress but, once we were out of Mumbai the journey was smooth.

On the way to Murud, I saw the broken ruins of Korlai fort in the distance. Forts always excite me so I decided to visit this one. The road to Korlai fort was so narrow that only a single vehicle could pass at a time. Somehow we managed to get to Korlai fort. We had to first pass over a narrow tar road with fisher folk houses on either side of the road. As we progressed on, we came across fewer and fewer houses until we saw the sea on the left and the walls of Korlai fort on the right.

In a few minutes we reached Korlai fort. At the entrance of the fort there is a lighthouse which is still working. The guard related to us the history of the lighthouse. The lighthouse at Korlai has a16-m (52 ft) square cylindrical masonry tower with a lantern and gallery attached to the front of a two-story masonry keeper's house. The tower has been painted with black and white horizontal bands while the dome of the lantern has been painted red.

Light House

Light House from Korlai Fort

Korlai Fort is also called El Morro or Castle Curfew. A steep staircase takes you to the entrance of the fort. With temperatures soaring, the climb tests both your physical and mental balance. But my love for exploration and my physical fitness helped me get up in a few minutes.

The view from the top was just amazing. I cannot describe it in words but I will try to do so for the benefit of those who haven’t got the chance to visit this fort. The sunlight had turned the seawater into liquid gold. It took me around an hour to visit the entire fort. Although the fort is in ruins its beauty is still visible. I spoke to a few locals who were doing some renovation work on one of the churches in the fort and they told me that the fort was built by the Portuguese in 1521, and was later conquered by the Marathas in the 17th century. There were plenty of cannons on the fort.

Korlai Fort from Light House

Boats in a distance from Korlai Fort

A few cannons up the fort

Ruins in the Fort

At this point I had to make a return to my beach house at Murud as it was already 3 in the afternoon and hunger had taken its toll on me. So I took a few pictures. They reminded me of the ones which I have on my computer desktop. Now I know such places really exist.

We left the fort for Murud. I reached my beach house at 4 in the evening. I was exhausted but I was also keen to see as much as I could of the place. A quick snack later, I was ready to explore the area around the cottage. Golden Swans Resort where I was staying had beautiful cottages. The lovely sea shore stretched on right in front of our cottage.

Another interesting thing about the resort was that they had six swans all around the place.

Visiting some locals, we learnt that there are two forts and a cave and a palace in Murud . Forts Jangira and Padma durg (Kasa Fort) are both sea forts but the latter is closed to the tourists as it was broken down by a cannon situated at Jangira and is currently under the Customs’ supervision. Padma durg was built by Sambhaji, the son of Shivaji, to enable him to conquer Jangira Fort. It is a small fort in comparison with Jangira Fort.

Padmadurg Fort from Golden Swans Resort

Padmadurg Fort from Murud Janjira Fort

The palace looks quite pretty from the outside. Much as I longed to, I could not explore it as it is privately owned by the Nawab who currently resides in Mumbai. The palace was built in 1885 for administrative purposes.

Palace

My cottage gave me a very good view of Padmadurg fort and the Palace. There is no night life here as it is a fishing village and after 7 in the evening all roads are deserted here. So I stayed inside the resort, had beer and resort food and stared at the star studded sky and forgot all about my stressful life in Mumbai.

DAY 2: Tuesday. I decided to visit the Jangira fort. I trekked off to Murud village. I had to board a ferry in order to visit the fort. I bought the tickets and set off. It turned out to be a sailboat. This was the first time in my life that I had sat in a sailboat. It took us around an hour to reach the fort. The good thing was that it was windy so we got there faster.

Murud Janjira fort from Murud village

The fort is truly amazing, You have to see it to believe it. The sailboat took us to the entrance of the fort. The local boat riders who also gear up as guides showed us around the fort for a small fee.

According to our guide, the fort was built by a Siddhi who came from Ethopia. It was  designed by an Afzal Khan (not the one who had his hand cut off by Shivaji) from Iran. It took the Siddhi 22 years to build this 22-acre fort which has 22 bastions around it. The walls of the fort are still intact. Although the fort is in total ruins on the inside, it still looks amazing. The fort was built using the materials available on the island itself. Nothing was bought in from elsewhere. The fort consists of a three-storey building which is now in ruins, a mosque, the Sheesh Mahal for the use and convenience of the queen, shops, houses and the graves of some of the inhabitants of the fort. It even has a hidden underground route which takes one to the village. The route is now closed by the government.

A strucutre on the fort

A lake on the fort

Bastions

There are two lakes within the fort. In bygone days they used to cater to the drinking needs of the people who used to stay there. Today they are filled with dirt. There is also a school which was closed back in 1971. The fort has three huge cannons on it. Out of these, supposedly the second largest cannon in the world, was used to break the Padma durg fort into three pieces.

The guide told us that the cannons were made of a combination of five metals. The temperature was 45 degrees celcius and we were all perspiring heavily but the cannons felt cool to the touch. We also saw the hidden entrances to the fort called chor darwaza and the soldiers resting rooms. 

One of the three big cannons on the fort

The entrance of the fort was marked with carvings of an elephant face. The same markings were also imprinted on some coins which were used as a kind of countersign for identifying inmates who sought entry into the fort

Carving of Elephant face at the entrance of the fort

Fort from a distance

By this time it was afternoon, and I was hungry. On the way back, I stopped at a place called Patil Khanvils as it boasts of good food (thalis). The food was tasteful and simple. They have fish, vegetable and chicken thalis. The thali which I ate consisted of rice, fried fish, fish curry, chappaties and solkadi. I ate lunch and headed back to the cottage. I spent the rest of the day in the cottage and in the evening had a bath in the sea.

DAY 3: On Wednesday morning I decided to visit the Bhalegaon caves. These Buddhist caves are supposed to be around 2000 years old. I was told that these caves were around 25 km from the cottage. Later I found out that the caves were not in Bhalegaon but were around 10 km away from Bhalegaon in a place called Kodi.

With the help of some locals, I set off to see the caves. They were perched on a hill and the view from there was truly beautiful. I was lucky that the Tavera took us right up to the caves. There was one stupa there and a number of carvings in the caves. But what I liked the most was the head of an elephant which was carved on the entrance of one of the caves. It was beautiful.

Bhalegaon Caves

Sculpture of an Elephant

Sculptures in the Caves

I returned to the cottage late in the afternoon and repeated my previous day’s schedule. Lunch at  Patil Khanvils and the evening at the beach.

In the evening I learned about a bull race on the seashore. I was very keen to watch it. These races are held once a fortnight in order to encourage local sports. But there were more motorbikes on the field then there were bulls. Most of the bulls were white and very well built. I got the impression that they were bred only for the races.

The bull race was truly an unforgettable experience as was all of Murud. I was very sorry to have to leave it and return to Mumbai. I enjoyed this visit to one of Maharashtra’s most beautiful forts. I look forward to coming here again and to making many such trips in the future. 

Ways to Reach: As Murud is 170 km from Mumbai, travel by road is the only way in which one can reach Murud ie via Alibaug or Roha. One can also take a ferry from the Gateway of India to Mandwa, near Alibaug, and then travel about 50 kms by road.

Visit: This fort can be visited throughout the year.