Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra

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.

Maha Darwaza to enter Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra

I asked Manohar and Dominic, my usual partners in crime and they readily agreed to join in.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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).

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.

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.

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.

Cannon no. 1 at Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra

Cannon No. 2 at Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra

Cannon No.3 at Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra

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.

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)

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.

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.

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.

Another Darwaza within Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra

Another Darwaza within Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra

In about 35 minutes we were at the base (temple, where the car was parked).

View of the land from Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra

View of the land from Avchitgad Fort near Roha in Raigad district in Maharashtra

The car parked near the Temple at the village

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.

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.