Rajgad Trek and Travel Diaries

A One Day Trek to "The King of Forts" - This trek was done by Nature Knights for the first time somewhere during the year 2006 or 2007. Don't remember the exact dates.

Raj Gad or the King of Forts, home of the greatest Maratha King, Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj for nearly 25 years till he became Chhatrapati; post coronation his capital shifted to Raigad although lot of his administration continued to be controlled from Rajgad. The fort is located at the end of spur, surrounded on three sides by fortified plains – the Padmavati Machee, the Sanjivani Machee, and the Suvela Machee. Location: Rajgad (200 km from Mumbai and 50 km from Pune). Altitude: 4514 feet high. Duration of Trek: 1 Day Date of fixed schedule: August 23, 2014 (2nd time around). Trek Category: Rated as Moderate to tough if done in a day. (3 to 4 hours one way trek) Blurred Memories... of Rajgad Trek Above Rajgad as spotted during sunset from Torna Fort. Trip fee: (Old budget proposed during the year 2014, not valid if the trek is done today). Ex. Mumbai Rs.1650/- Ex. Pune Rs.1100/- Included – Travel Private Bus, Breakfast, Evening Tea and Snacks. Excluded - Lunch (Carry your packed lunch); Travel Insurance; or any other cost not part of package. Who can come? Anybody with basic fitness, sporty and ready to rough it out; minimum age 12 years Planned schedule: 5:00 am Start from Andheri West, S. V. Road 5:10 am Vile Parle (East) on Western Express Highway 05:10 am Santacruz (East) on Western Express Highway 05:15 am Bandra (East), on exit of Sky Walk near Kalanagar Junction Bus Stop. on Western Express Highway 05:20 am Outside Sion Station 05:35 am Chembur (Before Diamond Garden Signal) 05:50 am Vashi (Mumbai - Pune Highway, Below bridge at junction of Station Road and Highway 06:10 am Belapur on highway 06:20 am Near Mc Donald (at Entrance of Express Highway) 08:30 am Pune on Highway 10:00 am Start of Trek We expect to windup trek by 5:00 pm 05:30 pm Start back for Mumbai 07:00 pm Reach Pune on the Highway. 10:30 pm Expected to reach Mumbai depending upon the traffic conditions. More about About Rajgad Rajgad - The King’s Fort; The King of Forts; The King of all Adventure treks to a Fort Home of the great Maratha King, Chhatrapati Shivaji’s for nearly 25 years till he became Chhatrapati; post coronation his capital shifted to Raigad although lot of his administration continued to be controlled from Rajgad. The fort is located at the end of spur, surrounded on three sides by fortified plains – the Padmavati Machee, the Sanjivani Machee, and the Suvela Machee. The Padmavati Machee is the largest of the three plains, perhaps this was where most people stayed at that time. Three main darwaja of the fort that open onto Padmavati Machee: the Chor darwaja, the Pali Darwaja and the Gunjawane Darwaja. The ruins of the Padmavati temple, the Padmavati lake, the Maharaja residential palace, the havaldar’s wada (constable’s residence) can all be seen here. The only place which can be used by trekkers for an overnight stay here is the Padmavati temple. Of the three Plains, the narrowest is the Suvela Machee. Stone steps, ramparts and a bastion can be seen here. On this plain is a 15 foot-diameter opening called Waghacha Doda (tiger’s eye). Several of Shivaji’s officers including Tanaji, Yesaji and Shembar Built houses here. The view of the sunrise from this point is really beautiful. The third plain, Sanjivani machee is about two Kilometer in length. Double fortification and a bastion can be seen here. There is a direct route from this point, through the Alu Darwaja, to the Budhala Machee on Torna. The stronghold of Rajgad is said to be its finest point and can be reached with some effort. Once you enter the main gate you can see the palace ruins, the Janani Mandir and the Bramhrisi temple and a water tank. There is quite wonderful view from the top, you can see various mountain ranges and spot several forts from here including the Mahabaleshwar Raireshwar Plateau, Raigad, Makarandgad, Lingana, Torna, Visapur,Tung, Sinhgad and Purandar. Rajagad is built on a hill named Murambdev which was not captured for a long time. In 1702 Aurangzeb laid siege on Rajgad and changed its name to Najibgad. Around Rajgad are the rivers Velwandi, Kanadi and Gujavani, so that all routes to the routes to the fort are across rivers. The main gates to the fort are Alu Darwaja, Gunjavane Darwaja, Pali Darwaja and Chor Darwaja. The gateways to the “king of Fort” - Rajgad 1)       To enter the fort from the Alu Darwaja from Pune you have to go to Bhor. Near Bhor you board a lauch at Basrapur at the Bhatgar dam. A five-hour ride will take you to Bhutonde, which is at thefoothill of Rajgad. From Bhor take a bus for village Bhutonde. From Bhutonde, it is a three hour climb to the Alu Darwaja. 2)       To get to Gunjavane Darwaja you take the Pune-Velha bus to Margasani Village and from there you go via Sakhargaon to Gunjavane village. From here, it is a two hour climb to the Gunajvane Darwaja. 3)       The easiest route is from Vazeghar or from Pali and then to Pali Darwaja. This takes about 3 hours to reach the top. The grandeur of this gate is well worth seeing. 4)      Another favorite route is through the Chor Darwaja. To reach here you take the Velhe bus to Vinzar village, cross the Kanandi River and climb up via Sakhargaon. This takes about 4 hourstrek, the last part of this path being quite rocky. When you enter from there you reach the Padmavati Machee. Here it is possible to spend the night at the Padmavati temple. Some trekkers have drawn a map of the fort within the temple. It is necessary to carry all requirements like food and water with you. If you leave Pune in the morning you can climb to the top by the afternoon, spend the night there, returning the next day.