Raigad Fort Trek

Raigad Fort Trek

How to Reach : There are two ways to reach Raigad from Pune.
1.Via Varandha Ghat ( Approx.155km)- Pune-Bhor-Varandha Ghat-Mahad-take right turn on NH 70, Mumbai-Goa highway to Mumbai side- then take right turn from Karanjkhol to Raigad fort - After around 25 km reach base village Pachad. Then Go to the Hirkani Buruz by left turn from Pachad village. You don't need to go rope-way if you want to trek.

2.Vai Tahmini Ghat ( Approx. 135km)- Pune-Paud-Mulshi-Tahmini ghat- After descending Tahmini ghat- Go through Vile Bhagd MIDC-Nizampur-Take right to Pachad road- Ghotewadi-Dhamani-Harwandi-Waki-Savarat-Pachad. This road is having less traffic, so avoid night time on the road-No petrol pump found between Nizampur to Pachad.

Parking : Parking place is unsupervised. It is roadside parking near Hirkani buruz. There are few restaurants around the buruz from where the trek starts. 

Food and Water : Food and water available on the whole trek route. Full Veg meal on the fort. Better when you reach on the top, give order to any restaurant then go for exploring the fort. So, when you come back the food will be ready. There are small homes of guides on the top who also offer to stay. They can make basic arrangement for  stay.
Better services are available near Ropeway base-station in the village. Its about 2/3 km distance from Ropeway base to Hirkani Buruz.
Ramchandra guide- 9420391050 ( On the fort)
Deshmukh Khanaval - 90116 42994, 94036 47647 ( Good for big groups at the base)

About Trek : The trek starts from Hirkani buruz. The whole trek has steps and railing aside. So its well preserved trek route. It will take 1 hour 30 minutes to reach on the top. There are small restaurants along the trek, where water, lemon juice, butter milk, packets food etc. are sold.

About Fort : The fort has historical importance as it is the capital of Swaraj and also Shivaji Maharaj had residence on the fort. Taka tok, Shivaji Maharaj Samadhi, Jadisheshwar tepmle, Bajar peth, Holi ground, Sadar, palaces of royal family etc. many important monuments are is good condition to watch.
Official guide are available on the top with mere Rs.300/500. I recommend to take guide to understand the historical importance of the fort. 

Kenjalgad fort

Kenjalgad Fort Trek

How to Reach : Its about 80 km from Pune which requires 2 hours.
1.Pune-Bhor-Varandha ghat raod- take left  to Ambeghar-Ambwade-take right-Oholi-Ghat starts- Same ghat goes to Raireshwar Fort and Wai. after almost half of ghat take left tune for Kenjalgad-Base village-Parking.

The ghat section is not so good for car. Some portion is very rough especially in rainy days.

Parking : The parking can be done at open space near Kenjalaimata temple. Its free and non supervised.

Food a Water : No food stall here at the parking. You can take water from well. Only homemade food can be made available by villagers  on demand.

Stay : Home stay can be provided at the base village on request or can be stayed at Kenjalaimata temple.

About Trek :
The trek is quite simple. It will take hardly 30 mins to reach on the top. Just take care not to misguide on route. Because there are other routes used by local people for different purpose. The route starts in dense forest and climbing higher. You have to follow the route that goes upwards and in case of confusion take left and upwards route. Once to reach on the top, beautiful scenic view will give you tremendous pleasure. Form the open space the Plateau of the Fort plateau looks very elegant and epic. Go towards the plateau and take slight right in the trees to go on the top of the fort.
Go for 5 mins walk and take left. There is one cave with small worship place inside. Take left and right and you will see a huge steps carved in stone. Steps are slippery in rainy season.These are iconic steps of the fort. After a Step you will be on the top. 

What to See :
You need atleast 30 minutes to explore the fort. Since the view is very scenic it may take 2 hours
The fort has vast plateau.Temple, Grinder, Fortification walls and bastion are there on the top. Some water tanks also there which has drinkable water.
You can see Raireshwar Plateau, Arther seat point of Mahabaleshwar, Dhom dam, Panchgani, Kamalgad, Rohida fort, Varandha ghat, Rajgad, Torna fort etc. are visible from the fort.

Trek Safety : 

• Carry food and water with you !
• Ghat section is not good for bike and cars in rainy season.
• Parking is unsupervised.!
• Follow the route properly or take a guide from the base village on nominal charge of Rs. 200/300 around.

Devkund Waterfall

Devkund waterfall trek

Its a recently popular trek among the crowd of Pune and Mumbai.
Best time to visit is September to October after rainy days gets over. Waterfall disappears after October so no point to go after it. I visited recently on 7th October 2018.

How to Reach : Its about 110km from Pune. It will take almost 3 hours road drive.
Search Bhira dam on Google map to get a route of Devkund Waterfall. Bhira dam is parking point of Devkund trek.If search Devkund waterfall on google map it will show a top route of the waterfall which is used by professional trekkers with rappelling and climbing skills. So search Bhira dam for regular trek.

Pune-Paud-Mulshi Dam-Tahmini ghat- drive down from Tahmini ghat-Bhagad MIDC road - go straight to Vele village- Varachi wadi- take right to Patnus- take right to Bhira dam- Bhira Tata project - go ahead by slight left turn- Ask there about parking place - Park near trek starting point.

Parking : There are paid parking lots reserved by local restaurants. There are 2/3 parking lots. Go to the last parking which nearest to starting point.

Food a Water :
There is a food and water available at the parking. Veg and no veg can be served as per order.
No Full meal available on the trek. So better to carry food with you. Water bottles and lime juice, tea, biscuits, snacks and kandabhaji are available on the trek route. Running streams on the way aslo contains drinkable water.

Stay :
Stay is not allowed by govt at the Devkund waterfall. But there are many local hotels at Bhira village which give stay facility at the Bhira village. Tent stays also provided with charges like Rs.1500 a night with food and guide. Tree house stay also available. All these stay facilities are made available at the backwaters of Bhira dam.
Here are some contact Nos.
Pramod Shelar -7276283442
Shelar Sunil - 8446130788
Prakash Zore - 8793532972
Gujar Ashok -8793811870

About Trek :
The Trek starts from parking. Need to take entry ticket of village govt. Rs.10 per head.
They also insist to take a guide for Rs.50 per head of the group. Actually guide not much required other than rainy season. But Its very useful to have a guide in monsoon days.
They have chain system of guide. A guide is with the group up to specific spot, then next guide takes you upto next guide, how a team of guide take you up to Devkund waterfall. They really help to cross rivers with ropes in rainy season. You cant cross the forceful water without their help.
So don't debate about the compulsion of the guide on the entry point. Many accidents already happened on the destination. Some tourists argue about the hiring a guide, but Rs.50 per head is not much amount for it. Local should be always benefited form tourism. If employment is created for locals, then a place can be preserved better. Government cant reach everywhere to do it.

Its a trek of about 90 to 100 minutes. Total 6 to 7 hours required to return. The level is medium. There not much ascend or descend on the trek. You can call it a jungle trail. There are open spaces, jungles, rivers, water streams, stony paths etc. variety of routes on the way.
There are restaurants on the way run by locals where water bottles, lime juice, kokum juice, chips, snacks, Kandabahji, tea, biscuits etc. are available on weekends.

There are 3 main water streams to be crossed on the way. These are very risky in rainy season. Cross with the help of local guides. There is one wooden bridge built by locals which is very weak. You have to cross one by one and carefully.

After last bridge, high ascend starts of 15 to 20 mins. which may test your endurance. After ascend to start down to one more powerful water stream. you can listen to noise of crowd from the waterfall, which indicates that  you are near to it. Cross the last stream by river stones and you will standing in front of magnetic Devkund waterfall.

What to See :
The waterfall gives a look that you have not seen before. Waterfall falls down through a Curved mountain. The waterfall falls freely because of concave shaped overhang collapse.

There is plunge pool developed which is called 'kund' in Marathi. because of huge plunge pool the place is called Dev-kund. The plunge pool of God.

There is one small open worship place of Lord Mahadev behind the waterfall.

People used to swim in the kund. There a rope hand for showing a risk. Dont go beyond the rope. Its very risky. The pool is very deep and having whirlpool beneath the surface. The locals and sometimes police are present there to protect. There are some accidents happened in which some people died by drowning in the pool by over enthusiasm. Some tourists take too much risk  to click photos like standing on stones, going deep in  the pool, beyond rope, snatching each other in the water, making fun on fear of friends etc. Remember that risking  life.
The flow can be increased suddenly anytime due to rain in Tamhini ghat. So be aware when in water.
You can enjoy a fresh and cold water bath and splash here in safe area of a pool.

There is a small food stall where you can get water bottles, Vadapaw, Pithal-Bhakri, Lemon juice. Its a stony land, so find a suitable place for lunch.

Trek Safety :

• Best time to visit September and October.
• Some people died already here, so take care.
• Take guide in rainy days.
• Avoid in days of heavy rain.
• Don't go if local tells you.
• Carry food.
• Cross water streams with great safety.
• Look at the stepping stones in the water.
• Don't be hyper and over joyful with others during the trek.
• Don't get your self in water stream without consent of guides.
• Don't bring kids for this trek. if bring, look after kids, they can be over energetic. 
• Be in group, Don't be isolated.
• Mobile coverage is weak.
• Follow the safety instructions in the pool.
• Don't cross rope in the Pool.
• Remember photo is not more important than your life.