King's Fort – Rajgad
As it
pulled out on the busy streets of Pune on a Monday morning, the
familiar vibrations of the ST bus aroused in me an elation that I
have been missing. Back on the road again, alone, with little
knowledge of the area, ready for a new adventure. No car, no
companions, just a handful of information from the net, and a hope to
spend a day in nature's territory. A bright orange sun, and wild
orange flowers lining both sides of the road, made for a perfect
start.
Lulled to
sleep in a crowded bus, I woke up and got down at Margasane, still 6
Km from base, with an arduous road walk ahead of me. Breakfast at a
road side hotel separated a hitchhiked ride in a car, and an
unexpected ST to the base village, Gunjavane. I was already psyched
having glimpsed the fort in the distance. A helpful Kaka gave me
directions for the route, and I hit the track at around 11.
The Chor
Darwaja route to Rajgad is considered challenging with steep, narrow
patches at the end. The red road from behind the ST stand is quite
prominent and cannot be missed. I followed it as advised and reached
the ridge that would lead me to the top of the fort. The route was
fairly easy, and the weather favourable – sunny but breezy. The
area is densely forested, and wild flowers were in full bloom. As I
reached a plateau, the royal ramparts revealed themselves to me, it's
towering walls making me nervous. The gradient increased beyond that
point, and my lack of fitness was exposed
 |
| Majestic Rajgad |
The bee
encounter
As I was
panting up the incline, an inquisitive bee took a liking to me.
Perchance it mistook me for a bright red smelly flower! First it
perched itself on the red shirt. Then as I held my breath, it hopped
on to my hand. I stayed dead still – there were many others bees
around, and a single bite would lead to another. The painstaking few
seconds passed by as I felt its feet and probe tingling my skin. It
skipped to my pants, and then started buzzing around me. I covered my
head with my bag and decided to make a run for dear life! Thankfully
I was able to shrug it off. But the rest of the journey I was
paranoid about any faint buzz in my ears.
 |
| View from the steep patch |
 | |
| View from Chor Darwaja |
I was out
of breath, my legs feeling like dead weight, as I reached the steep
patch. I clambered up using the railings for support shamelessly. The
rock climber in me was disgusted. Regardless, I was at the entrance
at 12:15. Success! And in good time too – around one and a half
hours. A couple of old ladies near Padmavati Talao served me
delightful tak (butter milk), which I gulped down greedily.
 |
| Padmavati Talao |
 |
| Nandi |
 |
| Suvela Machi and Chilakhti Buruj in the distance |
I trudged
ahead without wasting any more time. The fort is immense – perhaps
the largest in Maharashtra. It was the seat of Shivaji before he
moved to Raigad. The main fort – Bale Killa loomed large in front
of me. I lumbered along the broken steps, wary of the clouds building
up. The view from the top was breathtaking as it always is. A few
click happy moments later, I was on my way down.
 |
| Bale Killa |
 |
| Ardh Chandrakar Talao |
 |
| Going Down: Pali Darwaja |
My feet
were tired by now, and my body refused to move. My toes hurt, and my
knees were killing me. I write it down, lest I forget. Train harder,
you idiot! I felt like an old man trudging the giagantic steps down
Pali Darwaja, the more common “Raj Marg” route to Vajeghar. The
walk was tedious, as the path changed from slippery mud to gravel to
tar. I was in civilzation again, after spending four happy hours away
from it. If only, I could just stay here, without any worries or
attachments.
 |
| View of Rajgad from Raj Marg route, with Bale Killa standing tall |
I spotted
a lone bike and to my delight he stopped on seeing me. I muttered
something in broken Marathi, and so I got a ride to the Velhe –
Nasrapur road. I was not looking forward to the tar road walk to the
next village, where I would wait for the ST. But it was my lucky
day. I got another lift all the way to Nasrapur, in a Scorpio. It was
with Babu Sahab Jagtap, a local politician, and his happy go lucky
friends. When I told them I had just come after finishing the Rajgad
trek, they were in awe. They were quite curious about me, and I was
hit by a volley of question in Hindi/Marathi/English. One of them
wanted to know my “cost!” (caste) too. I sat listening to their
banter, smiling yet uncomfortable. I knew they meant no harm. They
offered to help me out the next time I was in that area. But I was
glad to be back out on the road, in the familiar din of an ST, and on
my way back home.
A cold
shower later, a blissful sleep betook me, bringing an end to a day
well spent.
Trek
Details:
Fort:
Rajgad
District:
Pune
Taluka:
Bhor
Distance:
60 Km (Gunjavane), 65 Km (Vajeghar) (All distances from Pune)
How to
Reach:
- Take the 8 o'clock ST to Velhe from Swargate, and get down at Nasrapur / Margasane. From there, get a local vehicle to Sakhar, and futher to Gunjavane. Alternate option: Take the direct 9 o'clock ST to Gunjavane to avoid any hassles.
- Regular ST leave each hour for Vajeghar, the base village for the common “Raj Marg” route.
Trek
Route: From Gunjavane ask
anyone for the “Chor Darwaja” route. You can't miss it from
behind the ST stand – it goes up the hill to the ridge. Follow the
path – it will lead you to the ridge. Form the ridge the route is
fairly straight forward. Alternately,
you can climb up or down from Vajeghar village. The route is a broad
track which can't be missed, called the “Raj Marg”. Leads to Pali
Darwaja.
Trek
Duration: To reach the top –
Around two hours. To explore the fort – two hours.
Fort
Details: Map here:
http://sushantbhosale.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/rajgad.gif
Fort
has 4 sections: 1. Padmavati Machi (Chor Darwaja and Pali Darwaja
lead here)
2.
Bale Killa (Main fort, Talao)
3.
Sanjeevani Machi (Torna Darwaja, and way to Torna)
4.
Suvela Machi (Nedhe and Chilakhti Buruj)
The pictures here are beautiful
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