Trek to Asherigad (Complete guide)

Height- 1800 ft.
Per head cost- 150 ₹

This unknown fort of Asherigad (अशेरिगड) caught my attention on the internet, where it read "..... Asherigad is a tough trek and should be done in presence of an expert....."  "....... Take a villager from Khodkona to to show the path as the route is tricky......"  and other bombastic text related to the trek. So I decided to visit this less known location with my college buddies to check the reality. So, I started searching the information about this fort on the internet and was surprised to find that the information provided was not to the mark and it would surely misguide a neophyte trekker. Hence, this post is specially dedicated to those trekkers who want to reach the top of this fort without anybody's help and without getting lost in the Forest.

This time also we were total 5 (Abhash Kumar, Tarun Kaushik, Pratik Soni, Jigar and me) with Abhash's 3rd trek and Tarun's first. The journey starts from Palghar Railway station. In the morning there are two trains that ply to Dahanu Road, namely 5.15AM slow local (from Dadar) and 5.40AM fast local (from Dadar). We caught the first fas-train to Dahanu Road (DN) that starts from Churchgate station at 5.24AM - Dadar: 5.40AM - Palghar: 7.27AM

We reached Palghar station on time and had a cup of tea, before beginning our transit. From Palghar (पालघर) we can either take a ST bus or a 6 seater auto, known as Tumtum (टमटम) to reach Mastan Naka (मस्तान नाका). ST bus was scheduled at 8.30AM. Instead of wasting our time for half an hour, we hopped in a Tumtum. The Tumtum rates are were 25 ₹ per seat till Mastan Naka. On the way we crossed two ghats, namely Manor Ghat (मनोर चा घाट) and Vaghoba Ghat (वघोबा घाट). The road also passes through a small dam built over Surya River (सूर्या नदी). After 25 minutes of tumtum ride we reached Mastan Naka. A TATA Magic (छोटा हत्ती) usually ply on the NH8 (Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway) which took us another 30 minutes to reach the Village Khodkona (खोडकोना). 

Khodkona is a small happy village. When we arrived the school children came running to welcome us (It was a weekday). Cheerful lot, they were. All had a sweet, naive smiles when posing before our camera.

We followed the main byway right upto the outskirts of the village. We need not jump any fences or compound walls. The trail follows right beside these fences. But we had to cross the water-streams at several occasion.

Direction marker

A tip for Novices: There are no diversions on the route at the starting. Follow the main route. It will take you right into the Forest. The climb to the fort doesn't start immediately after we come out of village, but after a gradual walk for about 15-20 minutes. The trail will gradually turn upwards and turn progressively towards right side. This is where actual climb starts. And if you think you are lost, then search for the white arrow marked on stones and tree trunks. The full trail to the top is marked. All we need to find the proper route is to find the arrow marks.

A short break

At a spot, the stream is so close by that we decided to spend some time in it. We set off again. Soon the forest cover grew very thick along the route. It was 9.30 AM in the morning, still the darkness resembled 7.00 PM and no sooner a light shower of rain started. The trail here was full of huge boulders and rocks and navigating became a bit tough here. Tarun and me were searching all over for the arrow marks in order to find the way. The rest followed us. Abhash was fully exhausted; so were Pratik and Jigar. They were slowly following us. At a point we thought we were lost when a huge boulder stood before us. But the arrow mark was right behind it and we knew we were on correct track. We had to search small stones, boulders and even tree trunks for finding these arrow markings. There were instances when the trail was blocked by fallen trees. After maneuvering these difficulties we finally reached the col. At this point Pratik and Jigar decided to stay at the col as the trek was too much for them. .So now we were just three of us who were going to make it to the top. Although Abhash was tired, he never complained about the difficulty of the trek. He always makes it to the top no matter what. He always says reaching the top is equivalent to the feeling of an achievement which nobody can miss.

Abhash and Traun

The route after col is pretty straight forward but steep. There is a small open temple of Vaghoba hidden in the trees. We continued the climb. There were rock cut steps carved on the rock. The route was pretty steep then. At the main entrance we found this ladder placed over the route. This was the best part of the trek. There was valley on one side and steep climb on other. The presence of the ladder is inconsistent, sometimes present, sometimes missing. But it was there for us this time.

We were not alone that day. There were fellow villagers from Barhanpur (बऱ्हाणपूर), a small village on opposite side of Asherigad. There is a direct route from Barhanpur that leads to the col. Which means there are two routes to reach the top. One via Khodkona and other via Barhanpur village. The villagers told that the route was not manageable. I guess the difficulty of both the routes were similar.

A stone carving of a crown

Source of drinking water!

After another series of rock cut steps, we came to the top of the fort. Top of the fort is also covered with dense forest. There are bountiful of water tanks at the top. One pond is filled with violet Lotus. We couldn't capture much snaps on the top as rain had started pouring and restricted the visibility. We managed to find the cannons at the top near to a cave (temple). The rock structure at the top has developed a huge crack (facing the Ahmedabad highway). The structure looked strong though, and we had our lunch there. Pitla (पिठलं) & chapati was new to Abhash and Tarun & they loved its taste.

After exploring the top we started the descend. The rain was still pouring lightly and we still managed to cross the slippery route upto the col. The trail after col was time consuming as the rocks and boulders were slippery and the leaves on the ground added the risk of slipping. The arrow marks were helping throughout the trek. 

We hit the base at exactly 3.30 PM, after 2 hours of descend. Now the return trip was going to be a pain in the ass, as the probability of ST bus or the tumtums is very less. We were randomly waving our hand to any vehicle that showed up on the Highway. After 15 minutes of perseverance, a kind truck driver stopped for us and promised to drop us at Virar phata (विरार फाटा). We reached virar phata at 4.45 PM and had refreshment of Masala tea and samosa. There is a bus service from Virar phata to virar station, and the buses ply every 15 minutes. The rates are 14 ₹ per head. 

Well, in conclusion the route to the top is not that tough and with proper care, easily navigable. Also, we don't need a guide or any instructions from any villager. The overall experience was thrilling and the day was well spent. It was Traun's first trek which he enjoyed it to the fullest, keeping a promise to accompany us to the next trek. And Abhash was eagerly waiting for me to declare the location of the next trek.

Trek to Peth Fort (Kothaligad), Ambivali (Via Peth Village)

Difficulty Rating: 2/5
Height: 1500 ft
Best Time to visit: Throughout the year
Per head cost- 190 ₹ (Including lunch, breakfast & snacks)
Water (potable) available only during Monsoon inspite of bountiful water cisterns on top

Trek to Kothaligad (Peth Fort) was specially organised to mark the end of my tenure at ISTE SAKEC as a General Secretary (To celebrate the free Saturdays!!). So, we decided a fine Tuesday and set off. First train to Karjat, that leaves CST at 4.44 AM (Dadar at 5.02 AM), was decided as meeting place for us five trekkers. The train reached Karjat (कर्जत) at 7.10 AM. This time we were Anurag Muley, Darshak Sanghvi, Manoj Patil, Devang and me.

Karjat ST stand is just a 5 minute walk along the road parallel to the railway station to the east side exit. We had to catch the 8.30 AM Jamrukh (जामरुख) bus. Ambivali (आम्बिवली) is village before Jamrukh, which is also the base village for Kothaligad (कोथळीगड). The bus dropped us at Ambivali at 9.35 AM, almost an hour of a journey. Per head cost of ST bus journey till Ambivali was 32 ₹.

Started the actual trek at 10.00 AM from Ambivali. On the way we met this fellow villager, with his bullock cart, carrying his food stock to Peth (पेठ) village. After maneuvering the twisting and winding bywalk, we reached Peth village in 45 minutes. 

We managed to find a few approachable waterfalls and a few streams on the way to Peth village. But since they were not in our time-table, we decided to visit them while returning.

The final climb advents from Peth village. The forest cover continues till the top of the fort. Throughout the climb, Rain happily poured and we too enjoyed its happiness. And sooner, we were on the top of the Fort.

This was the biggest of the cave that could easily accommodate a crowd of 40-50. We preferred to eat our snacks outside, though, as the cave was filled with the stink of the bats.

Extreme Engineering: To reach the top of pinnacle, rock cut steps are carved from inside the pinnacle, known as (कोथळी) in Marathi language. This route originates from inside a small cave. Each step is 1.5 to 2 ft. high. The whole structure is carved out of a single rock structure. Intention for making this Fort was to keep a vigil on the activities happening in and around Mawal region. It can be considered as a Medieval watch tower.

Reached the top at 12.00 PM, exactly after 2 hours of intense exploration at the base of the pinnacle. The route circumscribing the pinnacle was a bit risky, not fully but a few spots were. We still followed the route and found lots of water tanks, huge caves with small openings that could accommodate about 100 people at a time. The fort has lots to be explored.

There was a temporary shelter at the top and behind this shelter was this small water tank. Water from this tank was not worth drinking.

Came back to Peth village and halted at Bahiravnath Bhojanalay, a mini Restaurant run by Mr. Kiran Sawant. Rice plate (unlimited) for 90 ₹ was enough to overcome the tiredness of a day. In his courtyard we spotted a back portion of a cannon. No strong evidence is found regarding this canon.

It was my second visit to Kothaligad, first was during my school days, when I was in 2nd Grade.
This visit has surely helped me refresh the memories of my previous visit.

For more photos, click here.

Trek to Visapur Fort (via Patan Village)

Difficulty Rating: Easy to Medium
Height: 3556 ft
Best Time to visit: Throughout the year
Perennial Water Source at the top
Per head cost- 150 INR (Dadar to Dadar)

Visapur Fort lies in Maval (मावळ) region of Maharshtra, part of Sahyadri Mountain Range (सह्याद्री). Built at the height of 3556 ft. above sea level, it is at a greater height than its twin Fort Lohagad (लोहगड), which also share the same plateau. Nearest Railway station is Malavli (मळवली), which is 2.5 Km from Pune city (पुणे). 

With the advent of Semester 6, it was time for a short trek and Visapur Fort was on top of the to-do list. It was my first trek with my junior at SAKEC, Anurag Muley, an Electronics addict and a Mountain Lover. We were a group of 7 ETRX student's of SAKEC (ISTE SAKEC, to be specific). 

We boarded Mumbai-Pune Intercity Express from Dadar at 6.58AM. The general compartment was crowded as usual, so we had no choice but to stand throughout the journey. The girls Jill, Gauri & Suchitra, however managed to find "a" seat till Kalyan. We reached Lonavala at 8.50 AM and waited for the Pune Local train. Train arrived at 9.5  AM and dropped us at next station, Malavli, at 9.45 AM and we started towards the Pune side exit towards Right.

There are 3 routes to reach the top, first via Lohagad-Visapur col a.k.a Gaimukh Khind (गायमुख), second via Patan village and the third route originates near Bhaje Caves (भाजे). I had earlier done a survey of all the three routes and the one via Patan village was excellent of them all. We took the immediate tar road that goes all the way up to the Lohagad base; but for Patan (पाटण) Village get down from the Malavli flyover (Above Pune-Mumbai Express Highway) and take the bywalk to the left. We followed this road right up to the village and started climbing the small hill, keeping Patan Village to our left. There are many small trails throughout this knoll and finding the correct route can be quite perplexing. These are made by the villagers who visit this place for collecting wood during summer. We managed to find the path out of this mess and reached the plateau to catch the first view of Visapur Fort.

Visapur fort in the Background

In the photo (Left to Right): Gauri Patil, Suchitra Basak, Anurag Muley, Yash Savla, Jill Vira & Deep Murarka

This carving is near the entrance of fort

This carving is at the top of the fort

The above trail (which you can see behind my friends) goes through the small forest patch and a small dried-up waterfall. After 15-20 minutes of trotting, this trail bifurcates. Take right to reach Visapur Fort. Take left to reach Bhaat-Rashi Range, Lohagad Fort or another entrance of Visapur Fort. Having spent quite some time at the dried-up waterfall, we came across the (broken) stairway which took us right to the entrance of the fort. The existence of two doors (महा दरवाजा) can be spotted in devastated state at the start and the end of this long stairway.

Water from the tanks to the immediate right was quite quenching and after filling our water bottles we sat down under a tree for lunch.

After filling our tummies, we set out to explore the fort. We came across two standing structures and many water cisterns, both filled as well as dry. To the corner lies a 5-6 ft. long cannon. Some blogs say it was 10 ft. long but no, it was merely 5-6 ft. We walked along the fort walls, enjoying the scenery of Lohagad Fort, and the beauty of Visapur's fortification. After 10-15 min. of walking we found a huge (जात) and many water tanks nearby.

The Fort has very less amount of buildings standing but you would find water tanks every minute distance away. Technically, the number of lakes, ponds, cisterns on this Fort reflects the amount of population that used to strive here. Also the expanse of the Fort is too huge to be covered in a single day. Literally, we started our descend at 5.00 PM while still some part of Fort was left to be explored.

The backside of Visapur holds a marvellous view of Tikona, Tung and Pawna Dam. The Forest which lies here is very alluring but time didn't permit us to visit it. But while returning, we did managed to find the second cannon near the entrance of the fort. The thick bushes had hidden it, not allowing to spot it from a distance.

It was almost 6.30 PM when we reached Malavli station, and we were right on time to catch the 6.30 PM local train to Lonavala station. At lonavala, the crowded Pune-Mumbai Intercity was waiting on the platform. Without any second thought we boarded it and managed to find a place to stand. 

This time it was a different trekking experience with ISTE SAKEC Council. It was quite an adventure and we all loved it.

[Climbing] Mumbra 16th Feb. 2013

Date: 16th February, 2013

Per head cost: 30 INR (Mumbai to Mumbai)

With the advent of 6th Semester, it was high time that I venture out to breathe some fresh air. So, we (Anurag Muley & Darshak Sanghvi) decided to throw a quick visit to Mumbra, one stop destination for bouldering. Mumbra is a town and suburb of Thane district and is easily accessible by local train on central line (CST, Dadar, Thane). The steps to Mumbra Devi temple are about 10 minutes walking distance from Mumbra station. For reaching the bouldering area, one needs to take a right turn in between. The steps follows all the way up to Mumbra Devi temple. 

[Photo credits: Anurag]

Me @ base of the Hill

Me, Darshak & Anurag

The chimney climbing (Remember the 127 hours scene !! )
Cracks in rocks, usually parallel, wide enough to fit your body inside, is a chimney.

Chimney

Teaching Anchoring & Belaying

Best part of Mumbra is that it can serve as a perfect half-day hangout. Packing a day's lunch, 2 ltr water bottle, reaching early morning, and enjoying the Rocks until sun gets overhead, and returning back around 3.00  PM would be perfect half-day hangout. Before taking the return route we threw a visit to the temple on the top of hill. 

This place has some boulders for beginners too, but its not recommended for first timers to travel alone. It is better to go with someone experienced. Here is the link to my previous visit to Mumbra. 

Trek to Salher-Salota-Hargad-Mulher-Mora-Nhavi-Mangi-Tungi

19th - 22nd December, 2012
Days: 4
Forts: 8
Per head cost: 900 ₹ (Mumbai to Mumbai, read further to find out what all it includes)

Day1: Salher (साल्हेर ) - Salota (सालोटा )

Salher Height: 5141 ft
Salota Height: 4986 ft

Started our journey from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus & reached Nashik at 4.00AM. From Railway station we went to CBS-Nasik. ST bus to Satana (सटाना) ply from CBS-Nasik and not from the ST bus stand outside the Nasik Railway station. So the journey- Nashik to Satana, Satana to Taharabad (ताहराबाद) and Taharabad to Salherwadi (साल्हेरवाडी).

Salher is the highest fort in Sahyadri Mountains (1567 Mtr.) & second highest place in Maharashtra, after Kalsubai. There are two approach routes for this fort. One via Salherwadi & other from Waghambe. We had planned our ascend from Salherwadi (साल्हेरवाडी) route and descend to Waghambe (वाघाम्बे ). The trek route from Salherwadi starts from here (Ref. the photo below). It takes 1.5 to 2 hrs to reach top. This route is all filled up with historic remains of the fort. A Bulwark, adjacent to the third entrance (महा दरवाजा ) signifies the pulchritude of the past. You will find many carvings, scripts engraved on the Fort walls. From this place (This photo below), we reached first plateau in 1/2 hr. Fort remnants like small buildings, temple, sculpture, cisterns are all spread out here in quite a few numbers. Tomb of Suryaji Kakde, is an existing sign of the fierce battle fought between Marathas and Moguls. The Marathas were victorious, but lost a prominent warrior along with 10,000 other soldiers. (Scroll down till the end to read about the Battle of Salher).

A after 2/3 precipitous stairway climbs, comes another plateau which houses a Havan Kund (यज्ञ कुण्ड), some broken sculpture remains (of dunno what !! ) and many more water cisterns. From here we can see two caves, which is the only shelter above, up here, which can accommodate about 50 people at a time. And in its front, lies an open temple of Renuka Devi (रेणुका देवी ), a temple of Ganesha (गणेश ) & an outstretched lake Gangasagar (गंगासागर ) and still more baby ponds सूर्याजी टाके, गणेश टाके इत्यादि (So you must have realized that water is not a problem here). 

Salher Fort at 12 O'clock

It was 12.30 PM, and after having our lunch, we left for Salota. We kept our back-packs in one of the caves, and started for the 2nd destination.

The route to Salota is fairly tough but manageable. The route is full of scree & at some places huge boulders have blocked the entrance. There is plenty of water available (from cisterns) and also the caves along the route can still be used for overnight stay. The top of Salota offers magnificent view of Salher fort.

Salher: As seen from Salota

Salota: As seen from Salher

While returning to our shelter (the caves), we enjoyed the sunset from the Parshuram (पर्शुराम) temple, the highest point of Salher Fort. Renuka devi is the mother of lord Parshuram. The Parshuram temple lies at the highest point of the fort. 

Takara (टकारा) Pinnacle and the setting Sun in the background

Day2: Hargad (हर्गड़ )- Mulher (मुल्हेर )

Hargad Height: ~ 4450 ft
Mulher Fort: ~ 4500 ft

We got down to Waghambe (the other side of the fort) to catch a bus to Mulher (मुल्हेर) village. Do not expect much from Waghambe village. There are very few stalls open in the morning and even if open, they will have only bread and tea. We had some bread-tea at a stall (चहा ची टपरी) near the place where ST bus halts. We had reached in-time to catch the bus to Mulher.

Mulher village is comparatively big and has many hotels, stores etc. After refilling the food-stock & downing a cup of tea, we again started off. We trod all the way from Mulher village to the base of the fort. Its a tar road with very less tree cover. Our first destination was Hargad (हर्गड़ ) fort, and then stay at Mulher Fort. Finding the way to Hargad Fort was too much of tiring & time consuming. The reason being, the fort is hardly visited by trekkers, as there is no water supply nor shelter at the top (there is water at the top, but it is not fit for drinking). And the dense tree line at the base, makes it impossible to trace the proper route. The actual route follows all the way through the forested cover up to the gully (V- gap), between the valley (Ref. see the photo below). Only standing structure at the top is the Someshvar (सोमेश्वर) temple. Two cannons, ruins of building, palace remains is all worth watching there.

Having explored the fort, we left for Mulher Fort, as the cave there were our shelter for tonight. If you have a good binocular with you you can try to spot an old canon on Hargad from Mulher top (you sholud be on Mulher top, facing Hargad) . 

Hargad Fort

At Hargad Fort (Someshvar Temple)

At Mulher Fort
The Shaky Entrance @ 7 O'clock
The cave at 2 O'clock
The water source at 11 O'clock

At the top of Mulher Fort

It was 6.30 PM when we reached the cave at Mulher Fort, so the chances of visiting Mora fort the same day was ruled out. So we stepped out the next morning to explore Mulher Fort and Mora Fort.

Day3: Mora ( मोरा ) Fort- Nhavi (न्हावी ) fort

Mora Height: ~ 4200 ft

Nhavi Height: Unknown ( ~ 3800 - 4000 ft)

Mulher & Mora Forts are connected by a small ridge. The Entrance of Mora reminds me of castle Greyskull  from He-Man.

Castle GreySkull  :p
The main Entrance of Mora Fort

After visiting Mora, we cleaned the cave that we stayed in and after dumping the bio-degradables and packing the plastic-paper waste with us, we traced back the steps to Mulher Village. We had our breakfast/lunch at Mulher village and inquired about transport to Pataalwadi, the village at the base of Nhavi fort. Mulher village is fairly big and photogenic with old houses and wooden windows with intricate carvings on them. I would strongly recommend you to visit them.

Exploring the water tanks!

We requested an Autodriver to take us to the base village of Nhavi fort. On the way, we halted near the water source to take bath (after 2 days). I must say, the driver was kind enough to wait for us till we got freshened-up. 

Good for a bath!

Towards Nhavi fort

A lake has been created to harvest the water from rain and use it during the extreme summers. The comparatively tough fort, the route is almost dead, and it appears that no one has visited this fort since a decade. The route starts from the left ridge (see pic below) and ascends from the other side of fort (opposite side of lake). The route till top requires climbing a verticle rock and walking on a narrow stretch of exposed path. You will encounter a series of water tanks on the route. The route after the tanks is exposed and care needs to be taken while climbing. You will be most probably welcomed by the monkeys on the top. Reaching the top was truly a blissful feeling.

Nhavi Fort

Water Cistern at Nhavi

Mangi-Tungi as seen from Nhavi

Day4: Mangi (मांगी )- Tungi (तुंगी )

Mangi Height: 4343 ft

Tungi Height: 4366 ft

The last duet of our adventure. The route is full of stairs, from start to end, so not much of fun, but the top offers marvellous view of the surrounding region. Mostly visited by Jain's (जैन) as the caves at the top is home to several sculpture's of Digambar Jain (दिगंबर). It is home to famous temples of Adinath and Parshwanath. 

We stayed in a Jain Aashram (आश्रम) at Bhilwad village. The food is much better; "best" as compared to what is available in the village at the same price. There is also a  The accommodation is free of charge, but they expect you to pay a small price (100₹ to 900₹) as a donation to their trust. Transport is available, right to the starting point of the foot of the Mountains, at economical rates (to-fro). At the end of the adventure we were offered masala-tea as part of prasad from the ashram. 

Sunrise 

Summary:

Trek was enjoyable. Right from Salher, Salota, Hargad, Mulher, Mora, Nhavi, Mangi, Tungi, each one had something unique to offer for trekker. You can enjoy this full circuit if you have 4 to 5 days in-hand and have planned accordingly. Take a good binocular with you if possible. It would be great to see the close-ups of one fort, while you are sitting on the top of other fort.

Group photo

The Battle of Salher (Source: Wikipedia)

The fort of Salher was captured by Shivaji in 1671, during his campaign of the Baglan region. This news reached the Mogul emperor in Delhi. He got incensed with this news and said "I have sent lakhs of cavalry but they have come back shamefully, now whom do I send?" The emperor then decided "As long as Shivaji is alive, we are not leaving Delhi". He then called Ikhlaas Khan and Bahlol Khan and sent them with a cavalry of 20,000 horses to attack Salher. Ikhlaas Khan then laid siege of Salher Fort. When this news reached the Maharaj, he sent message to his Commander in Chief Prataprao through his secret agents "Go to Salher with your troops and drive off Bahlol Khan". He also sent a parallel letter to Moropant Peshwa to go from Varghati Konkan along with his troops and meet Prataprao near Salher. As planned, both Prataprao and Moropant rode to Salher from both sides and a fierce battle ensued.

Writings of Sabhasad Bakhar describes it as follows: "There was a fierce battle throughout the day and night, Mughals, Pathans, and Rajput, Cannons, Elephants, Horses and Camel troops fought alongside each other. The battle was so fierce that the dust which was raised by the troops rose up in an area of 3 km and the troops could not recognize who was fighting on which side. The Elephant troops arrived and both sides saw 10,000 troops perish and blood flow like rivers". The Marathas defeated Ikhlaas Khan and Bahlol Khan in this bloody battle, which saw tremendous destruction all over. There were 1,20,000 troops of Raja Shivaji and it returned 10,000 less, lost in battle.

Shivaji’s troops captured 6,000 horses, 6,000 camels, 150 elephants, heavy gold ornaments, gold coins and expensive cloth from the enemy troops. The maratha soldiers showed extreme courage during this battle. Moropant Peshwa and Prataprao Sarnaubat exchanged pleasantries. Suryarao Kakde became a martyr during this battle. He fell after being hit by a cannonball. He was no mere soldier. A soldier who was as brave as "Karna of the Mahabharata" lay dead on the battlefield.

Of all the face to face battles between the Mughals and Shivaji’s troops, the battle of Salher takes first place. Such a big battle was not won before. The bravery and strategy used by the Maratha troops in the battle spread far and wide and increased Shivaji’s fame much higher. After winning Salher, the Marathas also captured Mulher and established their reign over the Baglan region. This battle is looked as a mile stone in esablishing Maratha Empire. After the battle Shivaji became a nightmare for the Shah of Surat.

Post updated on: 13th Jan. 2016 (with inputs from the blog comments and some suggestions from fellow trekkers)

Note: The cost 900 ₹ included healthy Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner everyday, including Kande Pohe, Pulao, Parathe, Sri Khand, Puraan Poli, Sandwich, Tea, Soup, Farsan, Laadoo, Chocolates etc. And yes, Maggi Noodles for 1 dinner. It also included the whole transportation needed for all 8 forts. Its funny how the private groups charge 2800 ₹ for just half of this treks and without exploring the fort fully. If you are on your own, you can camp on top of these forts and can also explore the forts at your own pace. To be frank, you can yourself plan this trek with proper guidance and the cost for exploring all the forts will cost less than 900 ₹ These forts are worth exploring. These forts have rich history to cherish.

Photo Credits: Arjun Patil, Sunil Kamble and the rest belongs to me!