MONSOON TRIP TO RAIGAD FORT -THE KING OF FORTS
I have been to the Raigad fort for a day trip but didnt explore the entire fort. In this monsoon, a day trip to the Raigad fort was on my wish list. I along with my friends planned a trip to Raigad considering the long weekend of Ganesh visarjan. It was our post monsoon trek. There was no sign of rain while reaching Raigad but we faced heavy showers while returning.
Raigad is a hill fortress situated near Mahad, in Raigad district. It was known as the mountain of “Rairi” before it was captured by Shivaji Maharaj. European historians have described it as 'The Gibraltar of the East'. On 6th April 1656, Shivaji Maharaj besieged Rairi and captured it in May. Then Subhedar of Kalyan was transporting the treasure of Adilshah to Bijapur, which was raided by Marathas and utilized to fortify Raigad. It became the capital of Shivaji's kingdom.
Raigad Fort has been a witness of significant events such as Shiv Rajyabhishek (The Coronation ceremony of Shivaji Maharaj – The Auspicious day was 6th June 1674, Saturday), 24th September 1674 Shivaji Maharaj underwent another ceremony of coronation for the commoners, 4th February 1675 Sambhaji Maharaj’s thread ceremony and 16 February 1681, Sambhaji became the crowned king of Maratha Empire. On 3rd April 1680, Shivaji Maharaj passed away on this fort, which was the most devastating moment witness by Raigad.
Aurangzeb started his conquest of Raigad in 1684 but failed and returned in 1685. Zulfikar Khan attacked Raigad in 1689. On 5th April Rajaram (King after Sambhaji and Son of Shivaji Maharaj) escaped to Pratapgad. Finally, on 3rd November 1689, Mughals captured Raigad due to unfaithful Suryaji Pisal. They renamed the fort as Islamgad. Marathas regained it on 5th June 1733. In 1818 the fort was bombarded and destroyed by British Raj. Some people say (No evidence is available) that the royal fort was burning for 11 days.
The fort was called by 15 different names at different times – Raigad, Rairi, Islamgad, Nandadeep, Jambudweep, Tanas, Rashivata, Badenur, Raigiri, Rajgiri, Bhivgad, Reddi, Shivlanka, Rahir and Gibraltar of the east.
There are 2-3 ways to reach to the fort from Pune. One is via Varandha Ghat, whereas another route is Pune – Chandani chowk - Tamhini Ghat – Mangaon – Take left before Mahad – Pachad village – Rope way base station. If you are planning a trip to Raigad during post-monsoon time then I will suggest you go by the third route which is Pune - Tamhini Ghat – Nijampur - take left at Nijampur and then base village Pachad. This route is blessed with nature’s beauty during monsoon or in post monsoon. However, currently, the condition of the road is poor near Pachad village.
It was all cloudy that day with a little rain, the roads were beautiful and the view was scenic.so we started from my friends farmhouse in mangoan , the fort is about 24 kms from it. We reached the place from where we have to start the trek at around 1:00. We were hungry by that time, so decided to take a meal.
There are two ways to reach the Fort, either by walking or by rope way. We decided to trek to the Fort. There are approximately 1500 steps to climb if you chose step way. There is one more alternative is to use trail through the mountains. So we started climbing the mountain. After 30 minutes of the climb we joined the main pathway. You can find many vendors selling Nimbu Pani and some other refreshment on the way. We crossed one small waterfall, we jumped into the water without even thinking that we have to walk a lot more to reach the Fort.
Visiting the place for the first time we hired a local guide with us . He had a lot to say about the historical values of the fort , he even sang many ovis of that time . The guide made the trip more interesting to us.
Soon we reached to Maha Darwaja , main entrance of the fort. After walking for a little while we reached the top of the fort. We spent the next couple of hours exploring the fort where we visited Palakhi Darwaja,,Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj Statue, Nagarkhana, Bazaar Peth etc. We also visited the Rajyasabhagruh; where we saw the Raj Sinhasan of Shivaji Maharaj. This place is designed so well that during the Sabha; if anyone whispered or talked in a low voice, it could be clearly heard at the Raj Sinhasan.We decided to come back to foothills via the Ropeway. It just takes 4 minutes via Ropeway and is a good option if you want to reach the fort quickly, add to it some magnificent views.
We started late in the evening, the roads are very risky to be driven in bad light. To be safe, plan to start early from the Fort.
The trip was overwhelming it took back to the ages of Reign of shivaji maharaj.My respect for him grew much more and i started feeling like a proud maratha.
About raigad fort
Raigad Fort has been a witness of significant events such as Shiv Rajyabhishek (The Coronation ceremony of Shivaji Maharaj – The Auspicious day was 6th June 1674, Saturday), 24th September 1674 Shivaji Maharaj underwent another ceremony of coronation for the commoners, 4th February 1675 Sambhaji Maharaj’s thread ceremony and 16 February 1681, Sambhaji became the crowned king of Maratha Empire. On 3rd April 1680, Shivaji Maharaj passed away on this fort, which was the most devastating moment witness by Raigad.
Aurangzeb started his conquest of Raigad in 1684 but failed and returned in 1685. Zulfikar Khan attacked Raigad in 1689. On 5th April Rajaram (King after Sambhaji and Son of Shivaji Maharaj) escaped to Pratapgad. Finally, on 3rd November 1689, Mughals captured Raigad due to unfaithful Suryaji Pisal. They renamed the fort as Islamgad. Marathas regained it on 5th June 1733. In 1818 the fort was bombarded and destroyed by British Raj. Some people say (No evidence is available) that the royal fort was burning for 11 days.
The fort was called by 15 different names at different times – Raigad, Rairi, Islamgad, Nandadeep, Jambudweep, Tanas, Rashivata, Badenur, Raigiri, Rajgiri, Bhivgad, Reddi, Shivlanka, Rahir and Gibraltar of the east.
There are 2-3 ways to reach to the fort from Pune. One is via Varandha Ghat, whereas another route is Pune – Chandani chowk - Tamhini Ghat – Mangaon – Take left before Mahad – Pachad village – Rope way base station. If you are planning a trip to Raigad during post-monsoon time then I will suggest you go by the third route which is Pune - Tamhini Ghat – Nijampur - take left at Nijampur and then base village Pachad. This route is blessed with nature’s beauty during monsoon or in post monsoon. However, currently, the condition of the road is poor near Pachad village.
27th of September 2017
It was all cloudy that day with a little rain, the roads were beautiful and the view was scenic.so we started from my friends farmhouse in mangoan , the fort is about 24 kms from it. We reached the place from where we have to start the trek at around 1:00. We were hungry by that time, so decided to take a meal.
There are two ways to reach the Fort, either by walking or by rope way. We decided to trek to the Fort. There are approximately 1500 steps to climb if you chose step way. There is one more alternative is to use trail through the mountains. So we started climbing the mountain. After 30 minutes of the climb we joined the main pathway. You can find many vendors selling Nimbu Pani and some other refreshment on the way. We crossed one small waterfall, we jumped into the water without even thinking that we have to walk a lot more to reach the Fort.
Visiting the place for the first time we hired a local guide with us . He had a lot to say about the historical values of the fort , he even sang many ovis of that time . The guide made the trip more interesting to us.
Soon we reached to Maha Darwaja , main entrance of the fort. After walking for a little while we reached the top of the fort. We spent the next couple of hours exploring the fort where we visited Palakhi Darwaja,,Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj Statue, Nagarkhana, Bazaar Peth etc. We also visited the Rajyasabhagruh; where we saw the Raj Sinhasan of Shivaji Maharaj. This place is designed so well that during the Sabha; if anyone whispered or talked in a low voice, it could be clearly heard at the Raj Sinhasan.We decided to come back to foothills via the Ropeway. It just takes 4 minutes via Ropeway and is a good option if you want to reach the fort quickly, add to it some magnificent views.
We started late in the evening, the roads are very risky to be driven in bad light. To be safe, plan to start early from the Fort.
The trip was overwhelming it took back to the ages of Reign of shivaji maharaj.My respect for him grew much more and i started feeling like a proud maratha.
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