Fort Rohida : A small yet beautiful one day trek

This fort, also called as Vichitragad, is best known as a place where one of the ferocious warrior of Maratha empire Bajiprabhu Deshpande first met Shivaji Maharaj. He was chief administrator of Bandal-Deshmukh family which ruled the fort under Nizamshahi in 1660s. Shivaji Maharaj called upon Krishnaji Bandal to surrender the fort and include it under Swaraj, howeverr, later rejected the proposal which resulted in the fight between the two. Krishnaji Bandal died in the battle and Bajiprabhu Deshpande along with other officials from Bandal-Deshmukhs got inducted into the Swaraj.

Thereafter, this fort became the part of other 23 fort which Shivaji Maharaj had to surrender under the Treaty of Purandar. It was later won again by Marathas and Kanhoji Jedhe of Bhor became the Killedar (Fort Commander).

Base Village:  Bajarwadi, Bhor (around 67 km from Pune)
It shown at coordinates : 18.094460, 73.829177 in the Google maps.

How to reach: One can take his/her own vehicle and park at the base. There is school ground where you can park your vehicle with nominal parking fees. The summary of the route is as follows :
Pune –> NH4 –> Katraj –> Kapurhol phata –> take right to Bhor road –> Bhor –> Bajarwadi

The trek route to the top of the fort is very simple and there is no chance of anyone to get deflected from the track. It would take about 1.5 hours to reach the top.

One can also reach Bajarwadi by public transport bus from Bhor bus depot. You will get plenty of buses going to Bhor from Shivaji Nagar Bus Stand in Pune.

Trek Grade: Easy.

Best season: Anytime as this is small fort. But, monsoons and winters will be amazing.

Attraction: Fort bastions- most of the bastions are still in good condition, Rohideshwar mandir, water cistern.

Food Availability: You can make food arrangement at base village.

Water and Stay Availability: There is potable water at the top after the second main entrance on the fort. The water cistern is very clean.

Mobile range: You will find range for almost all the mobile network. I got 4G network on my Jio on the top (:-P)

Safety Tips:
– Nothing special.

Note: Overnight stay on the fort is banned recently due the nuisance created by some trekkers over there. However, if you can convince the villagers, they can allow you to stay on the fort.

Kamalgad Trek : Priceless Experience…!!!

Also called as Kattalgad (In Marathi, “Kattal” -> Death. “Gad” -> Fort) as this was used by the Britishers to execute prisoners of war.

Base Village:  Tupewadi, Vasole (30km from Wai).

• The place shown on the Google Map for “Tupewadi” is incorrect. The correct place of this village are at coordinates: 17.989175, 73.740900; Actual location of Tupewadi

How to reach: One can take his/her own vehicle and park at the base. The villagers are really nice people and you can safely park your vehicle. There are following two routes to reach Tupewadi –

1. Route#1 ==> Pune-Khed Shivapur-Khandala ghat-Wai-Menawli road-Tupewadi. You can get these directions through the Google map easily.
2. Route#2 ==> Pune-Khed Shivapur-Bhor phata-Bhor-Kamalgad&Raireshwar Plateau-Jambhali road-Vasole-Tupewadi. The directions are given in the link below:
   Pune to Tupewadi via bhor

If you are going on a bike, I would strongly suggest taking Route#2 as this is one of the most scenic routes, especially in Monsoons and post-Monsoons. Why I say this, you will get to know in my detail blog below.

One can also reach Tupewadi by public transport as the village is well connected to the nearby town of Wai by the State Transport buses. You can board the bus to Wai from Swargate bus stand, Pune with the first direct bus at 7 am and from Wai you can catch the bus to Tupewadi. The last bus reaches Tupewadi at around 7:30 pm which stays there overnight and leaves the village at 6 am the next morning. On reaching back to Wai, you can board bus to Mumbai and Pune at every 30 minutes with first bus at 6 am.

Trek Grade: Easy.

Best season: Anytime of the year as the route is covered with trees even in summers.

Attraction: A Beautiful village of Tupewadi with warm hearted people; a huge man-made well with steps carved out; A temple of Gorakhshnath; View of other peaks such as Kenjalgad, Rajgad, Raireshwar, Padavgad, Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani range along with the scenic view of Dhom Back Waters.

Food Availability: You can make food arrangement at base village. At the top, there is small habitat where a shepherd family lives. You can ask the family to make food arrangements for you while you visit ballekilla (main fort).

Water and Stay Availability: Water is available at the base village and at shepherd’s house at the top.

Mobile range: You receive range for BSNL and Dolphin. You get the range for Vodafone and Airtel somewhere at the middle of the climb.

Safety Tips:
– One has to take a minimum amount of safety during every trek, not just this one.
– Climbing is very safe, however, one must take care of directions.
– No ropes required.