History of Rajgad Fort:
Rajgad fort was the capital of the Maratha Empire under the rule of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj for almost 26 years. It is the first fort built by Shivaji Maharaj. The fort has stood witness to many significant historic events including the birth of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's son Rajaram I, the death of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja's Queen Saibai, the return of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj from Agra and the burial of Afzal Khan's head in the Mahadarwaja walls of Balle Killa. It was captured by the Mughals in 1689 after Shivaji Maharaj's son Sambhaji died. It is believed that Shivaji Maharaj spent most of his life at the Rajgad fort.
Basic Info:Rajgad, most aptly described as the King of forts. At 4514 ft, it literally gives an eagle’s view of the surrounding region. It has three machi’s called Sanjeevani, Suvela and Padmavati. The Bale Killa of this fort is well known for it’s peculiar characteristics. There are many routes to climb this fort. Fort is situated around 65 Kms from Pune city. Lying at the outskirts of Pune, this place will welcome you with fresh air and greenery. From the top of Rajgad Fort, one can enjoy the breathtaking views of the Bhatghar Dam along with the Torna and Sinhagad Fort in the vicinity.
How to reach:
There are 3 popular ways to get to the fort(Gunjavane, Pali and Bhor route).
- From Gunjavane route: Trek starts from Gunjavane Village. It is a little bit tough route as it leads to the Chor Darwaja and takes almost 2 1/2 hours for trekking with 4-5 breaks during the trek. Inexperienced trekkers should go via Pali village as this trek is not that difficult as compared to the trek via Gunjawane. Route to reach base village: Pune-->Nasrapur-->Gunjavane
- From Pali route: Trek starts from Pali Village parking. It will take you to the main door of the fort. Trek from Pali village is comparatively easy. Route to reach base village: Pune-->Nasrapur-->Pali
- From Bhor route: Trek starts from Bhutonde village. It will take 3 -4 hours trek to reach Alu Darwaja of Rajgad. This route is not very popular, but if you want to experience something different, then, you should definitely try this.
Trekkers for this Trek:
Harshad Tidke
Revansiddha Wagdole
Nitish Gavankar
Hemant Borole
Trekking details:
Difficulty level Medium to Difficult
Height Rajgad is 4514 ft above sea level.
Base village Gunjavane, Maharashtra.
We were discussing about this trek in office from long time. Finally we have planned to go for Rajgad Trek on 07th March 2020. Our plan was to go by Bike till Katraj, park our bikes at friend's residence and go by his car from onward. Finally the day has come, we woke up early, got freshen up and started driving towards Katraj. We parked our bikes at friend's residence and started our long journey towards base village by Car at around 05:30 Am. Road condition till base village is good so we reached Gunjavane village at around 07:00 Am.
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| Foggy Morning |
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| Gunjavane Village |
We parked our car and had breakfast at local hotel. You will have to pay tourism fee of 10 rs per person at the counter. After paying tourism charges, we started with the trek keeping in view that we wanted to make it to the Balekilla before afternoon. The trail is well marked via this route with just a few difficult patches to climb. A beginner in trekking will be able to make it to the top with just a bit effort.
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| Instruction for Visitors |
Initial route of this trek was simple walk. We have walked for 15-20 mins from car parking and reached at starting point of trek. We have then started ascending towards fort. It was steep ascend for few mins. We were able to see foggy valley and beautiful view of sunrise after this ascend.
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| View of Sunrise After Steep Ascend |
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View of Rajgad Fort from Base Point
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We took a break of few mins and started walking on trail that was going through woods. The moment you starts ascending up the trail to the fort, the scenery keeps getting better with each step. There are a series of interconnected hills of varying heights which gradually lead to the highest hill hosting the fort. This trails gets muddy during rainy days so beginner trekkers should be careful while ascending on this trail.
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| View of Balekilla & Suvela Machi from Plateau |
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| Joy Jump in the Air |
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| Happy Faces After an hour Trek |
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| Rajgad and Torna Fort in Single Frame |
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| Old Lady Selling Eatables on Trek Route |
Steep ascend will start after few mins of walk. You will see Iron railings installed on this route till the entrance of Chor darwaza. After few mins of ascending, the outlines of the historic fort walls start emerging from the background. During the monsoon they are difficult to spot from far since the walls are completely covered with moss.
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| Beautiful view of Trek Route from Top |
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| Iron Railings Installed on Risky route |
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| View of Rajgad Fort from Iron Railings route |
After a few mins through some boulders, rough patches and steep climbing we finally reached the ‘Chor Darwaza’ entry point to the fort. It took us around 2 hrs from base village to reach at the entrance of fort. Chor Darwaza is hardly 4 feet long so you have to bend while entering inside. It is hardly visible during entire route until you reach near to it. You will see beautiful views of surrounding and trek route from Chor Darwaza.
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Rock Patch near entrance of Chor Darwaza
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| Entrance of Chor Darwaza |
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Happy Moment after reaching at Chor Darwaza
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We relaxed at the Chor Darwaza for few mins and then started ascending staircase that leads you to on Padmavati Machi. The fort is divided into four different parts based on geographical terrain and fortification. There are the three Machi's namely Padmavati Machi, Suvela Machi and Sanjeevani Machi, and at the center is the Ballekilla. Padmavati machi is broader and well maintained than the other two.
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| Relaxing at Chor Darwaza |
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| Staircase from Chor Darwaza towards Padmavati Lake |
Padmavati Machi has a beautiful lake, a temple, Pali Darwaja, Chor Darwaja, Gunjawane Darwaja, Diwankhana, Daru Kothar, Rajwada, and Ghod Tale. As soon as you reach fort, you will see Padmavati lake on right side, a pool which is a refreshing sight to sore eyes. Locals say that the pond is over 80-90 feet deep. The walls of the lake are intact even today and the lake never dries up (even in the hottest summer).
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| Entrance of Padmavati Lake |
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Beautiful View of Padmavati Lake & Ruined Walls
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After spending couple of mins at lake, we have started ascending towards Padmavati Temple. It is in a fairly good state today due to renovation done recently. If you are planning for overnight stay then staying in temple would be a great option and it can accommodate around 50-60 people. There are 2 similar size of water tanks built near temple.
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Padmavati Temple & Water Tanks on Left
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| Ruined Rajwada & Flag Hosting Place |
In front of the Padmavati temple, you will see Samadhi(tombstone) of Saibai, Shivaji Maharaj’s wife, Deepmala and Cannon. There is a small Rameshwar temple adjacent to Padmavati Temple. The Shiva linga present in front of Rameshwar temple is believed to be of Shivaji Maharaj’s times.
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| Samadhi of Saibai |
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| Deepmala in front of Padmavati Temple |
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| Cannon near Padmavati Temple |
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| Rameshwar Temple |
Once you ascend rock stairs in front of temple, you will reach near to Ambar khana. You will see walls of Amber khana in ruined condition. There is a small lake on the back side of Amber khana. We took break of 5 mins near to this lake.
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| Ambarkhana |
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| Backside of Ambarkhana |
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| Lake Near to Ambarkhana |
As soon as you cross Ambar khana, You will see Sadar(Darbar). Sadar was renovated few years back but it is not open for visitors. It is said that most important political decisions in 16th century were taken in this Sadar. There is a secret underground room near to this Sadar. You will see ruined Rajwada and Darugola Kothar near to Sadar.
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| View of Balekilla from Sadar |
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| Inside View of Sadar |
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| Underground Secret Room near to Sadar |
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| Direction Board near Sadar |
After exploring Padmavati Machi, We have started walking towards Sanjeevani Machi. Sanjeevani machi is located on southwest end. It is extended for approximately 2.5 km along with many cisterns.You will reach near to entrance of Pali darwaza after walking for 15-20 mins. There is narrow trail from this darwaza that will take you to Sadar of Sanjeevani machi. You will see amazing views of Balekilla, Bhatghar Lake and Suvela Machi from this Sadar.
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| Pali Darwaza Route |
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| Fort Entrance of Pali Darwaza |
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| Sadar of Sanjeevani Machi |
Once you started walking further, you will see Machi Tatbandi and Tehalni Buruj on sides of machi entrance gate. We took a break of 5-10 mins near Tehalni Buruj. You will see breathtaking view of Sanjeevani machi from Buruj. The three layer fortification of Sanjeevani Machi is simply a marvel. The lower layers of the fort were separated by fortified bastion along with gate in order to defend independently. There is also an underground escape route which leads directly to the outermost fortification. This machi is enjoined with Budhala machi on Torna by a range of hills between the two huge forts.
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| View of Balekilla & Suvela Machi from Sadar |
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| Entrance gate and Tatbandi of Sanjeevani Machi |
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| Tehalni Buruj |
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| Beautiful View of Sanjeevani Machi from Buruj |
After short break, we started walking towards end of Machi. You will see few small water ponds on the way. Alu darwaza is situated on the left side while heading towards Sanjeevani machi. Here we need to take little descend from Alu darwaza to come out of fortification of Sanjeevani machi.
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| Fortification of Sanjeevani Machi |
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| Water Tank on Sanjeevani Machi |
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| Alu Darwaza |
We reached at the end of machi at around 10:50 Am. You will see ruined walls and Saffron flag installed on the front wall of machi. View of Torna fort and surrounding mountains was spectacular from machi. We sat on wall of machi and relaxed there for few mins.
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| View of Balekila from End of Machi |
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| Relaxing on wall of Sanjeevani Machi |
After relaxing for some time, we started walking towards Balekilla. We were reached near to Balekill entry point after walking for almost an hour from machi. Bale Killa is the crown of Rajgad. It has a unique triangular structure and a single point access. The tricky section is a vertical climb of around 20-25 feet with small holds in the cliff. It is a road to heaven on the slightest mistake. There are few railings installed on steep route, but the trail remains risky. One can take the assistance of the railings to reach the top. If you are fainthearted, I would advise skipping this part of the fort.
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| Start Point of Balkilla Route |
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| Steep Ascend towards Caves |
After climbing the steep patches, we reached near to Rajgad Caves. There is enough space in caves for people to rest. You will see amazing views of surrounding from Caves. We took rest for 5 mins in caves.
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| Rajgad Caves |
After taking some rest, we started walking towards Rajgad Fort. Once you ascend few rock stairs from caves, You will reach near to beautiful entrance door called Mahadarwaja. It is said that after killing Afzal Khan, his head was sent to Rajgad and was buried near this door following all religious processes.
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| Maha Darwaza |
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| Ruined Walls near Entrance of Fort |
We were reached on top of Rajgad Fort at around 12:15 Pm. It takes around an hour to explore top of Rajgad Fort. From the top of Rajgad Fort, one can enjoy the breathtaking views of the Bhatghar Dam along with the Torna and Sinhagad Fort in the vicinity.
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| Chandratal Lake on Balekilla |
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| Sadar of Balekilla |
Generally, Bale-Killa is built to protect surrounding fort and constructed in such a way that it is difficult to climb and conquer in war. Fort has remains of palace, water cisterns and caves. There is mirror shaped nedhe on Balekilla from which you can see mesmerizing view of Sanjeevani and Suvela machi. We have explored entire fort and sat near Maha Darwaza for few mins.
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| Mirror Shaped Nedhe on Balekilla |
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| View of Suvela Machi from Balekilla |
We have started descending fort at around 12:50 Pm. It took us around 15 mins to descend steep patches. We then started walking towards Suvela Machi. It is situated on the eastern part of the fort.
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| Amazing View of Machi from Maha Darwaza |
Suvela Machee is another grand machi with lots of secret routes and doorways. It is a double-stepped fortified machi with the steps separated by a beautiful bastioned doorway. This machi narrows down in width as one proceeds farther along its length. At the start of the machi, there is a hill called 'Duba'. As we proceed ahead, there is a small temple of Lord Hanuman. Straight ahead from this temple leads to the second stage, from where the fortification starts. You will see Zunjar Buruj, Sadar and few water tanks on this machi.
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| Ruined Walls of Suvela Machi |
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| Saffron Flag installed on top of Suvela Machi |
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| Happy Faces on top of Suvela Machi |
After relaxing for few mins at Machi, we started walking towards Padmavati Machi. After an hour of walk you will reach near Gunjavane Darwaza. It is another entrance door to the fort which comes from Gunjavane village However, it's a treacherous path comprising steep rock faces. It's advisable to climb from this path only under expert guidance and with professional mountain climbing equipment.
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| Chunyacha Ghana |
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| Gunjavane Darwaza on left side of machi Route |
We were reached at Padmavati Temple at around 15:15 Pm. We had home made Lunch in temple. After Lunch, we relaxed in temple for few mins. At around 16:20, we started descending towards base village. Descending was bit easy and it took us around an hour to reach at base point. We played cricket with local villager for few mins and then started walking towards car parking.
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| View of Nedhe & Suvela Machi while Descending |
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| Evening View of Fort from base point |
We left for Pune from Gunjavane village at around 06:30 Pm and were reached home safely at 09:00 Pm. It was another wonderful trek. We walked for almost 20 Km(27,544 steps).
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| Accomplished moment |
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| Cricket Time after Tiring Day |
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| Group Selfie After Cricket Game |
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| Local Guide Contact Details |
Best Time to Visit Rajgad Fort:The best time to visit the fort totally depends on an individual what exactly he wants to experience. In rainy months of July, August and September, one can experience the foggy conditions and if lucky, the lush green surroundings. But one needs to be extra careful as the trail becomes quite slippery. October to February will be the perfect time to do the Rajgad fort trek as the climate is pleasant and you can enjoy the breathtaking view of the surrounding regions. Remember, still it becomes hot in the afternoon, so try to complete your trek as early as possible. Check for moon status online if you want to experience stars. On a no moon day the stars are visible to their brightest.
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