About Raigad Fort
Raigad fort stands guard over the Arabian Sea’s shoreline. Built by Shivaji, King of the Maratha Empire, which was construct to defend against potential invaders. It stands at the mouth of the Ken river, which empties into Mumbai Harbor.
The fort is carved out of a sheer cliff face. The fort walls are 4-6 meters deep and 16-20 meters wide at their base. There are two entrance gates with watchtowers flanking them on each side. The fort is build of hard grey basalt and was constructed with no mortar.
The Raigad fort has terrace hillsides and were cover with groves of palms, banyans and jackfruit trees; some areas still contain forested areas that are not accessible to tourists. A fine forest of teak leads up to the fort itself. The road that leads up to the fort is flank on both sides by peacocks and flamingos (in some parts) and elephants.
Visitors to the fort are allowing to climb to the top of the fort, which includes a maze of steps leading up from behind the fort’s rear gate. It is advisable to hire a local guide who will explain various features of this ornate structure. One has to pay a small fee for entering the fort. Photography at lesser height is free and photography at height requires a permit.
The fort has several small temples inside.
One of the most important buildings within the fort is the “Kirti Stambh”, or “Clock Tower”. The Kirti Stambh is elliptical in shape and has four stories. All around the clock tower are carve with images of various Hindu deities. The original tower was made out of black stone but it was deteriorated by 1947. It was then restore with a replica that remains standing to this day.
Raigad Fort Trek has been an absolute one-time life experience.
This trek is a great way to get a glimpse into the lives of people living in this region because it’ll take you through towns and villages. You’ll also see lush green forests, meadows with grazing cows, fields of crops with wild sugar cane growing at the edges of them, toddy tappers tapping their palm tree for its juice that locals drink as part of their family tradition – they’ve done this for ages! And if you’re lucky, you might even spot wild elephants on your hike.
Moreover, you’ll visit some of the oldest fortifications in Maharashtra with this trek. The fort has been around for over 450 years. You’ll also get to learn about the history of this fort is if you take a drive around the fort.
Right now, there is not much open space left near the fort to walk around it and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. But one soon hopes that government will help preserve some more open spaces surrounding this fort so that one may have an actual walk along with their Raigad Fort Trek.
About Raigad Fort Trek.
Experience the Raigad Fort Trek
Reach Malegaon (altitude 450m) which is the starting point of the trek. You’ll see families carrying some bags with them to celebrate the picnic and spend some time with their family members
You have to climb up the mountain from Malegaon with your trekking and climbing stuff. The path had some really good steps here. The forest was really dense, so it felt like that you were on a different spot. Right after your climb, you will reach a stone wall at about 700m above sea level.
The trail was not too rocky and had some good steps along with it. It was quite relaxing to see greenery on both sides of the trail – you could see lots of plants and also large rocks. The forest looked really dense, it would have been cooler to walk through it at this height, but there were bushes everywhere so the plants were not so tall.
After climbing another step or two, you will reach what’s known as the ‘Thingdah Pole’. There are two poles here that are believed to have been used by soldiers during their training years ago.
The next stop of your trek will be ‘Khatik Khed’. This is a small mound of stones and dirt. It looks like a small hill and it’s located about 200m away from this ‘Thingdah Pole’. The ascent will be really tough and you have to climb up some steps to reach the next stop, which is also known as ‘Bhandar Pole’, just 100 meters away from the first stop.
Second Stop
After you are done with ‘Bhandar Pole’, you’ll be on the next move again. You have to reach the next stop, which is ‘Matang Khed’. This is an area with a lot of rocks and small bushes. This stop is located on a mound. There’s a big rock here that’s pretty cool to climb on.
Right after climbing down from ‘Matang Khed’, you will a little ground that was surrounded by rocks. This is where you can see some locals cooking some food on a rock. You can have lunch with them and enjoy the pleasant vibes of the fort trek.
This is the second-highest point in Maharashtra as said by locals of that area. They also said that there is no path here and one needs to climb up the rocks by themselves to see more scenic views of nature.
You have to climb nearly about 500m above sea level. As seen by locals there are some bushes on the rocks, which made it cooler to walk through. When you look down from here at the forest you’ll feel amusing to see by the scenic view. The vegetation here looked really dense and green, so no wonder the locals said that this is one of their favourite stops on the trek!
Last Stop
If you want more you can continue climbing from here and reach ‘Sangi Khed’ which is another small mound just about 700m above sea level. It is on another rock ledge that is about 200m away from ‘Matang Khed’.
Then you have to reach the next stop, which is ‘Mishap Bhed’. It’s a small area where you can climb up some rocks and see a really nice view from here. It looks like a very high point from this location.
According to locals, this is the highest stop of Raigad Fort Trek, even though there are two more stops. But you cannot reach it on the same day of your trip as it’s too far.
Now you have completed the trek and now you have to come back to starting are with beautiful memories and memorable pictures. Take some important stuff along with you while trekking and some eatables also. Enjoy the trek and click beautiful pictures and create memories.
