Trip to Raigad Fort - 04Spet09

Well for this trip, the planning part is as memorable as the trip, so I might as well pen that down. With a long weekend coming up, we (myself n my teammates) wanted to plan an overnight trip to “some” place. Now why that “some” is quoted is because, we were as sure of going, as unsure of where we will be going. Our planning began with a backup plan - Aurangabad, stay at one of the teammates place & visit Ajanta Ellora. As people got into an adventurous mood, we decided instead of going for rafting followed by visit to again “some” place. But then people kept dilly dallying and changing their mind. One day they wanted to come n next day they were “not sure”. And hence the plan hanged till just 2 days before the weekend we were at the verge of dropping the idea of going “anywhere” at all. Finally half of us[5 out of the initial 10], mustered our enthusiasm again and a day before weekend fixed that “some” place to “Raigad”, booked vehicle n were all set to leave the next day. Phew :)



Pic 1: Lush Green on the way

Day began quite early & the light drizzle seemed to tell us that weather was completely in our favor today. After picking up everybody we set on the route to Mulshi – Tamhini ghats. The drive had barely begun & we started devouring the eats each one of us had got. That along with the pleasant weather kept us cheerful & lively. Once we left the city, the road quality kinda deteriorated, but then considering the awesome view we were getting, that was hardly any concern. We stopped for breakfast in a road side dhaba, and filled ourselves with hot poha, missal pav, followed by tea.

Pic 2: Foggy road somewhere near Tamhini Ghat

Once again on road, we crossed Tamhini ghat. As we were in no hurry to reach anywhere, we took stops in between to enjoy nature at its best. It was quite foggy also, especially in the Tamhini ghat region, so we couldn't really see any view from any of the points. The drive overall was wonderful. The lush greenery around, pleasant wind, & music - had such an intoxicating effect that I personally felt extremely buoyant.


Pic 3: Many such waterfalls along the way

By the time we reached Raigad (foothills), it was nearing 12 & so we decided on going to the fort at the top via ropeway & come back down on foot. The rope way took us to the fort in minutes & those few minutes gave us such an amazing view of the mountains, waterfalls & the valley below. On reaching the top, we decided on eating lunch[which was a local dish junka bhakari] first, & after that went on ahead to see the fort which centuries before happened to be the capital of Maratha king Shivaji.

Pic 4: Raigad Ropeway

Pic 5: View from the top

Pic 6: Shivaji Maharaj
Pic 7, 8: Ruins of Raigad Fort

It was drizzling on n off, was more than drizzle actually & the wind was adding to the cold factor. Plus the fog, which whenever was getting cleared for few minutes, gave us opportunity to click few snaps. We roamed around for quite some time, seeing the remains of the fort & admiring the lush greenery around. After a while it started pouring & it seemed that there was a competition between the wind & the rain, which one could be fiercer. We hanged on to our jackets/umbrellas & scrambled back to the ropeway. As there was no way we could see any more of the fort or walk, we took the rope way to go back down.

Pic 9, 10: Ruins of Raigad Fort
After changing into dry clothes, we started our drive back. We had planned to take one de route after crossing Mahad, towards Shivthar Ghal. It was in these caves, that Ramdas Swami wrote his famous "Dasbodh". The drive again was awesome with many waterfalls (due to monsoons) enriching the splendor of lush green mountains. In shivthar Ghal , we saw the caves & water fall, enjoyed ourselves soaking in cool stream water & then finally headed back for Pune.
Pic 11: Waterfall at Shivthar Ghal

As it was already dark by this time, so now there were no more views for us, instead it was pitch dark around, and all we could see was a portion of road ahead cuz of the car head lights. We played the ever green game of antakshari to while away time. Taking the route of Bhor - Pune Banglore highway, by around 9:30 we reached Khed shivpuri & had dinner there. And then by 11, back home in Pune, tired and sleepy, pleased after yet another memorable trip.