Harihar Fort Trek: 80 Degree rock cut steps climb
HARIHAR FORT TREK
Harihar fort: This majestic fort is located in the Nashik District. It is also known
Monsoon season because of its peculiar rock-cut steps. This is one of the popular hiking spots in Sahyadri where hikers from outside Maharashtra visit this Fort.
This fort is similar to the Gorakhgad fort and therefore it attracts me due to the 80-degree jaw-dropping rock-cut steps climb.
Base Village:
●Nirgudpada for Mumbai Hikers
●Harshewadi for Nashik and Igatpuri Hikers
Elevation/Height: 3676 Feet
Nearest Railway Station:
There are 3 railway stations to reach Harihar Fort
●43km from Igatpuri
●51km from Kasara
●40km from Nashik
Grade level: Easy-Moderate
Endurance Level: Medium
Time Required to Reach the Top:
●From Harshewadi village: 1 hour.
●From Nirgudpada Village: 1 and a half --2 hours
Best Time to Visit: Beginning of the Monsoon season + September to March.
The Historical significance of Harihar Fort
The history of the fort goes back to the period of the Yadava dynasty between the 9th and 14th centuries. The fort was built to guard the trade route. Later on, it was captured by several other invaders and local rulers until it came under the control of the British army in ruins and is only used as a trekking site.
But looking at the steep climb rock-cut steps, the tricky entrance gate, and rock cut cisterns is a sign of past glory.
- Harshewadi : Harshewadi is a village for hikers who are coming from Nashik and Igatpuri. The Harshewadi is 13 km from Trymbakeshwar. There is no direct transportation up to the base village. Transport is available up to Kachorli (a village en route), but the frequency is very low. The best option is you can hire an auto or jeep from Trimbakeshwar which charges INR 400 -600 and drops you to the base village Harshewadi. I suggest you book the auto for both ways. The actual hike starts from this village. The climb from Harshewadi is much easier than from the Nirgudpada. The trail leads to a wide, safe hiking path starting from the hill lock north of the Nirgudpada. It passes through the scrub forest until it reaches an open ridge that is connected to the fort. This point is a meeting point of both routes of the two different base villages. It takes one hour to reach the base of the fort. The Harshewadi village is pretty isolated and modernization has not touched this village.
- Nirgudpada/Kotamvadi: Nirgudpada is a village for hikers who are coming from the Mumbai side, the total distance is 121 km from Mumbai. Take a first fast Kasara local from Mumbai. There is no direct bus facility from Kasara to the base village. The most convenient and quickest way is to come in a group and book a jeep from Kasara to the base village for both ways. Otherwise, if you are planning to travel by bus or train, then you have to go to Igatpuri or Nashik by ST bus or train. There is a bus from the Igatpuri bus station to Trimbak via Nirgudpada, The fare is Rs.60. This bus starts at 8.30 am. So from Kasara to Igathpuri, you have to take a shared vehicle. The problem is the frequency of the bus service is very low and the vehicle will not move till all the seats are occupied. The other option is to take a shared vehicle to Goti. Kasara to Goti has a better frequency. From Gothi you can catch the same bus to Trimbak or try to arrange some other vehicles up to Nirgupada. The same bus will return from Trimbak to Igatpuri via Nirgudpada in the evening The scheduled time to reach Nirgudpada on the return journey is 3.30 PM, but most of the time the bus reaches late to Nirgudpada around 4.30 PM. That means you will get a 5-hour buffer time at Nirgudpada. So you have to complete the trek within 5 hours which is more than enough.
My Journey to Harihar Fort
I decided to hike the Harihar Fort in the Winter season which is a good time to visit this popular spot. The weather is more favorable. My usual hiking partners are not available and so I decided to do solo. I took the first fast kasara local from Thane. I reached Kasara at around 7.45 am. I was hoping to meet other hikers at the Kasara station so that I can share the vehicle. Unfortunately, I could not find out anyone who is going towards the same destination. Without wasting much time, I took a cab from Kasara and headed towards Nirgupada (Base village) by paying Rs. 2,300 for both the ways including waiting charges. Because I do not want to go to Igatpuri and take the ST bus. Which is time-consuming and inconvenient. I reached the base village after one and a half hours. Nirupama is a typical Maharashtrian tribal village. They lead a very simple and humble life. I approached a family where his house is just near the place where we have parked our car and requested if they could prepare a quick breakfast and tea for us. They welcome us inside their house with a great smile. Though the family is not in good condition, I can feel their warmth which makes them rich. They served us a traditional Maharashtrian breakfast: Poha and black tea. They mostly have black tea because they can’t afford to have milk tea all the time. I have also requested to cook a simple lunch for me and for the driver. I intentionally decided not to have or carry my breakfast and lunch, So that I can order from the villagers. Since my driver refused to hike with me, and I needed someone to take pictures and videos for me. The family has two sons and one daughter. So I requested the father to send the elder son with me as a local guide and photographer. Father asked his son, the boy agreed to come with me and I promised him to pay a fee. So I taught him how to click pictures and take videos from my mobile. He already had some ideas.
We started our hike from the base village around 10 am. The trail was easy. After a few minutes of straight walk, I met many other young village boys and girls. I tried to interact with them but they were quite shy. They are going up grazing their sheep and cows. We slowly started ascending towards the hill, my local guide was more fidgeting with my mobile and the selfie stick while walking with me. I tried to interact with him throughout the way. He wanted to go to school and study but he belongs to a poor family. He told me that his family will not send him to school after grade 5. I told him to pursue his studies. We reached the open space after ascending through the small hill for almost one hour. The boy walked fast and I was trying to match his steps but somehow, I had to tell him to slow down. There is no way I can match his steps as he was a young boy and belongs to this area. We took a few water breaks on the way. After a few minutes of walking towards the straightforward trail through a forest, we could see the front view of the fort from this point. We headed towards the fort and the trail was pretty straight till a certain point. We finally reached the base of the fort.
There are few shabby stalls who sell limbo Paani and water bottles. I was pretty excited to see the majestic fort standing tall in front of me and could see the peculiar rock-cut steps of the fort which is the most attractive part of this hike. So I tried to capture a few shorts of the fort with the steps from a different angle. We had one glass of Nimbu Paani each to refresh ourselves and catch up with a short conversation with the local sellers. Before we experienced the thrill of climbing the steps and I prepared my local boy to shoot video and pictures while climbing the steps to enter into the fort top.
I observed that some of the steps are worn out at many places yet the holes on either side of the steps are to get a good grip. Only one person can ascend or descend at a time. During the monsoon, the moss grows on those steps and becomes very slippery and risky. At the same time, Monsoon receives the maximum visitors and becomes overcrowded and people climb up the steps one after another. One misstep and imagine what will happen to you the rest of the people after you. That is the reason why the fort closed or restricted during the peak of the monsoon season. This is the 1st risky point. After reaching the main entrance,
the path takes a left traverse and has to walk through a dangerous path where we have to walk with our heads and knee bend. One side is an open and sheer drops down the steep valley. That is a 2
Once you cross this path, there is one more elevated steep and narrow rock-cut steps that are steeper than earlier. That is the 3
Steep and risky narrow steps
Once we climbed the steep steps, the route took us through the helical rock-cut steps. This time the rock-cut steps are curved from inside. The spiral steps finally end with a narrow entrance which stands the ruined entrance gate.
Final steps to the top
Most of the steps are very narrow that, only a single person can climb at a time. The reason behind such a tricky entrance is to make it difficult for the enemy to capture this fort.
We finally reached the top. The top of the fort was a vast flat land like a plateau. And as we moved little ahead, we came across a series of rock-cut water cisterns in the center of the fort.
There is an open temple of Ganesh and Lord Shiva near water cisterns. We further moved ahead to explore more. There is one small storage house with a small entrance.
There is no good structure left on the fort except the small storage and those water cisterns, but there is one interesting ruined underground room which is quite deep and I asked the local guy who sells the Nimbu Paani.
He said that. It is believed to be a small cell to detained the enemies. It takes about an hour to explore all the places on the fort. You can see the small pond in the monsoon as well.
Summit Point( Harihar Dongri)
On the top of the fort, there is a small hill to reach the topmost point of the Harihar fort. is called Harihar Dongri. You can see the saffron flags flying high. That is the summit point of the trek.
One should not miss climbing the same, as it provides a breath-taking 360-degree view of the nearby regions which is the most rewarding part of the whole journey.
When you look at the view and feel it, you may get the feeling of as if you are on top of the world. I just sat there to observe the surrounding areas and enjoy the awesome view. We went back to the main entrance gate where there is one local guy selling Nimbu Paani and other stuff. We bought two Limbo Paani and cucumber to refresh ourselves. I just avoided eating my snacks because I want to distribute it to the village kids.
Believe me, descending is more difficult than ascending. We quickly started descending before others came back. I gave my backpack to the local boy and descended slowly at the same time, I paused in between to enjoy the great view from the steps.
Harihar Fort offers a great view of popular hills like Bhaskargad Fort, Brahmaparvat, Brahmagiri – Durg Bhandar, Fani Hill, Navra Navri, Utwad, and Vaitarna Dam and surrounding plains.
Our return was quick as I tried to match the boy steps and we were back to the village within one hour. We took a total of four hours to complete the trek. One and a half hours to reach up to the top of the fort. One hour to explore the fort and one hour to return back to the base village. The family and the cab driver were waiting for me. They had prepared a simple Daal Rice. Which is the only food they could offer? I immediately sat down for lunch. They served us a simple yet yummy Daal Rice with homemade chutney.
Waiting for food
I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. That was the best meal for the day. Afterward, I distributed the plum cakes, chocolates, and a couple of Munch to the children of the family and their neighbor kids. I handed over my biscuits and a few other dry snacks to the family. Imagine the family was so humble that they refused to accept the money for the food and breakfast. It is their family who believes that they do not charge the guest. Even though we have such a similar belief in my native land, we do not charge room rent for the guest for a short stay. But somehow I asked my driver to communicate in their language to accept the money. I paid Rs.200 for breakfast and lunch for two people and Rs.100 for the boy to accompany me. I am happy that they could make at least Rs.300 as extra incomes that day. I further suggested the family to start serving the food and breakfast to the other hikers as an opportunity to earn some extra income. This will help the family to manage better on a daily basis. I know that there are many villagers in other base villages who are earning well during the season. I left the village with great satisfaction and all the warmth that I received from the villagers. They treated me as a guest, not the stranger. I also enjoyed the fresh cooked Daal rice. As a traveler, this food is my best food for the day. The village children want me to come back with some more chocolates and sweets next time.
Tips:
●Wear a good shoe with a good grip to climb the rock-cut steps
●A good raincoat is a must if you are visiting in Monsoon
●Cap, UV sunglass and sunscreen lotion is a must when you are visiting post-monsoon.
●Breakfast and Lunch is available at the base village
●Be sensitive towards the villagers when you are interacting with them.
●Start your trek early
●Carry minimum 3ltr water bottle and some dry snacks
●Nimbu Paani stall is available at the base as well as on the top of the fort.
●Respect the cultural and the heritage of the site
●Leave the trail, not the trash. Bring your trash back to the city and dispose of it in a dustbin.
●Private Vehicle is the best option for the Harihar trek
●Accommodation available at both the village
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