Hike to Gorakhgad Fort: The Fort for Protection
Hike to Gorakhgad Fort
The Gorakhgad fort trail is similar to the Kalavantin Drug and Harihar
Fort Trek where it is known for Thrilling, inclines and jaw-dropping 80-degree
rock climbing opportunities to adventure lovers. It becomes more challenging
during the monsoon season due to heavy rainfall. The narrow rock-cut steps become
slippery and rain waterfalls from the top may enter into your body while
climbing/Descending. The Fort is situated in the Sahyadri Hill Range in the Thane District
of Maharashtra. It is one of the less exploited and the tougher treks located
near the Mumbai and Thane city. The fort is also known to offers the 360 views
of Misty mountains and the lush green landscape.
Difficulty level:
Easy – Till Caves (difficult: If climbing the pinnacle)
Base Village: Dehri Talekhal village near Murbad.Thane
Maximum Height:
2137feet
Best Time:
Monsoon /September to March
Duration: One day
Machindragad
The historical significance of
Gorakhgad fort.
This Gorakhgad fort is an important fort in Thane. The fort is named after the saint Goraknath, where he used to Meditate and perform his religious training to attain Samadhi. Many other saints and hermits were used to meditate here as well. It is believed that the two forts, Gorakhgad and Machindragad were named after a teacher and his disciple respectively. The Machindragad built on a nearby peak was named after his disciple. There is a small Mahadev temple on the top of the Grakhgad fort.
The fort is also said to be of great importance during the Shahaji Raje and Sivaji Maharaja. The fort was primarily used for a stopover. Point for the Journey between Junnar to Naneghat.
Therefore, the Gorakhgad fort Caves are very spacious and have a square shape pillars. The rock-cut water cistern is also available near the caves for water storage arrangement. It is said that the fort was built for two main purposes: The caves are in good condition. The local villagers gathered here at the caves to perfume a ritual once in a year.
- 1. Surveillance point: To watch the moment of that area. This is mainly the strategic location of the fort: On the hand the Machindragad Fort was also located near to Gorakhgad fort and it also used as a watchtower. This twin fort serves the purpose of route protection to the travelers from Junnar and Naneghat. This route connects between Junnar and Naneghat which is considered an important ancient trade route.
- 2. Travelers resting point
Gorakhgad Pinnacle
How to Reach Gorakhgad Fort
Hikers
coming from Mumbai, the nearest railway station is Kalyan and base village is Dehri
Talekhal village which is 24km from Murbad. Take a state transport bus to Murbad, from Kalyan bus
depot. It is about 50 minutes ride. From Murbad, the best option is to book a
TAMTAM for both the ways. The local transportation is also available to reach the
base village. But frequency may be less. So you may have landed up in wasting
time waiting for the bus. It is another 40 minutes ride from Murabd to Dehri
Village. Dehri village is a tiny and beautiful village located beside the main road. So all
the transportation may not have a hold. If you are coming by your own vehicle,
you can take straight Kaylan- Murbad highway road. It may take 3 hours from
Mumbai to the base village.
Hikers
coming from Pune, the best option is to travel by private vehicle. The base
village is well connected by road. The distance from Pune to the base village is approximately
148 km. It is about 3 hours’ drive.
If you are traveling by train, you have to
take indirect connectivity as there is no direct train service up to the base
village. Here are a few options based on my findings.
Get down at Karjat/ Neral or
Kalyan station and take a bus or private taxi up to Murbad and from Murbad.to
base village, booked TATAM or private taxi for both the ways. Otherwise, you may
not get transportation on time while returning back. The base village has
shops and serves tea and snacks but I haven’t seen any Dhabas serving meals.
My
Journey to Gorakhgad Fort
It was a monsoon season and I was looking for a
weekend trek near Thane, something which is challenging and exciting. Hence I
checked with Kunal(Nomad Adventure Trek leader) to inquire about any Weekend trek
plan. Coincidently, he was also thinking of organizing a Gorakgad trek because he received a
request from two hikers. When he explained the nature of the trek to me, I was
pretty excited and I confirmed my participation and pushed Kunal to make that
trek happen. Luckily the other two hikers confirmed their participation too. I
told Kunal to fish out for more people but it was too late I believed. So total we have 4 hikers including trek leader
Our meeting point was Kaylan station and we were
asked to report at 7a.m. We all were almost on time. Hence we are a small group.
So the timing was not an issue. Otherwise, when you are going with a big group, the
guy who reports on time has to wait for the most for others to come. That is a bit frustrating
some times and as a result, we get delayed further. However, this problem is genuine
for some extend in Mumbai because hikers have to come from different areas of
Mumbai early morning and they have to depend on the availability of Auto, the local train, etc. We took the ST bus to Murbad
from Kalyan bus depot. Hence it is early morning, we all got a comfortable seat
to sit. We reached Murbad after 50 minutes and had our breakfast. Bought some
extra water bottles. Our TAMTAM driver was waiting for us as our trek leader had
booked a TAMTAM in advance. (Same as Auto rickshaw but bigger in size) from
Murbad to Base village. It is another 45 minutes ride to Base Village. We enjoyed the TAM TAM ride through the green field and the smooth road. Breathing fresh air.
We reached Dehri village and our trek leader Kunal has
briefed us about the trail and did some stretching. We could see the Gorakgad
fort from the base village.
We started our hike from the base village. We had to enter into the big entry gate. There are stairs up to the temple and a few houses inside the gate. We had to take the right side of the temple and walk across the narrow lane moving out towards the forest side.
The trail slowly took us up towards the unmarked thorny bushes and muddy path. It is a bit confusing if you are not familiar with the route. After climbing up for half an hour, we reach the open area where we can see a view.
We took water breaks and looked around for a few minutes. The trail was the same as narrow
and walking across bushes. It is different experience walk across the thorny
bushes but one has to be alert and cautious as we may step on creatures like
snake and frog etc. There are chances for an insect bite or you may get allergy if
you wore half sleeves or shorts. It is important to cover your body fully to
avoid such problems. especially in monsoon season. I have seen that one of the
hikers got red rashes on her leg. It has become fully red because she wore shorts. Remember, the route to Gorakhgad is known for Narrow, Thorny and tall bushes.
From the base, we could see the amazing Ahupe Ghat view. I have never seen such a beautiful and prominent hill. We paused ourselves for a couple of pictures and captured the Ahupe Ghat view in our camera. From the base, we ascend towards the cave. The route is simple and easy to reach. However, some portions near the cave are slippery. We were rewarded with amazing views from the cave. We could see awesome hills, waterfalls, and the plains. That is the highlight of all the Sahyadri treks.
The cave was very
spacious and in good shape. There is a rock-cut cistern beside the cave. However,
the water was a bit polluted.
The most difficult part
of this trek was an 80-degree climb of Pinnacle. Top of the fort. Which is called Balekilla. One has to steep ascent with narrow rock-cut steps up to the top. We climbed to the top without any equipment. There
is one very difficult patch where you have to climb through the big rock where
there is proper space to keep your feet to get a grip. At this point, you really need support from
your guide or whom so ever is with you. Here your focus and balancing skills are
required while climbing or descending. Do not look down. You may get nervous.
Keep climbing up slowly and cautiously till you reach the main rock-cut entry gate towards the tabletop. You can also see some inscriptions on the wall inside the gate.
The people who have vertigo should not go to the top. We climb slowly cautiously and extended our support to each other. The trek leader has guided us up to the top without using any rope and other equipment. It took almost one hour to climb up to the top. My previous experienced helped here. There is a small Mahadev temple on the top. During monsoon, the fog may have spoiled your view, in such a case, you have to be patience and wait. You will surely get the window to see the view. Because the thick fog will move after some time.
It was quite windy on the top but it offers 360 breathtaking views of those misty mountains, waterfalls, and plains. It was always amazing to be at the top of the hill and enjoy the views. It gives me immense joy and peace, Always amazed to witness the true beauty of nature and feel grateful to the creators. When you watch how thick clouds are moving from one direction to another, you may also get a feeling of moving along with the clouds. After enjoying the view, we sat down to have our pack lunch. Though we carry a simple and ready to eat food, when we share becomes the fest. Though there is a continuous light shower on the top. We need to reenergize our bodies. We had our lunch in rain, it doesn’t make much difference because we were fully drenched.
We spent almost one hour at the
top enjoying the views. Though we wish to spend some more time on the top, however, it was raining continuously and we have to descend. We wore our
wet shoes again and started descending. The descending was even more challenging. We used all our limbs to climb-down
safely.
When we started descending, the rain becomes heavy, the rainwater started falling down from the narrow steps and it also flows into our body. This makes us uncomfortable and chances to lose our grip. Which was pretty risky, I managed to resist all the external hindrance. I started with backward descending up to a certain point. Which is a safer way to descend? We were descending one after another and keep encouraging each other. One hiking partner from the Navy got nervous while descending and his legs were literally shaking. However, we managed to give him some courage to climb down. I guided him till the bottom. We all managed to reach the bottom without any injury. We congratulated each other. It was a scary, and yet thrilling experience. The rain and strong wind kept disturbing us while descending. This becomes more challenging. We had to pause a few times while descending due to strong wind.
This is a reason many
hikers hike up to the cave and enjoy the view and return back. Which is the best decision when you are not good at rock climbing or scared of height.
We quickly returned back to the base village and
had a quick snack and tea. Our TAMTAM has dropped us back to Murbad and took the bus to Kalyan. We reached Kalyan around 6.30 p.m and took a crowded CST local back to the respective place.
Besides Kumal, the other
two were meeting for the first time. However, we had good interaction throughout
the trek. Though we all belong to different walks of life, our commons interest
had brought us tighter. We enjoyed each other’s company and have created a
memory tighter.
TIPS:
- September is the ideal time to visit the Gorakhgad Fort
- A good raincoat is a must during Monsoon
- Put your purse, watch, power bank in a plastic bag
- A good hiking shoe and the comfortable cloth is a must
- Avoid wearing cotton and woolen cloths during monsoon
- Wear a full sleeves shirt and tracking pants or Joggers.
- No denim, please. It becomes heavy when it gets wet and simply tire you
- Respect the culture and the religion of the area
- Smoking and drinking is not allowed
- Respect the nature
- Leave your trail not trash. Carry your trash back to the city
- Start early, so that you can get more time to enjoy the view
- Always hike responsibly.
- Bring your pack lunch and 3litr waterbottle. There are no Dhabas at Base village.
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