The monsoons are here and as part of the "ritual" that is followed by many nature enthusiasts around Mumbai and Pune every year - hills, mountains and forts are visited in big numbers to soak in the beauty of these places which takes on an entirely different colour (mostly green though :)) during the monsoons. In keeping with our desire to appreciate what nature has to offer, we (group of eight colleagues - Sandeep, Romil, Ranjit, Angad, Sneha, Jay, Udit and myself) decided to trek to Visapur fort on the 02nd July.
Located at a distance of around 50 kms from Pune, Visapur fort is a hill fort near Visapur village in Maharashtra. It is a twin fort to Lohagad and was built by Balaji Vishwanath, the first Peshwa of Maratha empire. Much like the other forts in Maharashtra, this one too has an interesting history attached where the British, in their pursuit of Lohgad, conquered Visapur first and used its higher elevation (around 1084m) to attack Lohgad and eventually capture it.
Although Lohgad seems like a more popular option if we consider the no. of visitors as the only criteria (and probably also because Lohgad is still in better shape), in my personal view, Visapur is a good trek for people who prefer fewer people and a not so straightforward trail. Of the two ways to reach Visapur that I am aware of, one can either take a train till Malavli station from Pune and reach the base village of Bhaje and begin the trek or another option (the one we took) is to take the old Mumbai-Pune highway and travel by one's own vehicle and reach the base of the fort. In the latter option, although we cut down on quite some distance, it turned out to be trickier due to the weather.
The time that was decided for all of us to assemble at Pimple Saudagar was 7 30 am. We eventually started at 8 20 am in two cars. We took a detour at Chinchwad for some work but also utilised the small break to dig into lovely fresh pattice from Santosh Bakery brought by Sandeep. We then proceeded on the highway passing by beautiful views along Dehu road and also the famous Mangal Murti Morya Ganpati temple just besides the Somatane toll plaza on NH4. Upon reaching Kamshet, we stopped to confirm further directions (instead of just relying on Gmaps). We were told by a local that we could either continue from Kamshet towards Lonavla further on NH4 or take a left from Kamshet and continue on the Pawananagar-Kamshet road which was a longer route.
After another round of pattice, we decided to take the longer route since that way we could also cover Pawana dam en route (around 10 kms from Kamshet). This route is a very scenic route passing by villages (in fact hamlets in some cases), farms, temples etc. Along with all those countryside views in villages like Chikalse, Rautwadi etc. we also noted a few interesting road safety quotes like "Manacha break Uttam break". That reminded me of my trip to Ladakh and the BRO (Border Roads Organisation). We reached the village of Yelse and stopped to buy some stuff. Apart from buying stuff like chocolates and chips, we also ate piping hot bhajji (onion fritters) - key part of any monsoon picnic. Moving ahead from Yelse, we saw school going kids on the way and thanked God for giving us the luxury of holidays on weekends. While we were on our way to Pawana dam and beyond, there was a diversion to the left which one could take to head towards Tikona and Tung forts. As we moved further, we were approaching the Pawana dam, a critical source of water for Pimpri-Chinchwad area. We halted at a spot with a beautiful view of the Pawana lake and the dam. There was a little waterfall alongside that spot where people were busy posing for their next profile picture. Although this route passed by villages, we still found vendors selling vada pav, corn at strategic locations like water streams, lake view etc. And what's more, all of them were doing business !!
We moved further on winding roads on the route to Lohgad. It was raining continuously which added to the fun but one of the cars had a little trouble going uphill. A few of us came out and gave a push (or atleast tried to :D) and then the vehicle was back in action. Although the road is straightforward and takes you to the base of Lohgad easily, due to some confusion caused by misguidance by some people on the way, we lost some time in finding the base for Visapur. Once we found it, we quickly parked our vehicles in a plot which is managed by the locals where they charge 25 bucks per vehicle. With our windcheaters on and with cries of "Visapur .. here we come", we finally began. We continued normal walk for about 20 minutes, all the while admiring the majestic views of the fort, numerous waterfalls falling from a great height, that lone tree standing on the fort etc. We reached a point where a small hut was set up by the locals for selling eatables. From there we took a left (following a sign) continuing our way up, the way up was now a steep one completely covered by trees and laden with stones. After walking for a few more minutes in the dense area, we came to a point where we could admire the beauty of the fort and its surroundings even better. The view down from this point was also outstanding covering the entire village of Malavli, forests and the trail.
As we moved ahead, there was a "kahani mei twist" where at one point there was a waterfall which had to be negotiated to progress further on the trail. But due to continuous rains, the waterfall had grown in intensity which made it a little challenging to pass over. Our team halted and we were trying to find alternative ways to go up. We also saw some trekkers who were on their way down stuck at the same spot a little higher up. After waiting for sometime and wondering how to move ahead, one guy from some other group took the lead and got into the fall and with his help, trekkers could make their way down with some support from our end too. They remarked the flow wasn't so strong when they trekked up in the morning. All that action motivated us too to try and proceed further. After a couple of us were comfortable, we managed to get all the others in the team cross over the fall and there was it - the moment of a small victory.
From there on, we were charged up more and then it was relatively easy. Within a few minutes, we reached the top of the fort. As expected, there were very few fellow trekkers. It was very foggy and that added to the beauty at the top. We could see a cave where some trekkers were engaged in a barbeque session. We roamed around exploring the fort (or the remains I should say) after chanting "Jai Bhavani Jai Shivaji" which is almost like a custom for any fort whereby you remember and pay your respects to Shivaji. It was extremely windy on the top and the rain droplets were hitting us hard. There was a pond too; On many forts there are these ponds which were used to store water by the warriors, not sure about the one here though. After spending some more time and enjoying some more views, we decided to start the descent. We were more confident during the descent but we also had to be careful due to the slippery stones and the mud. On our way down, we stopped for a while at the waterfall (where we got stuck on our way up) and had a good time there (some of us not even wanting to come out of it !!).
We reached the base and had gotten seriously hungry by then. We found a little eatery where plate after plate of bhajjis, vada pav, poha flew thick and fast. Thank you dear wife for the lovely sandwiches and theplas as well (Yes, us Gujjus can take the theplas to Everest too !!). After a round of bhutta (roasted corn - another monsoon must do), we were on our way home. We weren't really tired because the trek distance was cut short due to the the car travel but yes, it felt a little cold after soaking in all that rain.
After relishing the moments of the Visapur trek and calls for going on another one soon, we parted ways and headed for our respective abodes.
Note - The quality of pictures taken at some places was compromised due to the weather.
Located at a distance of around 50 kms from Pune, Visapur fort is a hill fort near Visapur village in Maharashtra. It is a twin fort to Lohagad and was built by Balaji Vishwanath, the first Peshwa of Maratha empire. Much like the other forts in Maharashtra, this one too has an interesting history attached where the British, in their pursuit of Lohgad, conquered Visapur first and used its higher elevation (around 1084m) to attack Lohgad and eventually capture it.
Although Lohgad seems like a more popular option if we consider the no. of visitors as the only criteria (and probably also because Lohgad is still in better shape), in my personal view, Visapur is a good trek for people who prefer fewer people and a not so straightforward trail. Of the two ways to reach Visapur that I am aware of, one can either take a train till Malavli station from Pune and reach the base village of Bhaje and begin the trek or another option (the one we took) is to take the old Mumbai-Pune highway and travel by one's own vehicle and reach the base of the fort. In the latter option, although we cut down on quite some distance, it turned out to be trickier due to the weather.
The time that was decided for all of us to assemble at Pimple Saudagar was 7 30 am. We eventually started at 8 20 am in two cars. We took a detour at Chinchwad for some work but also utilised the small break to dig into lovely fresh pattice from Santosh Bakery brought by Sandeep. We then proceeded on the highway passing by beautiful views along Dehu road and also the famous Mangal Murti Morya Ganpati temple just besides the Somatane toll plaza on NH4. Upon reaching Kamshet, we stopped to confirm further directions (instead of just relying on Gmaps). We were told by a local that we could either continue from Kamshet towards Lonavla further on NH4 or take a left from Kamshet and continue on the Pawananagar-Kamshet road which was a longer route.
After another round of pattice, we decided to take the longer route since that way we could also cover Pawana dam en route (around 10 kms from Kamshet). This route is a very scenic route passing by villages (in fact hamlets in some cases), farms, temples etc. Along with all those countryside views in villages like Chikalse, Rautwadi etc. we also noted a few interesting road safety quotes like "Manacha break Uttam break". That reminded me of my trip to Ladakh and the BRO (Border Roads Organisation). We reached the village of Yelse and stopped to buy some stuff. Apart from buying stuff like chocolates and chips, we also ate piping hot bhajji (onion fritters) - key part of any monsoon picnic. Moving ahead from Yelse, we saw school going kids on the way and thanked God for giving us the luxury of holidays on weekends. While we were on our way to Pawana dam and beyond, there was a diversion to the left which one could take to head towards Tikona and Tung forts. As we moved further, we were approaching the Pawana dam, a critical source of water for Pimpri-Chinchwad area. We halted at a spot with a beautiful view of the Pawana lake and the dam. There was a little waterfall alongside that spot where people were busy posing for their next profile picture. Although this route passed by villages, we still found vendors selling vada pav, corn at strategic locations like water streams, lake view etc. And what's more, all of them were doing business !!
 |
| Pawna dam |
 |
| Pawna lake |
We moved further on winding roads on the route to Lohgad. It was raining continuously which added to the fun but one of the cars had a little trouble going uphill. A few of us came out and gave a push (or atleast tried to :D) and then the vehicle was back in action. Although the road is straightforward and takes you to the base of Lohgad easily, due to some confusion caused by misguidance by some people on the way, we lost some time in finding the base for Visapur. Once we found it, we quickly parked our vehicles in a plot which is managed by the locals where they charge 25 bucks per vehicle. With our windcheaters on and with cries of "Visapur .. here we come", we finally began. We continued normal walk for about 20 minutes, all the while admiring the majestic views of the fort, numerous waterfalls falling from a great height, that lone tree standing on the fort etc. We reached a point where a small hut was set up by the locals for selling eatables. From there we took a left (following a sign) continuing our way up, the way up was now a steep one completely covered by trees and laden with stones. After walking for a few more minutes in the dense area, we came to a point where we could admire the beauty of the fort and its surroundings even better. The view down from this point was also outstanding covering the entire village of Malavli, forests and the trail.
As we moved ahead, there was a "kahani mei twist" where at one point there was a waterfall which had to be negotiated to progress further on the trail. But due to continuous rains, the waterfall had grown in intensity which made it a little challenging to pass over. Our team halted and we were trying to find alternative ways to go up. We also saw some trekkers who were on their way down stuck at the same spot a little higher up. After waiting for sometime and wondering how to move ahead, one guy from some other group took the lead and got into the fall and with his help, trekkers could make their way down with some support from our end too. They remarked the flow wasn't so strong when they trekked up in the morning. All that action motivated us too to try and proceed further. After a couple of us were comfortable, we managed to get all the others in the team cross over the fall and there was it - the moment of a small victory.
From there on, we were charged up more and then it was relatively easy. Within a few minutes, we reached the top of the fort. As expected, there were very few fellow trekkers. It was very foggy and that added to the beauty at the top. We could see a cave where some trekkers were engaged in a barbeque session. We roamed around exploring the fort (or the remains I should say) after chanting "Jai Bhavani Jai Shivaji" which is almost like a custom for any fort whereby you remember and pay your respects to Shivaji. It was extremely windy on the top and the rain droplets were hitting us hard. There was a pond too; On many forts there are these ponds which were used to store water by the warriors, not sure about the one here though. After spending some more time and enjoying some more views, we decided to start the descent. We were more confident during the descent but we also had to be careful due to the slippery stones and the mud. On our way down, we stopped for a while at the waterfall (where we got stuck on our way up) and had a good time there (some of us not even wanting to come out of it !!).
 |
| At the top |
We reached the base and had gotten seriously hungry by then. We found a little eatery where plate after plate of bhajjis, vada pav, poha flew thick and fast. Thank you dear wife for the lovely sandwiches and theplas as well (Yes, us Gujjus can take the theplas to Everest too !!). After a round of bhutta (roasted corn - another monsoon must do), we were on our way home. We weren't really tired because the trek distance was cut short due to the the car travel but yes, it felt a little cold after soaking in all that rain.
After relishing the moments of the Visapur trek and calls for going on another one soon, we parted ways and headed for our respective abodes.
Note - The quality of pictures taken at some places was compromised due to the weather.
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