🌄 A trek to remember: Lohagad fort

🌄 A trek to remember: Lohagad fort
Travel

       👉 Lohagad or the Iron Fort is a typical choice if it’s your first trek considering the easy grade. However, it doesn’t disappoint experienced climbers either, thanks to the inviting weather and the lush green scenery during monsoons. Loaded with a rich historical significance, the Lohagad trek surely deserves a place in your bucket list this season!

      📍 Lohagad is one of the many hill forts of Maharashtra state in India. Situated close to the hill station Lonavala and 52 km (32 mi) northwest of Pune. Lohagad overlooks the Pavana reservoir, located to the south of the mountain.

      👉 Fort is situated 52km from Pune in western India. It is at an elevation of 3,450 feet (1,052 m). Lohagad village is the base village for the fort. Now Lohagadwadi village is easily accessible by road. Trekker usually starts there trek from Malavali railway station. It is just 9km away from the station.

      📍 Lohagad has a long history with several dynasties occupying it at different periods of time. Some historical records say, Satavahanas, Chalukyas is the first one to reach this place. Shivaji Maharaj captured this fort in 1648, but he was forced to surrender it to the Mughals in 1665 by the Treaty of Purandar. Shivaji Maharaj recaptured it in 1670 and used it for keeping his treasury. This fort was used to keep the loot from Surat. Later in Peshwa time, Nana Phadanwis used this fort for living for some time.

      👉 There are many places to see on the fort. The first entrance door is known as Ganesh darwaja (Lord Ganesh entrance gate). Other entrance gates in the sequence are Narayan darwaja, Hanuman Darwaja and last entrance gate is known as Maha-Darwaja. The highlight of the fort is Vinchukata (Scorpion's tail) which reminds us of 'SanjeevniMachi 'of Rajgad. It is 1500m long & 30m wide part of the mountain, separated from the main part. Viewing from the fort this portion looks like scorpion’s sting and hence it is called 'Vinchu Kata'. This 'Vinchu Kata' was used for keeping a watch on the nearby area.

       📍 Lohagad or the Iron Fort is a typical choice if it’s your first trek considering the easy grade. However, it doesn’t disappoint experienced climbers either, thanks to the inviting weather and the lush green scenery during monsoons. Loaded with a rich historical significance, the Lohagad trek surely deserves a place in your bucket list this season!

       👉 Lohagad is one of the many hill forts of Maharashtra state in India. Situated close to the hill station Lonavala and 52 km (32 mi) northwest of Pune. Lohagad overlooks the Pavana reservoir, located to the south of the mountain.

      📍 Until a few years back, the base of the fort was quite far from the last point connected via road, but now a proper road has been built to the base of the fort, due to which a lot of people visit Lohagad during monsoon weekends, making it quite crowded. Whether you visit this destination for its lush green beauty, adventurous trekking route, panoramic views or illustrious history, Lohagad Fort is certainly worthy of a visit.

💁🏻‍♂ How to reach Lohagad Fort?
      👉 Lohagad Fort is located around 100 kms from Mumbai and 60 kms from Pune. The cheapest and convenient way to reach the fort is via railways. The nearest railhead to Lohagad Fort is Malavli station (approx. 6 kms) which is connected to Mumbai and Pune via local trains. From Malavli station, the base of the fort “Lohagadwadi” is about an hour walk.

     📍 If you are using a private vehicle from Mumbai, take the Express highway going towards Pune and take an exit at Lonavala and head towards Lohagadwadi Village. Can be easily found on Google Maps.