I remember my college days when
my Haversack was always packed with the basic necessary stuff for a trek. The
moment we got a chance, we used to go out, explore a new fort, and come back
with memories and replenished energy, which would take us through the tough
times of the next semester!! But as it
happens usually with many people, I started working, the group spread out in
all directions, and I lost touch with this passion of mine.
Yesterday, I tried to rekindle the
candle...
July 16th 2017, I set
out on a small trek to Fort Chavand with 3 Point Adventures, a Pune based Trekking
group. I was trekking after almost 4-5 years and wanted an easy one to start
with. This was the perfect.
We started off from Pune, like it
usually happens the bus was a bit late and so I could reach in time!! We were a
group of 50 people. All from different backgrounds ranging from 5 years to 72
years…
Picking up people from various
pick up points, we reached our first halt for breakfast. We halted at Purohit Veg Restaurant on the
Pune-Nashik Highway (https://goo.gl/maps/1eqgvshLYFx)
it is a nice restaurant with good facilities, clean toilets. I won’t be able to
comment on their food quality as we were served delicious Upma which the
organizing team had carried along with them. One good thing I observed was that
the food was always served in ecofriendly, bio degradable plates (though these
are a costly affair). This really shows that the organisers care a lot about
the environment. After a short break we left for Chavand Wadi.
We passed Manchar, Narayangaon, Junnar.
The sight of the GMRT, various rock cut caves around the hills of Junnar and
Shivneri was gradually taking us into the trekking mode. Its always a pleasure
to watch the forts in Maharshtra from a distance, their sheer magnificence
takes you to a different world of imagination…How were these forts build? Who
were the artisans…who designed them..these people are unknown..unsung heroes of
the history of this area. Imagine Shivaji Maharaj fighting the might of the
Mughals without the backing of these forts…seems impossible right?
Now we were there, at Chavand
wadi, at the base of the fort. We all geared up. I left the unnecessary things
in the bus. These included the extra pair of clothes and the raincoat! Well, I
was there to enjoy the monsoon! Besides all my delicate equipment was taken
care by plastic bags..
Fort Location: https://goo.gl/maps/xXbkkYxbCzS2
The sight of the fort was
welcoming..straight cliffs on all sides…fort walls only where needed..Typical
of this area. This view also faced us with the next question…how were we
supposed to climb the cliffs..but lets think about that later.
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| Chavand Fort |
The team leader briefed us with
the instructions and we started off the trek. The road to the trek start point
was a muddy one, but motorable (small vehicles and 2 wheelers only). We reached
the base and to our surprise there were no muddy cattle trails that we had to
climb up..The authorities have built a nice wide staircase on this fort. This made
the trek much less difficult, but took away all the fun and “skills put to use”
part.
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| Newly built Staircase |
We started the climb, and like I
had expected, I was the last one in the lot. After such a long gap, I was
completely out of touch with the trekker in me. Hopefully I will be able to
catch up soon.
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| Waterfalls defying gravity!! |
Cameras were clicking, we were
enjoying each step..with such an enthusiastic group, there was no feeling of
fatigue. And suddenly the steps ended..and the answer to how we were going to
climb the cliffs was before us…There were steps..steps carved in the rock
itself. These were not straight..each step was almost of a different size,
different height, different depth and at a different angle than the previous
one. The only motive in doing this was to slow down the enemy and tire him
off…and they were playing their part perfectly. Climbing these steps, though it
would have been the toughest challenge for the enemies of Swarajya, is now an
easy job. Strong railings have been built here for safety on the valley side
and an equally strong wire rope is fitted on the rock.
A friend of mine shared a 13-14
year old photograph of the same rock patch..it was terrifying…
Imagine a moment where you are
hanging by a vertical cliff, rains pouring down and lashing you, Slippery rock
beneath your feet and nothing but the same slippery rock to rest your hands
on!! Thrilling..isnt it?
Finally we crossed the steps and
standing in front of us was the main entrance door of the fort. This door is
constructed in the typical “Gomukh” style. This is done so that if at all the
enemy decides to shell the door by canons, he won’t be able to aim at the door,
as it is safely hidden behind the ramparts and walls. Also, if at all his army
succeeds in reaching the door, they don’t have enough space to hit the door
with force. The passage also becomes narrow here so that only 2-3 people can
walk side by side, thus making it easier for the guards to kill the enemy.
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| Main entrance |
The entrance is guarded now only
by a Ganapati sculpture…One placed on the wall facing the stairs and one just
above the main door. The construction of the main door is strong. Its strength
can be seen even today. The rock and stone has seen the weather of atleast 400
years and can still hold a mighty army, if time comes.
Once you enter the fort, there is
not much to see. As explained by our trek leader, the fort was built in the
Satvahana period to guard the trade route from Kalyan to Junnar. As per this
description, the fort must have been built around 200BC and was in use till the
British bombarded the stairs leading to the fort. The fort has been a witness
to so many kingdoms and dynasties, Satvahanas,Nizams,Mughals, Marathas,
Peshwa’s, British. Now it lays in ruins.
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| Tank in front of the Shiva temple |
There are around seven rock cut
tanks, known as Saptamatrika, on the fort. The rock from these tanks was
used to construct walls and ramparts wherever necessary. At many places there
are no fort walls…so one has to be very careful while walking here, especially
if it’s raining or foggy. You will never know when u have over stepped in the
valley..and then it’s a straight fall off atleast 200-300 feet.
There is one particular tank,
which as
per my observations must have been a temple with a beautiful “pushkarini”. The remains of the temple include a few rock carved columns and beams, a broken Shivlinga, and a few strewn sections of the roof tower (kalas).
The side of the tank which is along the mountain has a few niches with some
idols. The side opposite to the main temple beyond the tank has a few steps.
All in all this would have been a magnificent temple once upon a time.
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| Ruins of Shiva Temple |
The fort offers a panoramic view
of the many hills surrounding the area. On one side you can see the Manikdoh
Dam back waters and Hadsar Fort. The top of the fort is a huge
plateau with a small hill at the center. We circled this hill and later climbed
the summit of the fort. At the summit, there is a small temple of the fort
deity Goddess Chamunda. There is a small dipmaal and a a few more deities. The
view from the summit was magnificent. The trek leader shared some information
about the fort here and then we started our descent.
On the way up the hill the sole
of one of my shoes gave up, so now I was trying to balance myself on one sole
and that was a difficult task, especially while climbing down. After a few
small falls, we climbed down the hill and started off to our left...and we lost
our way! IN the clouds and the heavy rainfall…we lost our way. We once again
circled the whole hill and passed the tanks and found that the way to base was
exactly in front of us after we climbed down the hill. We missed it somehow.
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| A beautiful flower on the Fort |
The cliff and the rock cut steps
looked terrific now…rain was pouring down heavily..piercing through the
clothes. We all were drenched. Slowly and steadily we climbed down the fort. It
was already 3 PM and we were supposed to go to Kukadeshwar temple for lunch.
Hungry we were and lunch was what we were looking forward to!
Shocks are a part of such treks
and this one was no exception. We were all relaxed and happy after the trek.
Lazily we were walking towards our bus when all of a sudden we realized that
our bus was not standing straight…it was tilted!! One of the rear wheel had
gone deep in a storm trench and was stuck in the mud.. and we were not alone,
one more big bus was going through the same plight, and she had all her wheels
dug deep in mud!
A tractor was called, but the
ropes available were too weak. Our driver, a nice experienced guy had already
left to fetch a Wire rope. How much time it would take for the buses to come
out couldn’t be said unless the wire rope was in place.
The rains, the trek and the
thrill had all made us hungry…breakfast was fast gone and we also had to kill
time waiting for the wire rope..the organisers decided that we would have lunch
there itself. And everyone was happy. The food was tasty, again served in
biodegradable plates.
Our driver was back till we
finished lunch..now the next task was to join the tractor and then as it pulled
our bus out, from the front..we were to push form the back. We put all our
efforts together. The tasty lunch had given us enough energy. In a couple of
minutes all our efforts were rewarded and our bus was out of the trench. The
other bus took a little bit more time, but it too came out and we were
relieved.
Meanwhile the rain had stopped
and we all had changed our drenched clothes…everyone was fresh with a new
energy. Off we went to Kukadeshwar temple which is around 3 kms from the fort.
Temple Location: https://goo.gl/maps/QjvLZkbjoCm
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| Kukadeshwar Temple |
This is a very old temple, built
in the 12th century as per the Hemadpanthi style of architecture.
The carvings on the temple are beautiful. This place is also the origin of the
Kukadi river.
The surroundings of the temple
are scenic, green hills with black cliffs everywhere, waterfalls, gushing
streams, rice fields filled with muddy water from the streams a farmer
ploughing his field with a pir of bulls and his family sowing plants..all this
made it a picture perfect moment. A perfect click to end the trek!
And so we were…mesmerized,
shocked surprised, tired, energetic, enjoying every moment of the trek. And
like all good things this to ohad to come to an end..the return journey
started..the cream on the cake was the antakshari we played on our way back!!
It was a rocking performance by all the teams. After a quick tea wada pav break
at Purohit Veg, we headed off to Pune.
But this journey too was not
simple…just a few kms before Rajgurunagar, we were stuck in traffic..and that
was not at all pleasing after a funfilled day..it took us 2 hours to cover a
distance of approximately 10 kms…and finally we reached Pune at 11:30 PM.
Every trek gives some new
experience…this one was a message for me that I had not lost my passion…but I
just need to rekindle it.
Life should have more
mountains..and less stress!!
