Raigad Fort Trek : Journey to Raigad Fort, Maharashtra

               Raigad  is a hill fort located in Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. The Raigad Fort, priviously known as Rairi and built by Chandraraoji More.  Then Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, seized the fort of Rairi from Rajchandraji More, and built his capital city in 1674.

History of Raigad Fort:

                In 1656, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, seized the fort of Rairi from Rajchandraji More, Ruler of Jawali, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj renovated and expanded the fort of Rairi and renamed it as Raigad (King's Fort). It became the capital of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's Maratha Empire.

                In 1689, Zulfikhar Khan won Raigad and Aurangzeb renamed it as Islamgad. After That In 1707, Siddi Fathekan ruled on the fort until 1733. After 1733 maratha sardars won it backand hold it until 1818.

                In 1765, the Raigad Fort was the objective of a furnished campaign by the British East India Company who considered it to be a piratical fortress and in this manner bombarded and demolished in 1818, and it was given over to the British East India Company.

About fort :

                As the area and structure of the Raigad Fort, it is best for traveling and trekking, with differing from various routes from simplest to Hardest! The overall journey begins at Pachad, 24 kilometers from Mahad, which is a shallow ocean port on the banks of the Savitri River. Additionally, Fort Torana, Fort Lingana, Fort Mangad, and Birwadi, situated in and around the Raigad Fort, gives some lovely trip experience.

The Raigad Fort is situated at a Favrable distance from both Mumbai and Pune. It is a two hour drive from Pune to the mahad. One can arrive at the Raigad Fort from Mumbai in under two hours by street, found 140 kilometers from the city.

Alongside it being a place of great historical relevance, the Raigad Fort is likewise viewed as a sacred pilgrimage destination. The Raigad Fort is very much kept up, supporting the sustaining green over the hills,

Our Trek experience And Route :

                For anyone who likes to trek, a trek to Raigad fort is a must do, We have stayed for night at pachad gaon which the base village for raigad fort. We wanted to start our trek at the first light so we stayed their for a night woke up in early morning at 4:00 am. We had some refreshments at the hotels and started our trek by 4:30 am.

                We started our trek at first light we didn’t want to miss the early views which are good opportunity for photography. here are a total of around 1700 (approximately) steps to climb if you choose to climb via steps. There are also couple of other routes through the jungle which has lesser step than normal. Which eventually meets with main stairs. We took the jungle route it is the best route for trekkers who love the nature. The first stop we take at the Nane Darwaza, we take 10 min rest here and started our trek.

A walk of 40 minutes and we joined the main path way which is via the steps. When we joined the main path we started to see vendors and stalls over the we had our refreshments and started our trek again, Soon we came near to the Maha Darwaja. Maha Darwaja is the main enterance to the fort. At this we all where tired and also feeling happy and relived, we rested here for 10 to 15 mins and continued our journey again.

                It took us around 1 and half hour to reach at top. We stopped at many shop to have refreshments. On reaching at top we hired a local guide who helped us in explaining the events and history around the places. There are many places on fort to visit like raajwada , takmak tok, tiger cave and jijau wada.

Places to be viewed at Raigad:

There are almost  45 places see on this fort. Some of them are below,

1.       Samadhi of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
2.        Maha Darwaja
3.        Jijau Wada
4.        Tiger Cave
5.        Hatti Talav (Elephant tank)
6.        Tak Mak Point
7.        Nisani Cave
8.        Jagdishvar temple

How to reach Raigad:

The nearest spot to Raigad Fort by street is Pachad Village. Once at the town you can either decide to travel up around 1700 stages to the fort or Use ropeway to reach at top.

There are no direct flights or trains available to Raigad Fort. You have to take private vehicle or busses to reach the base village pachad.

For private vehicle:

(Pune - Chandani Chauk - Paud - Mulshi - Dongarwadi - Tamhini Ghat - Vile - Nijampur - Mangaon - Lonere Phata - Mahad - Pachad - Raigad. Road is smooth and good. It could be bad in the beginning of the Tamhini ghat section.)