TREKKING IN MAHARASHTRA, INDIA

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Lohagad fort (1040 m) - It is a beautiful fort in good condition near Lonavla. The fort has five gates - Ganesh, Maha, Narayan, Trimbakeshwar, Hanuman darwaza - and high walls to stop any intruder. From Lonavla reach Malvali by local train. Walk to Bhaje village (One can visit the group of Buddhist caves at Bhaje, road, 2 km) and the route climbs to the col of Lohagad - Visapaur. Lohagad fort is at the right side of the col. A broad route leads to the top through strong fortifications. 1.5 h trek to the fort.

Burhan Nizam Shah II was imprisoned here in 1564. He bribed the commander of the fort, captured it and his next generation stayed here till 1578 and captured the throne of Ahmednagar from here. Then it changed hands, to Shivaji in 1648 and to Aurangzeb in 1665 and changed twice between these two forces, in 1751 Damaji Gaikwad was imprisoned here and finally on 5 March 1818, Col Deacon of the British forces captured it easily without fring a single shot.

Lohagad has domed monument - muslim tomb, cannon & flagposts, Rajarani temple with Hanuman statue and Shivlinga, water tanks, stable, caves, Laxmi Kothi (cave with plenty of rooms - camping , a broken cannon), Darga of Hazarat Umarshah Vali Baba (Urs - 6 June), a huge water tank (16 koni talav) in dried condition, 4 water tanks near by, Buruj with a water tank. Panoramic view of Pawna dam, Tung, Tikona, Visapur forts.

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Visapur fort (1084 m) - Reach the col of Visapur - Lohagad and follow the left track. Trek up through the forested gully. A fort with huge plateau and having long fortified walls and more than 35 water tanks. It is having a raised platform for firing cannon, a temple with a light stand, a cannon and two buildings in ruin and 2 small caves. Towards Malvali side rock cut steps leads down to a rock carved Hanuman on walls with two caves. There is no gateways remains on the fort. One can climb down
to Malvali from the other side of the fort.

The two forts can be visited by a gruelling 8 hour trek from Malvali. A road from Malvali reaches the base of the Lohagad fort and to the col of Lohagad - Visapur forts. If one is having a private vehicle these two forts can be easily visited in 3 hour.

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Ankai Tankai forts : 8 km from Manmad. From the back side of the forts - Ankai village connected by road - steps leads to 8 Buddhists caves at the base of Tankai caves. Climb the steps further to reach a well fortified common entrance of the forts.

Left is Ankai, which has many things to see. Regular steps leads to a nummber of fortified entrances, a cave with some sculptures and finally to the top where a domed building is located. On top, one can see 5 caves, 7 water tanks, an arched enclosure at the end of the fort with a huge pond in dried condition, a dargah etc. A huge cave below the summit is now an Ashram, where one can stay a night. Good views of Tankai fort and the trek takes 3 hour. The area has white marble like stones.

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real nice pictures
I like to visit other country's whit historial stuff

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Books on Trekking

Trekking in Indian Himalaya by Lonely Planet.
Trekking in Nepal Himalaya by Lonely Planet.
Trekking the Sahyadris by Harish Kapadia (India).
Spiti - Adventures in trans Himalaya by Harish Kapadia, Indus publishers, Delhi (India).
Mountain climbing by Gian Chand, International Publishers, Delhi (India).
Climbers guide to Sonmarg by Himalayan Club (India).

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Sarasgad fort : A track from the famous Pali Ganesh temple leads to the upper plateau. A rocky staircase is located just after the rock carved tunnel. A tiring climb takes to the higher plateau of the fort. There are around 10 water tanks on the fort. On the left side of the rock dome, a track gradually climbs to the top. The top has a Muslim tomb, an ancient Shiv temple and a large pond. It offers a good aerial view of the Pali town and surrounding hills. From the lower plateau, one can climb down on another less used route. The to and fro climb takes 2 hour.

Pali is 45 km from Lonavla via Khopoli, Jambulpada (2 hour, Rs 38 ). Even ladies and handicapped climbs this interesting easy fort.

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Raigad fort (862 m) - Mahad to Pachad and to the base of the fort by bus (24 km, Rs 17, 1.5 hour). Capital of Shivaji, connected by a rope way (Rs 140 return), trekking will be more enjoyable (to and fro 3 hour). Rs 5 admission fee by ASI. There are shops all the way to top, which sells Butter milk, Sarbath and Lemon juice. Plenty of space and lot of construction on top - Maha darwaza (main gateway), 7 cannons, Takmak Tok (a view point on a projecting ridge), Shivaji's samadhi, tomb of his faithful dog, Jagdishwar temple, Bara tanki (12 rock cut water tanks) market place, Shivaji's statue in sitting pose (Holicha Mal), Shirkai Devi temple, Gateway, Shivaji's thrown, palace, 8 to 10 water tanks (Ganga Sagar, the largest) etc. The MTDC resort and Deshmukh hotel provides basic accommodation and food on the fort. There is covered shelter for camping at nights too.

The Lingana pinnacle is nearby and it provides a good challenge to the rock climbers. The Jijabhai (Shivaji's mother) Samadhi is one kilometre from Pachad at fort's base.

From Lonavla reach Mahad via Pali, Wakan, Kolad, Indapur and Mangaon. Wakan is 60 km from Lonavla and is on NH 17 (2 hour). Wakan to Mahad is 75 km (2 hour, Rs 45 by ST). Mahad is a small town around the Shivaji statue with a park, temple, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar memorial and a Hanuman temple on the nearby hill. Few caves are located near Mahad on the Mangaon highway. Few lodges provide basic accommodation.