Forts in Maharashtra

Monday, February 25, 2013

Raireshwar ( Rayreshwar )

Raireshwar (Rayreshwar) is the word which is closely associated with the origin of Maratha empire. Most of people who know Shivaji Maharaj, also know that Raireshwar is the place where the great king took oath to set up his own empire. He sweared to set his country and countrymen free from the atrocities of contemporary ‘sultans’. So Raireshwar holds an imprortant place in history of India in general and history of Maratha empire and Maharashtra in particular.

Raireshwar is a temple of Hindu God "Shiva". Raireshwar is located at approx 90 KM from Pune in ‘Bhor’ tehasil. Kenjalgad is located at South East of Raireshwar at a very close distance.

Kenjalgad as seen from Raireshwar base

To get there from Pune, drive along Pune-Benglore highway (NH-4) till Kapurhol and take a right turn to Bhor. From Bhor a short road takes you to Raireshwar.
You can drive on your bike till the ladder point or can trek from the base village. The bike’s road takes you along the ghat that has a large number of hairpin turns. The road passes through ghat hill on which Kenjalgad lies, you will have to take a right turn just after Kenjalgad to follow a very narrow road to Raireshwar. Drive/ Walk till a steel ladder is visible.

Kenjalgad as seen from Raireshwar base

The bike must be parked here and a trek to Raireshwar start Its about half hour walk from the ladder to the cultural temple.

Way to Raireshwar: You can take your vehicles till here

The route through ladder & the rocky path takes you on a plateau of Raireshwar.

Stairs to Raireshwar

The Raireshwar temple is at few minutes walk from here. When you turn back Kenjalgad and the temple on it is visible. Its an awesome scene of the road, which has taken you to the ladder point.

Kenjalgad as seen while retrospection

The hairpin turns on the way to Raireshwar

Kenjalgad and ghat route to Raireshwar

Raireshwar temple is construced with stone. It has a ‘Shivling’ and couple of paintings in it. ‘Shivaji Maharaj’ along his friends is shown to be cutting his finger with sword and pouring his blood on ‘Shivling’ to take oath of “swarajya”.

Raireshwar Temple

Some text is also inscribed on the wall of Raireshwar temple. Below is the pic of the text.

Text inscribed on the wall of the Raireshwar Temple

There is a statue of ‘Shivaji Maharaj’ near the Raireshwar temple.

Statue of Shivaji Maharaj before Raireshwar Temple

It would to be a great trip to Raireshwar during rain or during winter. Please make sure you have enough potable water till you reach the temple, if you are visiting during summer.

Meal [ Pithal + Bhakari ] can be arranged from the people living there on Raireshwar.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Lohgad

Lohagad is a hilly fort situated in the west of Pune near Malavali railway station. You can get a number of local trains plying between Pune and Lonavala. Malavali is the next station from Lonavala towards Pune. You can also get there by the Pune - Mumbai highway as well. From Malavali it takes about 20 -25 minutes to walk to the village Bhaje. From Bhaje the trek to the fort begins, it takes about one and half to two hours to get to the village "Lohagadwadi", which is at the base of Lohagad fort. In this route you can also see the fort "Visapur" in the east of Lohagad. The fort Visapur and Lohagad are too close to each other.
From Lohagadwadi, there are few hundred steps to the fort. The route is very pleasant and takes you to the ancient time. Lohagad has four doors in series from Lohagadwadi. The doors are named as "Ganesh Darwaja", "Narayan Darwaja", "Hanuman Darwaja" and "Maha Darwaja". ("Darwaja" is a Marathi word for "Door" or "Gate").
The thing that makes Lohagad different from the other hilly forts is its fortification and the doors mentioned above.The doors and the fortification are really in better condition as compared to other hilly forts forts in Maharashtra. The fortification looks awesome from the top (see the pics below). An exciting and beautiful view of Pawana Dam can be seen from Lohagad. The fort has a long narrow wing in west side called Vinchukata ("The Scorpion's tail" in Marathi). This is adds value to the beauty of the fort.

The history of Lohagad dates back to era of Satavahana dynasty. After Satavahana many other dynasties ruled here. The dynasties are : Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Yadavas, Bahamanis, Nizamshahis, Mughals and Marathas before British took it over.
Shivaji Maharaj had captured the fort Lohagad in 1648. It was handed over to Mughals in 1665 according to the Treaty of Purandar. After five years Marathas recaptured it in 1670. The wealth looted from Surat was kept here.
Any terk to the fort never completes unless you taste the 'Pithala Bhakari' there. Yes, you can taste it here in Lohagadwadi and head back to Bhaje village. Near the Bhaje village, there are ancient Buddhist rock - cut caves. The caves were constructed between (approximately) 200 BC and 200 AD. The caves are very beautiful to see.
Lhagad is witness of glorious history of India and Maharashtra. It takes you to the historical era.This can be a very nice place to visit during weekend for the people n Pune and Mumbai. Below are few pics of Lohagad for you.