It had been quite some time after our last trek to Ratangad. Everyone was geared up for the next one. Destinations were proposed by all. Sudhagad, Rajgad, Harishchandragad, Ghanagad, Prabalgad, Hadsar and some more names to list. It did not really matter which fort, all that was to be ensured was a nice, challenging, and enjoyable visit to a page in the history.
In the end, it was Hadsar. A nice fort situated 25 kms away from Junnar, the place where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's birth place, Fort Shivneri is located. This time the quorum count was a nice seven. Prasanna, Paresh, Dilip, Deepak from Dombivli and Myself, Swanand, Mohit from Thane. We met at sharp 5:00 am at Shahad Station and we were off to Junnar, via Mhalshej Ghaat.
The road that leads to mhalshej, is a very nice piece of tarmac. Though a two-way road, the drive on this stretch was extremely great. We bumped our cars on two speed breakers though; as the road lacks street lights and the speed breakers lack proper markings.
We stopped a few times on the way. First at a small 'Big Bazaar' which served everything from tea to cricket kits. Then a couple of times for.... Click-click-click.
We reached junnar at almost 9. Another tea was to be relished. A stall near junnar serves fantastic tea which we had tasted on all three previous treks around junnar and it was a must-do item in our itinerary.
After enjoying tea, we waited for another group of our friends from Pune to join us. Waiting just like that was unfair; so we went to a hotel to keep ourselves busy. Misal, Cut-wada, wada-pav.... typical trekker food.
Pune group joined after a while. After fueling ourselves up, we headed for Hadsar village. After crossing Hadsar village, we have to go a little ahead where the trek route begins.
Hadsar is a very nice fort situated in the Naneghat Range. The climb can be made from two ways. One way is the main route that takes us through two doors which are examples of the excellence of architecture that prevailed at that time. The other route is discovered by the locals staying at the base of the fort and is a relatively tough one with two rock patches to climb.
Three friends watching a cricket match
Either ways, it takes not more than 1.5-2 hours to reach the top. The main route is what we chose. It is a medium grade trek. The route is identifiable, and chances of getting lost are minimal, except on the initial climb to the first plateau. The main route also features a series of stone-carved steps which are a treat to climb. As mentioned, the 'Darwaja's are just beautiful.
On the top, there are two temples, a nice little lake, a couple of natural water cisterns and some remnants of buildings. Theres nothing much to see on the top.
We spent some time in the Mahadev Mandir and started our descent. We reached back at the base at around 3 pm.
It was an excellent trek after a long time. Cant wait for the next one.