Quick trek to Korigad Fort, Lonavala

Very heavy rainfall started around Pune so we thought better to go for easy and safe trek. We all wanted to do a short trek on Sunday so we decided to go for Korigad fort near Lonavala.
Due to heavy rain, I was not able to post any good photos. I will surely visit this fort for Photography somewhere in this winter and will post blog again on Korigad Fort.

Trekkers for Korigad fort were me, my wife Renuka, our friends Himanshu - Ketaki, Abhijeet – Manasi and Sangram – Priyanka.

Korigad Fort, Lonavala

About Korigad Fort:

Approximately 25 KMs from Lonavala, there is a village called Peth Shahapur. This village is the base of the Fort Korigad. This region of Pavana is called Maval of Korbarsa. Fort is now maintained by Aamby valley city and from base point; stone steps are laid till the top. Climbing on stone steps was quite easy task and we reached at the top soon.

To reach at the base of fort from Pune is Pune – Join Pune-Mumbai national highway (you can also take express way and take Lonavala exist) – Reach Lonavala – Take a left at Kumar resort – Bushi Dam - Travel towards INS Shivaji – Start climbing ghat section – After ghat section, you will come at Y junction – Take right till Peth Shahapur village.

Other route is Pune – Chadani Chowk – Pirangut – Paud – Take a right at Paud after Bus stand – Hadashi (No need to take Hadashi temple route) – Javan – Take left at Javan village - After crossing Hilton resort, look for proper T junction (Javan to T junction distance is around 14 km) – Take left at T junction and drive for 6-7 km. You will reach at Y junction and take you turn towards left to reach at Peth Shahapur village.

21th June 2015: Trek to Korigad (Total Distance traveled: 140 km):
            We woke up early morning by 5 am and left Pune by 6.30 after meeting other trekkers in Kothrud area. We all knew the roads and we were going to travel in our four wheelers. It was raining heavily right from the beginning of the trek till we came back home. We preferred the Old Mumbai-Pune highway from Chadani Chowk. Drive was wonderful with heavy rain and cold morning breeze. We took break at Manshakti center canteen for tasty snacks but unfortunately it was to open at 7.30 AM and we reached there by 6:45 AM. We moved ahead and had breakfast at Hotel Ram Krishna at Lonavala. After driving through the fog while enjoying the beauty of nature we reached the base village by 8.15 AM.

Road to Korigad Fort

Korigad in Cloud

           We parked our vehicles at Peth Shahapur and began with our easy level trek to Korigad fort. We need to walk for 1-1.5 km to reach at the starting point of stone steps. While walking on that route if you feel that you are leaving fort behind (on right side) then don’t worry, you are on right track. The easy way to reach the steps is to travel towards the tallest lamp post that is there near the steps. You can also take forest route but make sure to travel towards lamp post.

Forest route

           We preferred forest route to explore dense forest. We were aware of fort area and well experienced in trekking condition. If you are new to any fort area it is always better to follow the main route for safety. After few minute walk, we reached at the midpoint of stone steps route. Climbing on steps is easy task. En route the top, there is a small cave and Ganesh temple. In monsoon, waterfall flows on steps which make your climb more interesting. 

Steps to fort

Water flow on steps...

Silky flow of water...Korigad Fort

Ganesh temple and Cave

           Soon we reached at the first entrance gate of Fort known as Ganesh Darwaja. You can see ruined structure of the fort. After few meter walk, you can see Shiv temple and Lakes. Take a walk towards left to reach at the bison where Temple of Goddess Korai Devi is located. This temple has been renovated recently. There is a “DEEPMALA” right in front of the temple. The idol of Korai Devi is around 4 feet high.

Entrance of Fort

Korigad temple

Korai temple

            The fortification of this fort is quite undestroyed. You can spot many bastions on the fort especially on the southern side. This fort hosts 6 cannons and the biggest of them called Lakshmi Cannon is near the temple of Goddess Korai. Due to heavy monsoon we were unable to explore fort in detail. We were walking in clouds and unable to see any natural beauty around fort. Photo posted in this blog are taken during our last 2-3 visits in 2 year of span. I will visit this fort once again in winter for better photographs and for detail information.

Gad matha

Fort's massive fort

           Before I write further, I would like to share some history about Korigad fort. Shivaji Maharaj (Maratha Empire) incorporated this fort in Swarajya along with Lohgad, Visapur, Tung and Tikona in 1657. Fort was then handed-over to Peshawa (Maratha Empire). This fort was mainly use to keep control over Maval region. On 11 March 1818, British officer Col. Prother tried to win the fort in battle but even after a lengthy siege could not make any progress. After 3 days, finally he managed to hit ammunition storage by cannon and this fort went to the British.

We started descending at 10.30 AM. To avoid traffic in Lonavala, we preferred Mulshi route. We left the village and reached home safely ending the pleasurable monsoon trek.

Things to carry for trek:

• A water bottle to carry at least 1.5 liters of water
• Some dry food, in case you don’t find any suitable food stalls
• Windcheater / jacket / Barsati during monsoon trek.
• Do carry instant energizers like Glucon-D or Tang (Not required in Monsoon time).
• A towel or napkin and 2-3 old newspapers
• Small first aid kit
• Camera to capture best nature moments
• Better avoid wearing Gold and other ornaments. No need to carry heavy cash.

Our expense:

• Car petrol: INR 800/- (approx. 10.8 lit at INR 74/lit)
• Toll on Old Pune-Mumbai highway: INR 60/- One way
• Breakfast: As Per order (Average INR 70-90/- per person along with tea/coffee)
• Parking at Peth Shahapur – INR 20 for a car

Thanks for reading this Travel Blog. Happy traveling.

Pritesh Kulkarni, 

Pune