We were planning for easy level off beat trek for Monsoon. We decided to visit Narayangad along with Amba Ambika caves.
Travellers for this trek were I, Himanshu, Nirupa, Vishal-Arya along with their 2.5-year-old son, Ashutosh along with his 4-year-old son and Aditya.
About Narayangad Fort and Caves:
Narayangad fort is around 90-95 KM from Pune and the nearest town is Narayangaon. Fort is located on a detached hill and used as Watch tower.
Junnar is famous for rock cut caves which were built between 3rd century B.C. to 3rd century A.D. Caves consists of Chitya, Viharas, rock cut rooms, Water trench and stupa. It is few KM away from Junnar town.
Travellers for this trek were I, Himanshu, Nirupa, Vishal-Arya along with their 2.5-year-old son, Ashutosh along with his 4-year-old son and Aditya.
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| Narayangad Fort View |
About Narayangad Fort and Caves:
Narayangad fort is around 90-95 KM from Pune and the nearest town is Narayangaon. Fort is located on a detached hill and used as Watch tower.
Junnar is famous for rock cut caves which were built between 3rd century B.C. to 3rd century A.D. Caves consists of Chitya, Viharas, rock cut rooms, Water trench and stupa. It is few KM away from Junnar town.
The Best way to reach is Pune - old Pune-Mumbai Highway - take right at Kasarwadi - take Nashik Highway till Narayangaon.
For fort, take right after crossing Bus Depo at Narayangaon. Follow the tar road which will take you at the base of Fort
For Caves, take left from Narayangaon towards Junnar. drive for 12-14KM and take left U turn to join Junnar-Vadaj Road. No signboards present to identify the hike route for caves but you can view caves from the road.
GPS locations
Narayangad fort: 19.113563, 74.033361
Take right here for Amba-Ambika Cave: 19.187963, 73.888552
Parking point for Amba-Ambika Caves: 19.187314, 73.888144
Amba-Ambika Cave: 19.185852, 73.884426
Bhutalinga cave: 19.188291, 73.878576
Bhimashankar Cave: 19.179921, 73.886486
8 July 2017: Pune to Narayangad Fort:
I woke up by 5:30 AM and left at 6:15 AM. My wife unable to joined trek due to office work. We all gather at my place whereas Vishal-Arya joined us at Kasarwadi junction. Drive on Nashik Highway was pretty good. Highway expansion is in progress hence you may face a little bit of traffic. We had Breakfast in Aakash hotel near Manchar.
After a quick drive, we reached Narayangaon by 8:30 AM. The narrow road till fort base took around 40-45 min to reach the base. There is enough parking space available near the temple. Fort is small and it hardly takes 30 minutes to climb it. Steps were built by local authority till mid point and then steps in rocks takes you on the fort.
Mainly fort is divided into 2 sections. One on right side and second on your left side once you reach the top. We decided to explore right side first and then move towards left where the temple is built. Fort was built in Satvahan era and used as a watch tower for the trade route. It was rebuilt Balaji Vishvanath (First Peshwa) and handed to Sayaji Povar to maintained.
Very fewer fortifications are available. The route is narrow till the end but quite safe to walk. You can see water trenches on the route. We took a small break after reaching end point and returned. We reached the midpoint and then hiked towards Temple which is the topmost point on Fort. Temple is dedicated to Goddess Hastmata. The route is easy to climb and proper marking is available. You can see ruined fortification which consists of a base of Sadar, Lord Ganesh carving and ruined rock statue having Lion face on it.
The entire fort can be seen in 1 hour. We climb down quickly after exploring the small fort. By 12 PM, we reached the base of the fort. We had quick lunch in Narayangaon before heading towards Amba Ambika caves. Cave was built between 3rd century B.C. to 3rd century A.D. Signboards are not available on the route which makes it difficult to track. If you start asking Locals, then most of them think that you are interested in Lenyadri Caves and Ganesh temple.
Three Caves are spread on one hill. You can see 3 caves on the Junnar-Vadaj Road (On the Right side of Road) named as Bhutalinga Cave (Bit away from Road), Amba-Ambika Caves and Bhimashankar Cave. All Three Caves are connected by forest trails. Middle cave have Amba-Ambika idol which was the reason to name these caves as Amba-Ambika caves.
We decided to visit only Amba-Ambika Caves. Other 2 caves are accessible but not recommended. There are too many Honey-bee combs present on the route to Bhutalinga cave and Bhimashankar Cave. Even Locals prefer not to visit and warn the tourist to avoid the same. There is small forest hike to reach the Amba-Ambika caves. After 15-20 minute of steep gain, we reached the cave. Make sure to cover your full body during winter to protect from Mosquito bites.
Amba-Ambika Caves consists of Chitya, Viharas, rock cut rooms, Water trench and stupa. Most of the caves are in incomplete form. Amba-Ambika idols are present on the second level. You take narrow step route to reach the second level. Not enough rock left to keep your feet so with proper care, you can enter the cave. Cave have sculptures of Amba, Ambika and Tirthankara. Ambika and Tirthankara are worshipped by Jain the community. Ambika is also worshipped by Hindu community.
This is the hidden gem and hardly people visit these caves. After exploring caves, we climbed down quickly. We began our return journey and reached home by 7 PM safely.
I will try to upload more and more travel blogs. Thanks for reading this Travel Blog.
For fort, take right after crossing Bus Depo at Narayangaon. Follow the tar road which will take you at the base of Fort
For Caves, take left from Narayangaon towards Junnar. drive for 12-14KM and take left U turn to join Junnar-Vadaj Road. No signboards present to identify the hike route for caves but you can view caves from the road.
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| Narayangad Fort |
GPS locations
Narayangad fort: 19.113563, 74.033361
Take right here for Amba-Ambika Cave: 19.187963, 73.888552
Parking point for Amba-Ambika Caves: 19.187314, 73.888144
Amba-Ambika Cave: 19.185852, 73.884426
Bhutalinga cave: 19.188291, 73.878576
Bhimashankar Cave: 19.179921, 73.886486
8 July 2017: Pune to Narayangad Fort:
I woke up by 5:30 AM and left at 6:15 AM. My wife unable to joined trek due to office work. We all gather at my place whereas Vishal-Arya joined us at Kasarwadi junction. Drive on Nashik Highway was pretty good. Highway expansion is in progress hence you may face a little bit of traffic. We had Breakfast in Aakash hotel near Manchar.
After a quick drive, we reached Narayangaon by 8:30 AM. The narrow road till fort base took around 40-45 min to reach the base. There is enough parking space available near the temple. Fort is small and it hardly takes 30 minutes to climb it. Steps were built by local authority till mid point and then steps in rocks takes you on the fort.
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| Narayangad Fort |
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| Narayangad Fort |
Mainly fort is divided into 2 sections. One on right side and second on your left side once you reach the top. We decided to explore right side first and then move towards left where the temple is built. Fort was built in Satvahan era and used as a watch tower for the trade route. It was rebuilt Balaji Vishvanath (First Peshwa) and handed to Sayaji Povar to maintained.
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| Water Trench at Narayangad Fort |
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| View from NArayangad Fort |
Very fewer fortifications are available. The route is narrow till the end but quite safe to walk. You can see water trenches on the route. We took a small break after reaching end point and returned. We reached the midpoint and then hiked towards Temple which is the topmost point on Fort. Temple is dedicated to Goddess Hastmata. The route is easy to climb and proper marking is available. You can see ruined fortification which consists of a base of Sadar, Lord Ganesh carving and ruined rock statue having Lion face on it.
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| Hastmata Temple |
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| Fortification of Sadar |
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| Ganesh carved on Stone at Narayangad Fort |
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| Steps on Fort |
The entire fort can be seen in 1 hour. We climb down quickly after exploring the small fort. By 12 PM, we reached the base of the fort. We had quick lunch in Narayangaon before heading towards Amba Ambika caves. Cave was built between 3rd century B.C. to 3rd century A.D. Signboards are not available on the route which makes it difficult to track. If you start asking Locals, then most of them think that you are interested in Lenyadri Caves and Ganesh temple.
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| Amba-Ambika Cave Complex |
Three Caves are spread on one hill. You can see 3 caves on the Junnar-Vadaj Road (On the Right side of Road) named as Bhutalinga Cave (Bit away from Road), Amba-Ambika Caves and Bhimashankar Cave. All Three Caves are connected by forest trails. Middle cave have Amba-Ambika idol which was the reason to name these caves as Amba-Ambika caves.
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| Forest Trail for Cave |
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| Route for Cave |
We decided to visit only Amba-Ambika Caves. Other 2 caves are accessible but not recommended. There are too many Honey-bee combs present on the route to Bhutalinga cave and Bhimashankar Cave. Even Locals prefer not to visit and warn the tourist to avoid the same. There is small forest hike to reach the Amba-Ambika caves. After 15-20 minute of steep gain, we reached the cave. Make sure to cover your full body during winter to protect from Mosquito bites.
Amba-Ambika Caves consists of Chitya, Viharas, rock cut rooms, Water trench and stupa. Most of the caves are in incomplete form. Amba-Ambika idols are present on the second level. You take narrow step route to reach the second level. Not enough rock left to keep your feet so with proper care, you can enter the cave. Cave have sculptures of Amba, Ambika and Tirthankara. Ambika and Tirthankara are worshipped by Jain the community. Ambika is also worshipped by Hindu community.
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This is the hidden gem and hardly people visit these caves. After exploring caves, we climbed down quickly. We began our return journey and reached home by 7 PM safely.
I will try to upload more and more travel blogs. Thanks for reading this Travel Blog.
Pritesh Kulkarni
Pune
Great info shared by you Mr Pritesh. Can I use a couple of pics from this post for my facebook page and website "JainGlory" with your name in Courtesy ?
ReplyDeleteNo problem to use pics with my name in Courtesy...
DeleteNice blog , information, photo
ReplyDelete