Monsoon trek to Tikona fort

After Lohagad trek, now we were planning for another easy level trek for the monsoon. Then we decided to go for Tikona Fort. It is also known as Vitandgad. It is located in Pawna Mawal area. We preferred bike journey rather than a car to enjoy the monsoon.

Trekkers for Tikona were me, my wife Renuka, Girish Ghospurkar (Father-in-law) and our friends Ashu & Kayadhu.

Tikona Fort view from base village

About Tikona fort and trek:

             It is located near Kamshet around 48 km from Pune. The base village of the fort is Tikona-Peth. The fort is pyramidal in shape and the name Tikona means "triangle". Tikona fort is the easier forts to climb and would be a good introductory, yet interesting trek.

             There are many places to see on the fort. Entrance gate (Vetal darwaja), the temple of 'Trimbakeshwar Mahadev', Water tanks, Caves constructed during Satvahan, stone grinder, Steep stairs which takes you at the Bale-Killa, bastion and Bale-Killa. The whole fort can be seen in an hour's time. From the top of the fort, you can have a view of adjacent fort Tung (On another side of Pawna Dam, Lohagad, Visapur, Jambhuli hill and entire Pawna region.

             Not much is known about the history of this fort. Caves from the fort are from seventh-eight centuries A.D. Malik Ahmed Nizamshah of the Nizam dynasty conquered it in 1585 and thus it was made part of the Nizam territory. Shivaji Maharaj conquered Tikona fort along with other Pawna region forts in 1657. This fort was mainly used to keep watch on Pawna region. Netaji Palkar was the assigned the task of ensuring the security of fort Tikona. Mughal captured this fort but soon it was recaptured by Marathas.

               In 1682, king Sambhaji met with Aurangzeb's son Akbar. After this meeting, Akbar was offered to stay at fort Tikona, however, was sent later to Jaitapur since the climate here didn't suit him. In the end, the fort was captured by British in 1818 after a small battle.

              To reach the base village of the fort from Pune is Pune – Chandani Chowk – Pirangut – Paud – Take a right at Paud after Bus stand – Hadashi (No need to take Hadashi temple route) – Javan – Tikona Peth.

Tikona Fort

7th July 2013: Trek to Tikona (Total Distance travelled: 97 km):

            We woke up early morning by 5 am and left Pune by 6.30 after meeting other trekkers in kothrud area. We all were aware of roads and we were on two-wheelers. The weather was cloudy but there was no sign of any rain. After crossing Pirangut, we took our first pit stop for breakfast. My favourite Vada-Pav center was not open so we ate at Maganmurti vada-pav centre outside Global hospital. Vada-pav was tasty but not as good as Dilkhushvada-pav centre. Once you cross Ghotawade phata chowk, there is a Vada-Pav center at the right side by name “dilkhush Vada-Pav”. This is one of my favourite places.After a tasty breakfast, we moved ahead towards Tikona fort.

             We took a right turn at Paud village,  and we were making sure that we stay together so that no one loses their way.After crossing small Ghat section, we saw Pawna dam on our left side and Fort on the right side. We reached Base village “Tikona Peth” soon. There is ample parking space close to the temple. From Temple, you need to walk 1.5km to reach the starting point of the fort for trekking. People generally drive their vehicle to that point but it’s better to avoid it as the road is very muddy and the vehicle can stick in the mud. While walking on that road if you feel that you are leaving fort behind (on the right side) then don’t worry, you are on right track.

Our trekking partner until top

              After warm-up walk for 1.5 km, we reached fort’s base point. Our trek begins.Trek route begins with bit steep but steady height gain so we decided to take it a bit slowly. Small steps at a time, we were slowly but surely getting there. The wonderful scenery was adding towards us forgetting our tiredness and enjoying the beauty of nature.After a height gain, we reached the top hill. This hill patch is nothing but part of fort separated from the main part. In Marathi, it is known as “soond” (सोंड).The route was simple from this point to the fort’s first entrance gate. 

Trek Path

Trek route 

             On the way, we passed one lord Hanuman’s temple known as Chapetdan Maruti.  It named because of Lord Hanuman's pose to slap the devil that is at his feet.We saw some ruined fortification and Vetal darwaja. After few minutes walk, we reached temple named Lord Tuljadevi Mandir. There is a small lake in front of the temple. You can read fort history and map on board which is situated near the temple. After few steps there is a remnant of a stone grinder, the kind pulled around by animals. From this point, the final steep step ascent to the top begins.These steps take you to a bale-Killa.

Chapatdan Maruti

Tuljadevi Temple

Old Grinder

Information Board

             The steps are split into 2 sections. A rope with bolts is fixed which gives you support while climbing. Climbing on steep steps can make you a tired. Each step is much bigger than a regular step. Take proper care during rainy season as rainwater usually flows from these steps. As fort was totally covered by cloud, I was not able to capture proper photos. At the end of steeps, we saw very beautiful bastion fortification and caves o the right side. We took small break and then went on the top of fort.

Steps

Bale-Killa Entrance

Bastion

Temple at the top

             There is a very beautiful temple Tryambakeshwarat the top of fort. Still we were not able to see any view of nearby area b’cos of cloud. After visiting water tank (PanyacheTaak in Marathi) and other area, we settle down for heavy breakfast.Being girls in group gives you advantage on food department. Renuka and her friends had bought enough food for breakfast. Till we had heavy breakfast, Weather was cleared. View from top of the fort is amazing. From here, you get an excellent view of Tung Fort with Pawna dam in the foreground. One can also see Lohagad and Visapur forts from the top. Entire Pawna Mawal region can be seen from top.I did some photography and we started descending at 12.30 pm.

            As weather was cleared, I spent a lot time in photography. We reached at the base village within an hour. After we reached at our parked bike at base village, we left this historical place.It was raining heavily during our return journey. We reached home by 4 PM safely ending pleasurable trek in monsoon.

Tung fort with pawna dam from Tikona fort (Pic: In Summer)

Tung fort with pawna dam from Tikona fort (Pic: In Monsoon)

Trekkers from L to R (my wife Renuka, Kayadhu, Girish Ghospurkar - My father-in-law, Me and Ashu)

Things to carry for Tikona trek:

• A water bottle to carry at least 2 liters of water
• Some dry food, in case you didn’t find any suitable food stall 
• Windcheater / jacket / Barsati during monsoon trek.
• Do carry instant energizers like Glucon-D or Tang.
• A towel or napkin and 2-3 old newspapers
• Camera to capture best nature movement
• Better avoid wearing Gold and other ornaments. No need to carry heavy cash.

Our Expenses:

• Bike petrol: INR 150/- (approx. 2 lit at INR 74.5/lit)
• Vada-Pav: INR 10/- per Pic
• Kanda Bhaji: INR 40/- per plate

Thanks for reading this Travel Blog. Happy traveling. 

Pritesh Kulkarni

Pune