Raireshwar fort is a hill fort in Bhor Tehshil of Pune district, and 85 km away from Pune city. Raireshwar has a temple famous for its historical importance where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj took the oath of foundation of ‘Hindavi Swarajya’ in 1645.
We started our journey at 8.30 am and reached the base of the fort around 10am, we followed route via Bhor which is very narrow and not recommended for large vehicles. There is another route via Wai which is good.
There is a small village settlement of the top of the fort. You have to climb iron ladders to reach the top and is the only way to reach the fort. Ensure that you carry plenty of water with you. After reaching the top we had breakfast and enjoyed kanda bhaji, wadapav and kokam sharbat at the only stall available there, its open only on weekends. We visited all the places on the fort except seven coloured soil.
Raireshwar Fort
Raireshwar Temple
This is a beautiful place to visit during the monsoon or the winter season. The views from the fort are just breath taking. Ideal place for a one day trek and can also be made a two day trek if you plan to visit Rohida and Kenjalgad.
Kenjalgad Fort seen from Raireshwar Fort
We left the fort around 1.30 pm and visited Sardar Kanhoji Jedhe and Jeeva Mahale samadhi at village Ambawade.
Sardar Kanhoji Jedhe Statue
Sardar Kanhoji Jedhe Samadhi
Jeeva Mahale Samadhi
There is a beautiful temple of Lord Shiva called Nageshwar, which is family deity of Sardar Kanhoji Jedhe.
Nageshwar Temple
Lord Nageshwar
After taking blessings from Nageshwar we reached at Sardar Kanhoji Jedhe wada at village Kari in 20 minutes. Its renewed house and a small museum where you can see few historical things. Descendants of Kanhoji Jedhe live there and who greet and speak with utmost affection to everyone who visits.
Nilkantheshwar, a lord Shiva temple is on the hill between Khadakwasla and
Panshet dam. This temple was built by Sarje Mama. It is an ideal place to
experience nature and mythology.
Lord Shiva drinking poison (Halahala)
We were planning a day trip for Diwali holidays to nearby location and the
main purpose was to show Aaravya a new place and a small break from the
daily routine. To fulfill this purpose, we decided to go to Nilkantheshwar
on the day of Bhaubeej i.e. 6th November, we were accompanied by my
sister-in-law and her husband.
Travelers for trip
After starting our journey at 8.30 am we reached the destination at 10.00
am, distance traveled was around 45 km.
Please refer the below route as it shows another Nilkantheshwar temple
near Donje and you may mislead. Road is little narrow but good in
condition except few rough patches.
Route to Nilkantheshwar
As it was morning, the weather was very pleasant. I can imagine how
beautiful the scenery and nature would be in the rainy season. The temple
was located almost a km from parking and was a climb uphill. After 45 mins
of puffing we reached at the top of hill. You may get your fitness tested
here!! The road is very steep so you should wear shoes and carry napkin
and water bottles.
The view of the surroundings were simply wonderful, the shades of coloures
grey, brown, blue and green were awesome.
Way to Nilkantheshwar temple
We were tired of climbing and needed something cold to drink. An old lady
was selling lemonade and buttermilk, so we quickly satisfied ourselves
with a glass with buttermilk and lemonade. This was the only stall we saw
there. Though the climb was a bit laborious, we enjoyed it meticulously.
Once you enter the temple, you are greeted by a huge sleeping
Hanuman.
Sleeping Hanuman
After reaching the top we saw numerous statues from Indian mythology which
include statues from Ramayana, Mahabharat, Deshavatar etc. On the left
beyond the statues there is a valley below, and the view of
Panshet-Varasgaon dam from there is breath-taking which will stay in your
mind for a very long time.
Panshet-Varasgaon Dam view
You can easily spend 2 hours on the top seeing each and every statue and
trying to recollect the story behind the same. You have to walk little
long to see all those statues and are no roofs for many statues, there are
very few trees in the yard so no option to stay in the shade after walking
so keep an umbrella or avoid visiting the place in summer.
Draupadi Vasraharan
Pandavas, Shakuni and Duryodhana
Lakshamana cuts off the nose of Shurpanakha
The waking of Kumbhakarna
Bheem and Bakasur
Shri Gurudev Datta PC - Sachin Tambekar
After the darshan of Lord Shiva, we saw sabha mandap, idols and the
surrounding area, just as we were leaving, we smelled hot kanda bhajji and
our footsteps automatically turned to that only shack there. My son
Aaravya ate sabudana khichdi which was very soft and tastier than Kanda
bhaji. After having a cup of tea, we started to descend and reached our
vehicle within 25 mins.
There is a temple of Someshwar but as very tired so we did not go there
and headed straight towards Panshet Dam. On the way we had lunch at MTDC's
restaurant, meals were served within few minutes and taste was okay,
except bhakri…bhakri was not made properly.
Heroes at MTDC
After the lunch we went for boating in Panshet, enjoyed boating and a long
session of photography, we set off in 1 hour. On the way back to Pune, our
intention was to have quick stop at Khadakwasla, but seeing the crowd
there, we canceled the plan and reached home around 5.30 in the evening.
Ramdara temple is a beautiful temple near Pune and best time to visit this place is monsoon.
We have no plans to go out on
weekends but Aaravya's friend Diveagar's trip made him want to go on a trip too and
he started insisting us to go out for a trip. We had no choice but to take him
because we could not tell him the reason of office as it was Saturday. Instead
of wasting so much time on convincing him, we got ready but were debating
over Ramdara or Kanifnath and then finally decided to go to Ramdara temple.
I quickly went downstairs and
asked my in-laws if they wanted to join us and they immediately agreed as they
didn't go anywhere due to lockdown. We assumed that there would not be
much crowd otherwise they would have had to sit in the car.
We visited Ramadara Temple on 28th November 2020.
Ramdara Temple as seen from walkway
How to get at Ramdara?
GPS shows the exact location
and almost all mobile operators have network there.
It is on Pune-Solapur
highway, around 30km from Pune. Go on the Solapur Highway, cross Hadapsar and proceed
towards Manjiri and then Loni-Kalbhor.Once
you cross the toll booth, you have to cross a bridge. After crossing bridge,
slow down your vehicle and look for a right turn. Take right turn and proceed
towards village, you will get a chowk where again you need to take a right and
go straight till the temple. The road construction at railway crossing near
Ramdara was in progress so we had to take a diversion to reach the temple which
took us some more time to reach the destination.
Do not go via Phursungi as
the road condition is very bad and no sign boards are available on the roads so
it would be difficult to find the route and reach the temple as GPS also do not
work on some places.
We reached the destination
around 12.30pm within 1.5 hours from Pune. Ample of parking space is available
there. Parking is little away from the temple, and one has to walk for 5
minutes to reach the temple.
You don’t see the temple
until the last minute as it is hidden within hills and trees. It is a very
scenic temple with idols of many deities, but main shrine is of Shiva. The
Temple is very colorful as it has beautiful paintings of Indian mythology such
as Lord Ganesh, Shri Krishna, Hanuman, Arjun, Sant Dnyaneshwar, Sant Tukaram
etc.There is a Royal Nandi that catches
the attention so no one can stop themselves from taking photos. The area is
very peaceful away from the crowds but still very lively. You can see a lot of
birds there.
Bull (Nandi)
Lord Shankar and Parvati
Lord Krishna
Next to the temple is also an
ashram of Shri Mangalpuri Maharaj also known as Dhundi baba.
The lake next to the temple
adds to the beauty of the temple. There is a beautiful walk around the lake
where you can walk and explore the surroundings.The walkway is closed due to Covid-19 to avoid possible crowds on that
route.A guard (priest) was constantly
watching the crowd and telling those who had taken the darshan to leave
immediately.
Better to carry your own food as very few(hardly 2-3) options were available there.
After spending an hour there
we could see as many people coming to the place and so we decided to leave
before it got too crowded. On the way to the car we picked up some fresh
vegetables and fruits from the locals selling on the street.
We returned home @4.30pm soon
after having a lunch at Hotel Vaishali at Manjari.
Sinhagad Fort is a favourite weekend
gateway for Punekars as it is a very scenic location and just approximately 30km from Pune.
The fort has been standing there
since about 700 years and has a long history associated with Great King Chatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj. The hero behind this fort was great maratha worrier Tanaji Malusare. Sinhagad was called
‘Kondhana’ after the sage Kaundinya. The Kaundinyeshwar temple, the caves and
the carvings indicate that this fort had probably been built two thousand years
back.
Sinhagad Fort has to be one of my
favourite places because of the numerous reasons –scenic drive, view from the
top, scrumptious authentic food, history and much more.
It was our sudden plan to visit
Sinhagad fort. We(Myself, Kiran, Snehal and Abhijit) left from Pune around 3pm on our bikes. You can
go there by car or by bike. The vehicle has to pay a toll(Rs. 20 for bike and Rs
50 for Car) at the base to reach the fort. Local buses are available every hour from Pune
or you can reach by shared taxi or auto. Nowadays, every time I visit the fort,
I can see groups of bikers and trekkers.
The road runs by the side of a dam
which is a huge water body and looks simply amazing. At places, you can find
lots of local shops selling corns and people enjoying the cool and calm water
of the dam. The mountains are full of fog and whole Pune City is visible
which looks amazing. Also, the water of the dam does stretches into a huge area.
The picturesque road is available until the parking at the top. Due to
heavy traffic and rains, the roads are in bad shape but the drive to the fort
is scenic.
The road from base village to the fort
is small and parking the vehicles on both the side of the road makes it
narrower. Close to 1.5-2 km road from the fort is used as a parking area and
people park their vehicles wherever they find space thus blocking the road and
resulting in a traffic jam. If you want to avoid traffic jams and get a good
parking slot then start the early morning as the place gets crowded after 10 AM.
We reached the fort around 4pm. A
place full of lush green mountains, it’s a must-visit place for nature lovers and trekkers.
Most of the fort is destroyed; it still has a lot to offer. Apart from its historical
importance; it is also a hot stop for a lot of trekkers. It is also a part of
the training for the cadets of the National Defense Academy situated very close
to this place.
One can easily spend 4-5 hours or a
half-day picnic with family and friends. Sinhagad Fort is usually crowded on
weekends and holidays. It is so fascinating to imagine the history behind the
remains. What would have been the life then!! I am amazed every time I visit the fort.
From one side of the fort, you can see
the popular Khadakwasla Dam and on the other side, you will see the beautiful
landscape. You will forget about all tiredness when you see this
breathtaking view.
After strolling the fort for a couple
of hours, one can grab the most famous Pithla Bhakri, Thecha, Kanda Bhaji,
Kulfi, and never to miss the locally produced Matka Dahi. I love the Matka Dahi
with Jira powder the most. The shopkeepers are the residents from nearby villagers
and carry all the stuff every day from the villages to uphill and that too on
their feet. It was fun to eat raw mangoes, cucumbers, corn, berries
and buttermilk sold on the way. Don’t forget to taste
the tasty “Kaccha Aam”.
After having snacks we roamed around
the fort for an hour and explored few places. We saw the memorial of great Maratha
worrier Tanaji Malusare.
Narveer Tanaji Malusare statue at Sinhgad
Tanaji Kada is the place from
where Mavale(Maratha soldiers) climbed up the fort and attacked Mughals.
There is a house of the great freedom
fighter Lokmanya Tilak as he came to stay on the fort.
There are many small temples on the
fort. There are a number of water tanks on the fort. But Devtaki is the most famous one. The water is cold and sweet, when you visit do taste it. Only this water tank can be used for drinking water.
The strong wind along with mist, fog
and rains at the famous ‘Hawa point’ was an experience to remember. ‘Kade lot’
is also a popular point. It is said that in olden days the prisoners were
thrown off from this cliff.
Due to monsoon, the weather there was
cold and was raining frequently. The fog, mist, drizzle and the blowing wind made our walk at the fort memorable. Once the fog clears, you can see
Khadakwasla dam and Torna fort from the top. The breathtaking views
are addictive. I can go there almost every day. The drizzle and
cold breeze added to our pleasant experience. It’s a perfect location to spend a wonderful
time with your family and friends.
Travelers!!
After relaxing for two hours we started
to descend.
If you have not yet visited the fort please do visit in monsoon, I am sure you will like it. Also, do not forget to carry your camera to capture the beautiful pictures.
