Lohagad' (literally "Iron fort" in Marathi) is one of the many hill forts of Chatrapati Shivaji. A beautiful fort in a beautiful location, good roads to the base and an easy climb make Lohagad fort one of the more popular destinations to visit close to Pune. But thankfully, it has survived the commercialization and the mess that Sinhagad fort has been subjected to. The fort is still in a good condition and relatively clean. Many of the structures on the fort are still intact and climbing the fort would give you the feeling of actually climbing a fort rather than walk on “made in 21st century” concrete steps!How to go to Lohagad fort from Pune: There are multiple approach routes to go to Lohagad fort, each of them unique in what the route presents.
Through the Mumbai-Pune Expressway: This is the fastest way to reach the base village. Go on the expressway from Pune. When the Sinhagad institute appears on the side of the highway, look out for an exit from the road. This is not very obvious though. Get off the exit, go under the highway and enter into a village. If you are doubtful as to whether this could be the route through the village, then you are on the right track! Once you cross the narrows lanes of the village, take a right onto the main road and travel 5-6 kms until you reach a junction where there are lot of tea shops. if in doubt, ask anyone for the route to
Lohagad. At this junction, take left to go to the base village. Though Malvali Village/Bhaja Caves: This is the route taken by all the trekking groups and the one which doesnt need the use of a personal vehicle. Go to lonavala by the local train.
Take another local to go to Malvali village. From Malvali village station, it is a walk of around 2 kms to Bhaja village, the base village for Bhaja caves. An upward path (stairs) would take you to Bhaja caves, but if you follow the winding path (wide enough for a car) next to the stairs, it would take you to the village of Lohagadwadi, the base village for Lohagad fort. This route is around 5-7 kms long and would take around 2-2.5 hrs on foot.
But, if you have a vehicle, you can drive on this road (unless the rains have been very heavy) and go close (not exactly to) the base village. If you want to drive to Bhaja village, check out the direction in the other post of Bhaja caves.
The view from the Western Wall of the castle was something impossible to describe in words. In the outer wall of this side there were three medium sized openings at two different places. The wind was very much strong at this place.
Now it was time to move around the fort. First we moved towards eastern outer wall of the fort. A nasty looking deep valley just beyond the outer wall of the castle trying to swallow everything that falls into it gave us the sense of achievement. After all this is what we strived for. This is where we wanted to reach. Height, height and more height! The moment you reach there, I mean the top, all pain and cramps in muscles took a back seat and we ended up doing nothing but punching the air in excitement. Mission accomplished!!!
The top of the fort is quite expansive and offers uninterrupted views in all directions. The highlight of Lohagad is its Vinchukata fortification (resembling a scorpion’s tail). This structure juts out from the main section of the fort and requires an additional 15-20 mins of walking to reach the edge.
A feeling so real to walk into the battle field of history. Be a member of the 80 strong army to climb up the fort effortlessly, armed to shoot the best pictures with our digital cameras and stand victorious as the Conquerors of Lohagad.
Through the Mumbai-Pune Expressway: This is the fastest way to reach the base village. Go on the expressway from Pune. When the Sinhagad institute appears on the side of the highway, look out for an exit from the road. This is not very obvious though. Get off the exit, go under the highway and enter into a village. If you are doubtful as to whether this could be the route through the village, then you are on the right track! Once you cross the narrows lanes of the village, take a right onto the main road and travel 5-6 kms until you reach a junction where there are lot of tea shops. if in doubt, ask anyone for the route to
Lohagad. At this junction, take left to go to the base village. Though Malvali Village/Bhaja Caves: This is the route taken by all the trekking groups and the one which doesnt need the use of a personal vehicle. Go to lonavala by the local train.
Take another local to go to Malvali village. From Malvali village station, it is a walk of around 2 kms to Bhaja village, the base village for Bhaja caves. An upward path (stairs) would take you to Bhaja caves, but if you follow the winding path (wide enough for a car) next to the stairs, it would take you to the village of Lohagadwadi, the base village for Lohagad fort. This route is around 5-7 kms long and would take around 2-2.5 hrs on foot.
But, if you have a vehicle, you can drive on this road (unless the rains have been very heavy) and go close (not exactly to) the base village. If you want to drive to Bhaja village, check out the direction in the other post of Bhaja caves.
The view from the Western Wall of the castle was something impossible to describe in words. In the outer wall of this side there were three medium sized openings at two different places. The wind was very much strong at this place.
Now it was time to move around the fort. First we moved towards eastern outer wall of the fort. A nasty looking deep valley just beyond the outer wall of the castle trying to swallow everything that falls into it gave us the sense of achievement. After all this is what we strived for. This is where we wanted to reach. Height, height and more height! The moment you reach there, I mean the top, all pain and cramps in muscles took a back seat and we ended up doing nothing but punching the air in excitement. Mission accomplished!!!
The top of the fort is quite expansive and offers uninterrupted views in all directions. The highlight of Lohagad is its Vinchukata fortification (resembling a scorpion’s tail). This structure juts out from the main section of the fort and requires an additional 15-20 mins of walking to reach the edge.
A feeling so real to walk into the battle field of history. Be a member of the 80 strong army to climb up the fort effortlessly, armed to shoot the best pictures with our digital cameras and stand victorious as the Conquerors of Lohagad.
