Trek to Peb Fort.

A write up on our trek to Peb Fort on 17 August 2008.

This fort is not heard by many. It’s a small fort near the ranges of Matheran (the famous hill station in Maharashtra). It is situated on northeast side of Panvel, on Mumbai-Pune road, at a distance of 3-4 km on west side of Neral. This is a one-day trek and also one of the most enchanting trek in Monsoon. It is also known as Vikatgad. The forts and hills in and around Peb Fort are Nakhind, Chanderi, Mahasmal. Prabalgad is another fort opposite this small fort. Peb fort overlooks the Konkan region and also is approachable from Pune. So Chatrapati Shivaji must have given a thought before building this strategic fort. The fort is at a height of 460 Mts. Above sea level.

I had seen the fort from the edge of Panorama Point at Matheran. The Panorama Point at Matheran is at much higher level and gives a clear view of the small fortification of the fort. It was in May, 2008 when I happened to see this fort and decided to visit it as and when I get the chance.

I was lucky to get the chance to be a part of this exciting trek in August, 2008 the same year. Sharing some memories of the trek with you all.

How to reach Peb:
For the Mumbai trekkers, the Trek starts from Neral station. After a walk of an hour or so we immediately saw the green mesmerizing cliffs of Panorama Point and Peb fort facing each other. In monsoons the valley changes from a dry desert to a beautiful and enchanting lush green valley. The moment I saw the fort from below, I felt this would be one of my memorable treks.

Panorama Point and Peb Fort facing each other

We traveled along some difficult rock patches and some breathtaking thin paths, which had valleys on either side of the road. The climate was one, which is best suited for the trek. Not much of rains however it was cloudy throughout the trek. The routes are somewhat tricky and we need to be careful, as there is every possibility that we may loose track of the road and wander off to a different route. We got lost twice but managed to get back on schedule after loosing some time in hunting the correct road. We avoided the temptation of getting in the waterfalls, as we had to reach the caves before sunset.

The narrow Path to Peb Fort

We reached the caves by 6.45 p.m. after a climb of nearly 4 hours. The cave is one of the most neatly kept caves on such forts. It had a grill door to keep the wild animals from entering the cave. The first thing you notice when you enter the cave is the beautiful statue of Shivaji Maharaj. The cave is clean and whitewashed. There is a neatly tiled place of seat outside the cave, which enabled us to sit and relax in the enthralling and chilly climate. Far away we could see the Panvel road where the traffic was moving up and down indicating that we are not far away from civilization.

Statue of Shivaji Maharaj in Caves

After a dinner and a long chat we dozed off as most of us were tired. At 6 o’clock in morning we heard a distinct whistle as if some one is approaching the caves but soon we realized that it was the monsoon bird which whistles at 6 o’clock as if its an alarm to wake up.

When we came out of the cave we could see the charismatic the valley in front of us which was filled with fog. The valley was being cleared with the gust of wind as if to enable us the access the height of the fort and as the wind died down the valley would again be covered with fog. It was a kind of hide and seek game being played between the wind and fog and we as spectators enjoyed the game to the fullest.

The Mesmerizing Valley behind us

In the morning, we could see the surrounding of the cave and to our surprise there were 3 small caves just enough for a man to crawl. The tunnel extends to a length of around 15 ft after that there is 6 ft vertical trench and again the tunnel extends lengthwise to lead to a chamber big for five people to meditate. With our torches we explored the tunnel crawling on our knees and reached the chamber. Bats greeted us inside the tunnel caves. May be during the old times, the tunnel caves were used to stock the food-grains. In Monsoon, 2 of the tunnel caves were filled with water and we could explore only one of them. But we assumed that the remaining 2 caves are of the same structure and size.

The Tunnel Caves

There was no sign of sun breaking the cloud barrier so we assumed it would be a pleasant day to trek with waterfalls all around us. Our trek was to walk to Matheran’s point 132. The first climb the fort wall with the help of the ladder. The ladder overlooked the valley below it. Climbing the ladder is like walking under a shower, as there was a small waterfall besides the ladder.

Climbing the Ladder

After climbing the fort wall we walked our way to the top of the Fort where Swami Smarth Math is set up. Its easy for the devotes to pray for salvation in this heavenly atmosphere. The route to the top was even more thrilling as it was muddy and slippery. At the top, the devotees had placed the footprints of Swami Samarth and a worship place. The narrow path from the top leads us to the Math and the temple of Lord Shiva. This temple was unique with its roof made of Stainless Steel. The roof was like normal huts in Konkan except some slits in between so as to enable the adequate light inside the temple. The temple was small but clean. Now we decided to see the fortifications, which can be seen from Panorama Point. It happened to be the most beautiful of the spots as it was misty all around the valley and due to the mist we were not able to catch the glimpse of Panorama Point.

The Temple of Lord Shiva

Now after confirming our route to end our trek at the base of Panorama Point, we proceeded our route towards Point 132. On the way we had to climb down two ladders (about 60 ft.) which were little shaky but we managed to climb down taking necessary precautions.

The Ladders on the way

The view on our way to was simply panoramic and it was apt to give a similar name to the point, which overlooks such a magnificent view. We crossed a narrow path, which had valley of about 200-300 ft on either side. The narrow route led us to the railway tracks of the toy train. The rail route, which is closed during rainy season, was good for us to walk down towards Neral and is loaded with waterfalls at every nook and corner of the cliffs and it was this time we jumped in the waterfalls for a nice shower. The shower refreshed us and we did not realized the difficult terrain, which we crossed to reach to point 132. In short it’s a wonderful fort to visit for every person who loves to be in the hills and escape the city pollution. But we need to be careful and cautious, as it’s slippery in the monsoon to climb this fort.