Lohagad 3,450 feet (1,052 m)

Lohagad is one fort which you can easily spot while you are traveling from Mumbai to Pune. As a trekker the fort attracts you with the sound fortifications and its historical background. This fort is exactly in center of two river basins i.e. of Indrayni and Pawna.

History of Lohagad
Lohagad can be said to be one of the oldest forts in Maharashtra. Lohagad has a long history and various dynasties ruled this fort. This fort is said to have been built sometime around the period of the great Satavahanas, the Andhra Kings who ruled Central and Southern India during the period 200 B.C. The Satavahanas ruled for nearly 200-300 years and are architects for some of forts in Maharashtra. The fort there after exchanged by many dynasties such as Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Yadavas, Bahamanis, Nizamshahis, Mughals and Marathas. The Nizamshah captured this fort in around 1564. This fort then passed on to Chhatrapati Shivaji in the year 1648 but he was forced to surrender it to the Mugals during the Purandar treaty. However, he recaptured the fort on 16th May, 1670 and was with Maratha Empire till the last Peshwa. It is said that the fort was used by Netaji Palkar to keep the treasure captured when Shivaji Maharaj invaded Surat. In the year 1713, Shahu Maharaj handed the fort to an able lieutenant, Kanhoji Angre. The fort was handed over to Peshwas in the year 1720 by the Angres. In the year 1789, Nana Phadnvis repaired and gave a new life to the fort. Nana Phadvis during the repair constructed big water tank which is till date known as ‘Solakoni talav’. The foundation stone is also engraved near the water tank. Nana Phadnavis breathed his last on this fort in 1800. In 1803, this fort was then captured by the Britishers. The Peshwa Bajirao II re-captured this fort. But the joy could not last long as the Britishers immediately captured Visapur and Marathas had to vacate the fort the very next day. The Britishers army camp was at Lohagad till 1845.

We had heard that there is a road, which reaches Lohagadwadi, which is at the base of the fort. However, we planned not to take that route and decided to go via Bhaje village which is near the Malavli Station(originally known as Karle). We saw the Bhaja Caves, which are on the left hand side of the route to Lohagad.

Visapur Fort

Lohagad and the Famous Vinchukata

After a walk of 15 minutes we were able to see the two forts Lohagad on the right and Visapur on the left. It was mid June and the rains were yet to set in. It had been a long and tiring summer. But to our luck there were some cloud formations and we could witness some cloudy weather around Lohagad.

The Lohagad at our First Pit Stop

Our first halt was near the base of a big fortification. We had a refreshing Lemon drink and proceeded further to Lohagadwadi.

The Pauna Valley

Now we were able to get a clear view of the fortifications of Lohagad on our way up to the fort. We were also able to see the beautiful Pauna valley. The valley was beautiful, even though the monsoons were not in full swing. We all dreamt of the time when the valley would be lush green and the Pauna Dam will be full of water.

The Fortifications near Ganesh Darwaja

Ganesh Darwaja

As we came near the Ganesh Darwaja (door) we were astonished to see the fortifications, which are standing tall even after the onslaught of weather for hundreds of years. It is said that a member of Savle family was sacrificed at the fortifications near this Darwaja and in return the Savle Family were declared as ‘Patil’ for the Lohagadwadi village.

The Zig-zag Fortifications

Narayan Darwaja

Some more beautiful Fortifications


After a zig-zag road we reached the next Darwaja which is the Narayan Darwaja, this Darwaja is built by Nana Phadanvis. There is a small godown near the door where foodgrains used to be stored. The next to be encountered is the Hanuman Darwaja, which is the oldest of all the Darwajas on Lohagad.

The Mahadarwaja

The last but not the least the Mahadarwaja is the main entrance to the fort. There are carvings of Lord Hauman on this darwaja. The repair work on this Darwaja is also done by Nana Phadanvis from 1st November, 1790 to 19th July, 1794. On entering the Mahadarwaja you set eyes on the Big Darga or Mosque. Near the Darga is the place for the Killedar to discuss some political issues with his trusted people (Sadar). There is a small but beautiful temple of Lord Shiva on the balle killa (citadel). There is also the remains of the iron factory or Loharkhana near the Darga. Hence this is the reason as to why this fort is called Lohagad. On the right hand side of the Mosque is the Flag post. There is a cannon near the Flag post, which is firmly fixed to the ground. On the right hand side of the Flagpost you can find some caves. The caves are good enough to halt for the night. But you need to be careful as it’s a home ground for the bats. As we proceeded towards the famous Vinchukata, we saw some marvelous tanks and one of them is called as Sola Koni taki. Though it was dry we were amazed by the size and construction of the water tank. There were numerous water tanks on the fort. The tanks ensured that there was enough water throughout the year.

Vinchukata and the route to Vinchukata (above)

On the left side of the water tank we saw the first view of the famous ‘Vinchukata’. It means the scorpions Tail in Marathi. The route to Vinchukata is pretty difficult one and we had to be very careful in climbing down to the vinchukata. Vinchukata is about 1500 meters long and 30 meters broad. The view of Vinchukata is marvelous and we were at loss of words when we all set our foot on Vinchukata. Vinchukata surely reminds us of Sanjeevani Maachi at Rajgad. The view from Vinchukata was simply superb and you can easily understand that Vinchukata was more used during the olden times to keep a view on the surrounding area below the fort. One can see an area upto 25-30 miles from Vinchukata which covers Lonavala – Khandala. If the weather is clear, on the right hand side from Vinchukata you can see Rajmachi. Thus in the olden times this fort was of strategic importance as this fort along with Visapur fort was like a big wall to protect the Deccan from the invader coming from Konkan. This may be one of the reasons for the number of Buddist Caves in this region. The Karle, Bhaje and Bhedse Caves are very near to Lohagad. Near Rajmachi are the Kondana Caves, thus the Buddhist felt that this area was secure from the invaders with the forts like Lohagad and Visapur around.

After a delicious Lunch we proceeded back to our bus. On the way we could see Visapur Fort right in front of us as if hinting us to come for a second innings in this region.