Historic Strides

Pune is close to some of the most historic forts in Maharashtra. So its no surprise that many Puneites go often to Sinhagad fort, which is the closest to the city. Whats a lesser known fact is that many people fit it into their weekend fitness schedules; morning buses leave from the city as early as four at dawn.


Last month I joined my uncle who climbs Sinhagad every fortnight, on a Sunday morning, just to keep fit. A good change from the usual morning walk at the park! We left at around 5.30 for Sinhagad and reached in less than an hour. There was already a line of cars in front of us and the parking space was getting full. Meanwhile the path was full of avid early morning trekkers with their torches, so that a row of lights illuminated the path right up to the citadel on top which itself was barely visible in the darkness.


We started climbing without torches; soon the day began to dawn slowly. Meanwhile as we climbed there were already people descending down. There were people of all ages – children, teenagers, aunties and uncles, grandmoms and grandpas. The climb took us about an hour or so. I was a bit out of breath probably because of a cough; it was steeper and longer than I had anticipated. But when we reached the top at around seven, the sun was shining on the surrounding countryside.


We were rewarded for our efforts by a row of vendors. Dahi, buttermilk, nimboo-pani, cucumber….take your pick! Evidently Sinhagad at morning is very popular and the villagers are using that to advantage. I and my cousin Ameya rambled a bit at the top but we decided to hurry back before it got too hot to descend. For early March, the air was still cool and pleasant.


It was great to see people of all ages trek up the fort. With the amount of visitors involved it was also a surprise that littering was kept to a minimum. My only complaint was that people carry pesky mobiles with music blaring out; the whole mountainside doesn’t want to listen to what you are listening! Stick to etiquette with headphones!


Descending was a quick affair and while the rest of us managed as fast as we could Ameya charged ahead with lightning speed dodging the latecomers who were climbing up in the rising heat. A good morning workout that got finished off with a round of poha and chai at the base village. At it was not even nine in the morning! This was a rare summer hike for me and probably the one that finished so early in the day!

Ameya at Sinhagad