My first attempt at Tringalwadi fort in Igatpuri region of
Sahyadris was a failure! Not aware of the logistics of reaching the base
village, me and my band of novice trekkers had walked on a tar road for several
kilometres, reached the base village and seen the lake behind it. Then we
trudged towards the caves and decided to call it a day, just at the base of the
fort. This time, taking no chances, I decided that going by our own vehicle
would solve all the problems. The rain gods have been truant this season but it
was July and hoping the weather would be pleasant in Igatpuri as it generally
is in monsoons, our little band of trekkers (one novice, others experienced)
fit ourselves in a Chevrolet Spark and zoomed off on the Bombay-Nasik road.
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| Tringalwadi fort from base village |
The Kasara ghat was full of clouds and it was a promising
vision! Past Igatpuri, we took a diversion from the highway and were on a small
road that goes from Takay village to Tringalwadi village. The road was slightly
bumpy but we’ve been to worse. This road now extends further to other small
hamlets, the last of which is nearest to the Jain caves (locally known as Pandavleni) at the base of the fort.
These are badly preserved like all archaeologically significant monuments in
the state and we could only get the faintest glimpses of their glory.
From the caves, many routes confusingly move to the small
plateau on the top. After some confusion we reached a small hamlet from where
another climb starts. There was a light drizzle but the weather was cool and
refreshing; watching the mist move near the mountains while the green
countryside lay in front of us was a nice sight.
Some more climbing takes you to a crucial point from where
two paths diverge at the foot of the fort massif; the one on the right takes
you to small steps that lead you to the fort and the one on the left takes you
to the Chor Darwaja. We took the easier right route that took us into the fort.
The fort top is grassy with only a few water tanks and a couple of ruins. We
rested and ate, gazing at the mountains around and then walked along the grassy
expanse towards a small temple. In front of the temple is a ‘trishul’ and a
flag. With a majestic mountain as a backdrop this is an ideal point to snap
pics (which we dutifully did – including a tandav pose with the trishul!).
From the temple we climbed up to reach the highest point of
the fort. There is nothing much here except for the view of the countryside.
The silence and beauty was wonderful and we lunched enjoying our superior
position in the world (a fact that was indirectly conveyed by clicking a pic
and sending it online to our friends!). We descended to the lower level and
made our way to the other entrance – the Chor Darwaja. The doorway is
demarcated by a striking large relief of Lord Hanuman - the monkey god whose
orange colour was almost glowing; you have to be flexible and alert to
negotiate the gigantic steps of the staircase here especially in the rainy
season. The last few steps are destroyed and slightly tricky (as the newbies found
out!) A cliff side walk took us to the diversion point of the morning and then
it was an easy descent.
Back at the village a water pond invited us and we all
jumped in. It was a great relaxing end to a idyllic fun hike! Great way to
start the 2012 trekking season; now just praying the rain gods deliver!
Photos at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/upsidedownv/Tringalwadi?authuser=0&feat=directlink
1 comments:
I am surprised and impressed how quickly you got the pictures and this articley in. and nicely written too Vikram. I wish I could have been there, but thank you once again for asking me and for including me in this. Enjoyed looking at the pictures and the article.
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