GHERSURGAD FORT

Early September saw rains lashing my part of the world and the weekend seemed to be conducive for a wet hike. So on a Saturday I set out by train to Khopoli to join my uncle and cousin for a trek to Gherasurgad or Surgad as it’s also known. I had read about this lesser known fort only from online blogs and so was excited to visit it.

From Khopoli, the road was initially quite bad (even though the Imagica theme park lies along this route). Luckily the road improved and turned picturesque as we drove towards Pali. From Pali we joined the Bombay-Goa road and ahead of Nagothane took a detour (from Khamb) to the village of Vaijnath that lies at the base of the fort.

Surgad is not a high fort (about 1800 ft) and lies detached from the main Sahyadri range. It is surrounded by thick forest on all sides. We started climbing around eleven; the rains had vanished but it was mildly cloudy. Further it had rained earlier so everywhere there was the pleasant sound of running water; soon even our path had become a mini-waterfall.

The route was beautiful and shaded by trees. Skipping across lush paddy fields, we entered a forested route. The route eventually reaches a plateau. First there is a rocky clearing and then one re-enters the forest, reaching a point where there is a board announcing directions. A path demarcated by stones on either side, moves towards the cliffs which gave natural fortification to the fort. A gully with cliffs on either side has to be negotiated and there is a patch that is tricky when wet. There must have steps at one time here but they have been blasted. Remnants of steps lie on the top and one reaches an idol of a Hanuman with moustaches.

From here on one can explore the fort. We stopped at this point to gaze views of the other side of the fort; we could see the river Kundalika snaking through the green countryside. The top of the fort was covered with really tall grass, it was higher than our heads at places and completely obscured the path. However it was beautiful and peaceful at the top with interesting relics of the path; an impressive bastion, a carved tablet, a small ‘lingam’ of Shiva, some water tanks....

The fort somehow reminded me of Sudhagad which is not too far away from Surgad. Both forts have such beautiful surroundings that they are an absolute treat to visit and explore in the monsoon; I highly recommend them to novice trekkers. We spent some time by the edge of the fort, having lunch and listening to the breeze drifting through the overgrown grass and that is the way I will always remember this trek!

Overgrown grass on Ghersurgad

Link to pics:

https://picasaweb.google.com/115394767952469723630/Gherasurgad