Sinhagad - The Lion Fort
It was a Friday Evening. We were back from office and sipping our tea in the balcony.We were discussing on the plans for weekend. It was then that we came up with a plan to visit 'Sinhagad'.My college friend also stayed in Pune, We called them up and asked if they would like to join us. They readily agreed and then started our Car Hunt for rent. Unfortunately everything was booked out since it was the last moment plan. Finally, we decided we will go on our own vehicles. No not bikes!! This time it was on my snow white :) Dio!!
Honestly, It was a thrilling experience. We started somewhere between 5:30 - 6:00 in the morning. Sinhagad was around 42 kms from our place. We took Pune-Bangalore Express Highway as the roads are beautiful during the monsoon and we were in no hurry. We met our friends at Wadgaon Phata junction. From there we drove together. It is an amazing destination for a one day trip. In between we stopped for breakfast - Kanda bhaji (Onion pakoda) and poha. Enjoying the scenery around us we took our own sweet time to finish our breakfast and sip the tea. We then decided to move further, we took multiple breaks in between to click pictures, to sit on the mountain sides and enjoy the view of Sahyadri mountains.
Every inch we traveled gave us an assurance that this trip was worth it. After a lot of narrow U-turns we finally reached the top of the hill at around 8:00 am. It is located at 1350 m above the sea level. We reached the arch and parked our vehicles. From here we had to go on foot for some distance. The very first entrance of Sinhagad Fort tells us that the entrance doors were placed very thoughtfully.
No wonder, the doors and the fort have a lot a history behind them. Both the entrance doors: the Pune Darwaza and the Kalyan Darwaza have 3 entrances each before they enter the main fort at center. As usual, most of the locations in Pune are famous for their scenic view points; Sinhagad too has many such. Two well-known points are kadelot, (a point from where the prisoners were thrown down the cliff) and the Hawa point, (where the wind blows directly on your face). From here one can enjoy the majestic views of the mountain valley.
By now, it had started to drizzle and we were enjoying the greenery around us. There were a lot of stalls where they were selling mangoes, guava and cucumber served with chilli powder and salt. It was a treat for our taste-buds. This is one way the locals in village earn their living.
We walked further and saw a tomb of Tanaji Malusare, a well-known warrior during the era of Shivaji Maharaj. He was a great personality who helped Shivaji conquer the fort Sinhagad. He was known as 'the lion warrior'. Shivaji was indebted to him and that tells you where the name 'Sinhagad' came from. It is also told that our freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak had made Sinhagad his summer house. We had our lunch there in the small stalls. The food was amazing.
Overall, we spent around 4-5 hours enjoying the peace and beauty of nature. We started back at around 1:00 pm. The slight drizzles had now turned into torrential downpour. We thoroughly enjoyed the drive back to Pune riding on my snow white !! :)
