Travel Plan - Mumbai - Katjat - Songiri
Distance - 180 km covered to and fro.
Time - 3 hrs one way approx.
Commute - By Car
Songiri Fort located near Palasdhari station on the Karjat - Khopoli railway line. It is called Fort is called Palasdhari Fort as well. You can spot the triangle-shaped mountain and the fortress from Palasdhari station. Avalas village located 25 minutes walking distance from the railway station is the base village for Songiri Fort Trek.
Not much is known but talking to one of the elders, it seems this small fortress was used as a watch tower and a place of rest. This fort use to monitor the trade link between Morbe and Karjat covering a small part. This fort protected the local village in the ancient times which is now called karjat and Khopoli. There are many waterfall hidden in the east wing of the dense Forest, you can use help from the locals to reach it.
Updated: Feb 17, 2022
Travel Plan - Mumbai - Sondewadi
Distance - 180 km covered to and fro.
Time - 3 hrs one way approx.
Commute - By Car
Standing at a height of 365 m, the Sondai fort trek is a small hill fort trek, which is more of a watchtower. The fort is at the base of two villages, Sondewadi and Wavarle. Sondewadi village is at quarter height from the fort. From the summit of the Sondai Fort, one can get a clear and beautiful view of the Morba Dam, Prabalgad , Songiri , Rajmachi and Irshal forts and the Matheran mountain range. There are 4 water tanks on the fort, out of which 2 of them provide potable water. There is also an idol of Sondai Devi on the top of the fort and the steps to take one there are carved out of rocks. The villagers have put up 2 ladders to make the climb easier.The first ladder has two cisterns to its right while the second one takes us directly to the top.
Sondai fort trek has an easy trail and takes approximately an hour to reach the fort. The trail becomes a bit hard during monsoon as the rock steps become slippery. There are two routes to reach the fort. The one from Sondewadi is more preferable since the route from Wavarle has a little difficult approach as it passes through a dense forest.
Travel Plan - Mumbai - Nashik - Nirgudpada
Distance - 370 km covered to and fro.
Time - 5 hrs one way approx.
Commute - By Car
Bhaskargad is also known as Basgad. East of Nashik at the Trimbak range, lies this mesmerising fort. It is also known as Basgadwhich is in the trimbak rang which is near "Trimbakeshwar", known among the 12 "Jyotirlingas" in India. You will also see a beautiful rivulet which you need to cross in order to reach the trail to the fort.
The mountain of Bhaskargad comprises mainly of basalt rock. The steps are cut through the mountain rock and take us through the stone walls towards the main entrance, which is buried under soil now. We have to enter by crawling. Once we reach the cap of the mountain, we can roam about the edge of the fort. We can find some remnants of houses and cisterns on the fort top
