Koraigad / Korigad

The urge to go new places, made me search "not so famous spots" around Pune which are really blessed with beauty of nature.. Called up the group and planned for a week end one day trip to Koraigad also known as Korigad...

Starting from Pune taking a old Mumbai highway we drove towards Lonavala with cold breeze which in turn got changed to raindrops falling from the skies...

Taking a turn on reaching Lonavala we took the bhushi dam route.
Taking a stop at the Lions Point we got a break from the drive and time for some snacks.. The amazing view from Lions point always takes a breath away.. the high waterfall in front and the triangular tip of the mountain presents a picturous spot for many..

starting again on the beautiful road of INS shivaji every turn fills excitement in you heart... driving over the deccan trap mountains with green trees around and rains falling from the skies... relaxing feeling makes you forget your daily issues...

After driving around 15 km the first glimps of Karaigad grows your excitement..On crossing the Peth Shahapur village the chowk we parked the car along road side and got down to see the vertical cliff of Koraigad standing tall as a challenge for any rock climber...

Starting the walk through the Shahpur village we were looking up for exactly from where we will be climbing the Korigad. The main gate of the Koraigad is constructed is such a way that its not easily visible from the bottom. Taking the rough trail going towards the fort we started our walk. The sky was getting cloudier and sweating began immediately. We were greeted by a beautiful Chameleon Lizard on a small culvert before the village....Being monsoon the rice fields on both side of the road presented beautiful green scenery.

As we crossed the village the trailed led us into a thickening jungle. The bushes were small and trees were thin at the start but as we walked for few minutes it grew larger n thicker. To add to the thrill it started raining. The rains in lonavala region is famous for its unpredictable nature. We were not prepared and thought it wont rain much. But to our surprise it started pouring like taps running full from the sky. The taking the shelter of trees was not an option as water falling from trees was discharging like tap. The rain and the thick jungle made our mood go up and fun began to rise. After walking for half an hour through the jungle, the trail leads us to a location from where we found steps that go up. Till this point you are nearly walking on flat ground. Still due to the thick forest the main gate of the fort was not visible.

As you start climbing the stone steps, you realize in first 25 steps that its gonna be a steep climb up. Black color stone steps was standing out between the lush green grass and bushes along the climb. After we steps we realize that due to the due the moss growth on the stone due to humid climate the steps have become slippery. Especially me with a hard sole shoes was finding it quite tricky to put stability on those steps. Looking at my imbalanced climbing, other found it really interesting and were just waiting to laugh there mouths out if I fall down.

As we climbed up the view of the beautiful hills around was amazing, the dam of amby valley offered a nice view too. There is railing in some places which gives you support as u climb but some place railing also has become loose. At the mid height of the climb we reached a spot with a tree and seating places around it. Just beside it there is a cave carved in the mountain. 8-10 people can seat inside the cave. It also has a small fresh water tub near the opening of the cave. The cave must have been utilized for guards as a check point. It is good stop for tired legs.

The main entrance of Fort is few minutes from the check post. Its called Ganesh Darvaja. Very tactically hidden entrance of the fort gives it a military advantage in time of the battle.

Crossing the main entrance, you enter is vast plain plateau. The view of the green plateau and water ponds is a treat to watch after a climb.

 

The fort plateau has two large water ponds separated by some distance. The ponds stand out really great upon lush green surroundings. The green grass on the soil feels like a large expensive green carpet. The grass leaves had the droplets of rain hanging over them and that gave a amazing appearance. It was so beautiful like while walking also we did not wanted put our feet on the beautiful natural carpet so as not to disturb them.

The Korigad(Koraigad) fort has few remains of what seemed to be old buildings. Only foundation and few small standing stone walls can be seen on the plateau.

The fort has the small temple of Goddess Koraidevi. The temple is small but nice. While taking the darshan everyone suddenly felt highly spiritual. May be the effect of surrounding climate, that gave us a feeling that we are in heaven. There is a canon in front of the temple and a Deepstambha. There two small temples of Shiva and Vishnu on the fort.

The fort’s perimeter walls are still in good condition and one can take a complete round of the forts walking these walls. As we started from the left side of the entry, one can the see the famous Amby Valley. The boating aren, small budglows, and a beautifully designed dam/bridge poses a amazing view. As we walk around the perimeter wall, the more and more of amby valley comes to our sight.

As the sides of fort are highly steep the bungalows seemed like a small boxes. One can see the long limousine like cars plying on the roads taking tourist from one place to another. On the east side the Amby Valley looks more beautiful with bigger bungalows, clubhouse, two artifical lakes, the huge entry gate

Going a bit further we can see the airstrip for landing small airplanes and helicopters. The eastern end of the Koraigad offers a spectacular 180 deg view of amby valley and airstrip. The end has strong baston in a very good condition.

While walking ahead we could feel that there has to be a way to climb down the fort from this side. Searching a for few minutes we found it. There were no step to climb down. It was very difficult task climb down as due to rain the rocky patch as become slippery. After gathering a bit of courage me and viren decided to give it try. It was difficult but once we came a little down we discovered another wall of baston which is not visible from the top. The rough descent below led us to what seemed like a Chordarwaja. A small entry in the baston along ground with steps. As we climbed down the steps the size of the stairwell got smaller and smaller and at the exit of it we needed to walk on knees to get out.

Once we got, to our surprise there was another set of walls, but now having quite a height and straight fall down. But man, it was a thrilling experience. We were feeling pity for the tourists who are just roaming around on the top of the fort who were missing the most amazing spot on fort. After stopping for a while and enjoying the view, we climbed up again with a great difficulty and started the walk around the perimeter.

The end of fort towards Peth Shahapur also offers a spectacular view. The straight cliff from the top and the cloud covered mountains around just takes your breath away. You can see the village at base and bus stand where we had parked our car. The Pethshahapur end also is the highest point on the forts and hence offers a complete view of the fort.

We decided to now walk back with the smell of pure air in our nose. As we started back infact may be to thank us for our visit, it started to pour heavily. A slippery descent down the forts was a scary task specially from me with hard sole shoes. That gave others quite the entertainment. On way back through the jungle the we met few enthusiastic teenagers shouting and playing loud music, which disturbed the peaceful surrounding the fort.

After climbing down for 45 minutes, we were at the base village and soon we started back to Pune. From the rare glass of the car we could see the Koraigad standing tall and we cruised on the road with a thought to come back again in next monsoon.

Amyt...