Mohim : Vajrgad – Purandar

After successful Chawand trek our next target was Vajragd, a fort about which very few people know, a fort is usually misinterpreted as part of its neighbor Purandar. Even on internet there are very few articles on Vajragad fort.

We were expecting ~ 7 people for this trek but due to various reasons only Mohan , Akshaye & Ajay able to manage. Lowest count since I started trekking and as I was been to Saswad same week I was well aware of the road condition between Hadpaser – Saswad , so we decided to opt for reliable ST bus rather than bikes.


We all (including Akshaye as he has learn his lesson from Chawand trip, where we fined him ;) for coming late) gathered ~ 700 at Swargate. We reached at the Kapurhol at 830 and had breakfast there. Our next target was Naryanpur from where we had to actually start out trek. Possibility of getting Bhor- Saswad ST (only regular ST bus using which you can reach from Kapurhol to Saswad) was very low so we opt for a jeep. The Jeep wala managed to fit 17 people in a 8 seat Jeep .

Within half an hour we reached @ Narayanpur. From Narayanpur we walked till Peth (Base village for Purandar & Vajragad) and after 90 minutes of walk we reached @ Bini Darwaja of Purandar. From there we directly headed towards Bhairav Khind (The last point of Purandar where Shivaji Maharaj's statue is placed). Vajragad is just behind that status and way to Vajragad is from the small hill behind Bhairav khind. We had actually took the left hand side road which is behind Rajke talav but we couldn't found a good way from their to reach Vajragad so we had to came back and choose the path that goes from the small hill.

Within 15 minutes we reached at Vajragad main door. It is still in pretty much good shape.

From Vajragad , we climbed down to Purandar and within 45 mins we reached at Dilli Darwaja, from there we went to Kedareshwar. Kedareshwar is situated at top most peak of Purandar. Entire surrounding area of Karha khore and Shirval region can be viewed from Kedareshwar, that' s why Purandar was so important.Overall the fort is in pretty good shape.
Snaps are uploaded at : http://picasaweb.google.co.in/khenatram/VajragadPurandar

Details

Region : Pune

Approximate Distance : 50 KM from Pune

Route to reach.

1. Pune – Saswad – Narayanpur
   
2. Pune – Kapurhol – Narayanpur
   

Difficulty Level : Easy