Journey Date : 28th Nov, 2023
Mode of Transport : Train, Bus
History of the Fort
- Since the year 1482, this fort was under the control of Mahamdshah Bahamani, in the year 1490 Ahmad Hasan betrayed Bahamani and established a new empire Nijamshahi and captured the Korigad fort and was under Nizamshahi control until the year 1636 (146 years).
- In the year 1636 Emperor Shahajahna attacked and overtook the Nizamshahi, in the treaty between Aadilshah and Shahajanh, Korigad Fort went under the control of Aadilshah.
- In the year 1647 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj captured the fort with the help of Dadoji Kondadev and Dhamale Deshmuk.
- In the year 1665 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj handed over Kuvari / Korigad along with 11 other forts to the Mughals, in the treaty of Purandar.
- Aurangzeb invaded the Deccan in the year 1689, after the death of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj 2nd king of the Maratha empire, Korigad fort captured by the Mughals on 12th November 1695.
- Secretary Shankraji Narayan ordered Navji Balkawde to re-capture the fort, on December 1695, Navji Balkawde got succeeded and brought back Korigad fort into Swarajay - Maratha Empire, but with the cost of several soldier lives along with Baloji Naik Dhamale.
- The Korigad fort was under the Maratha Empire until the year 1818 for 123 years.
- In the year 1818 Colonel Prother seized the fort, and he bombarded the fort for 3 days (11th to 13th March 1818) still he didn't succeed.
- Finally, on 14th March 1818, Col. Prother succeeded by firing a canon ball on ammunition storage. The Maratha army on the fort surrendered and handed over the fort to the British.
- Colonel Prother looted the fort, but he didn't touch the jewelry of Goddess Korai, instead, he transferred the jewellery of Goddess Korai to the Mumbadevi Temple of Mumbai and those jewelry are still present in the temple today.
How to reach by Public Transport
- Indrayani Express from CSMT 5:40 a.m.
- MSRTC bus from Lonavla bus depot at 9:00 a.m. for Peth Shahapur (Lonavala - Bhambarde bus)
- The same bust will return to Peth Shahapur base village between 2:30 p.m. to 3.00 p.m (only one bus)
If you miss Indrayani Express then you will miss the Lonaval - Bhamburde MSRTC bus, this is the only bus in a day for Peth Shahapur village. If you miss the bus then you can hire a private jeep which costs high at around 50 Rs to 100 Rs, depending on your luck. Similarly don't miss the bus for the return journey which arrives at Peth Shahapur at around 2:30 p.m.
While returning, once you reach Lonavala you can choose another option to reach Mumbai. Take a bus from Lonavala MSRTC bus depot to Khopoli bus depot. (buses are available in every 15-30 minutes).
Travel and Trek Experience
The plan was to visit and stay at Harishchandragad, but due to unexpected rain, we canceled the plan and decided to visit Korigad. My self, Latesh and Vilas uncle, We started our journey early in the morning from Goregaon at around 4:30 a.m. Boarded a BEST bus and reached Goregaon station around 4:45 a.m. At 4:49 a.m. Boarded the Churchgate train at got down at Dadar station at around 5:25 a.m. From platform number 6 of Dadar Central Railway, we boarded the Indrayani Express at 5:51 a.m. (Reservation was full, hence traveled from General compartment). Luckily Latesh got one empty seat, Myself and Vilas uncle didn't get the seat, so we decided to seat periodically.
Note: You can board Indrayani Express from CSMT, in our case we were a little bit late, high chance of missing the train; hence decided to board it from Dadar.
We reached Lonavala station at around 8:20 a.m., We came out from the east side of the station and walked towards MSRTC bus depot with the help of Google Maps, The Bus depot is around 600 meters away from the railway station, it took 8 to 10 minutes to reach by walking. In the depot at the inquiry counter, we enquired about bus timing for Peth Shahapur, The bus will depart at around 9:00 a.m. We had 30 minutes in hand, so decided to do breakfast. Outside the bus depot, on the left side of the gate from where buses entered, there was one stall selling breakfast items. First, we ensure the cleanliness and decide to do breakfast. We had one plate meduvada and tea each, after breakfast we moved inside the depot and enquired at the shop about Peth Shahpur (Aamby Valley) bus. The shop owner pointed to the bus which was standing in front of us, the bus route was "Lonavala to Bhamburde" The bus got almost full, and we got the last seats.
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| MSRTC bus for Peth Shahapur village |
The bus departed on time at 9:00 a.m. and reached the base village Peth Shahapur at 9:41 a.m. From the left side of the main road, there was a path that goes towards Korigad Fort, so we started walking, but one old age uncle from the village guided us to take another route, as the current route was the longest. We turned backward took the main road and moved ahead, When the road took a right turn, we left the road and moved towards the mountain also we took the help of the DURG Navigation app to ensure the correct trek route (already downloaded offline map). With the help of an offline map we moved ahead, usually, there is no need for the map as the trek route is easy and safe, but at the start of the trek there was two right turn where almost all the people missed and moved straight and join the wrong path, so at initial level we used the offline map. Fortification and the bastion along with the waving saffron flag 😍 was visible from the base village.
We came across the fort steps, so closed the navigation app and moved ahead without fear of getting lost. After 30 to 40 minutes of climb, we reached Ganesh Cave and a small temple of Lord Ganesh. At least 10 to 12 people can be accommodated in the cave, but currently cave is dirty and has become the house of Bats. We took a rest for 5 minutes and moved ahead.
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| Lord Ganesh Temple and Cave |
After 10 minutes of walking, we came across one more cave, where inside the cave water tank was there. Not sure the water in the water tank was clean and safe to drink, hence avoided refilling the bottles and moved ahead. Within 90 minutes at around 11:15 a.m., we reached the main gate "Ganesh Darwaja" of the fort. On the left side wall there was one carving of the human face, not sure might be the carving of Lord Bhairoba. The gate was reconstructed recently also new wooden doors were installed by a private fort conservation organisation. Don't expect such good work from ASI. We moved through the gate, on the right side behind the gate, as usual, there was a structure of a hut base, provision made for gatekeepers, and also a noticeable structure of a small canal to pass the rainwater. We moved ahead and came across two more water tanks. One is on the left side of the door and the other is exactly in front of the door. We took a left climbed the stairs and reached on top of the fort.
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| Sculpture of Bhairavnath |
In front of us, there was a Shiv temple, where four cannons were kept. First, we decide to explore the right side of the fort and later enter into the temple. We moved ahead towards the lake, there was a way between two lakes where a sitting arrangement was made. We had planned to take a bath in the lake, but the water was not clean, hence we canceled the plan and moved ahead and reached the opposite side of the fort. We started walking on the fortification wall and reached one of the bastions northside of the fort, also known as Flag Point, where the saffron flag was waving with pride. this was the same flag and the bastion was visible from the base village as I mentioned earlier.
We spent around 15 to 20 minutes, and had snacks before we moved ahead; we met a group of college students, who shared their trekking experience of Salher Fort. After sharing an Insta ID, we moved ahead through fortification and got down from the wall in front of Shiv temple, explored the Shiv temple and four canons and moved ahead towards the Vishnu temple. In front of the Vishnu temple, there were several rock pillars known as Veergal. A veergal is a pillar (usually of stone or wood) erected in memory of heroic men. It is also called Veerstambha.
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| Shiv Temple |
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| Vishnu Temple |
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| Veergal |
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| Veergal |
After exploring the Vishnu temple we moved ahead and reached the Korai Goddess temple. While walking towards the Korai goddess temple we saw a big cannon, first we explored the Temple, we spent some time in the temple. The statue of Goddess Korai is beautiful also there was a beautiful deepstamb (light poll) in front of the temple.
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| Koraidevi Temple |
After exploring the temple we came back to the cannon named Laxmi one of the biggest cannon on the fort. After exploring the canon, moved ahead through fortification and reached southside of the fort at around 12:00 p.m. We came down from fortification and moved into the small valley which headed towards west door of the fort named as Hanuman Darwaja. While going towards we came across one more water tank, water is not clean, we moved ahead and reachd at the the gate. The way from Hanuman Darwaja reached at Aambavne village, but current condition of trail is not good and safe.
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| Laxmi Canon |
After exploring the Hanuman Darwaja, we moved ahed and climb the small rock patch and again came at the top and reached at the way which headed towards the lower bastion (Chilkhati Buruj). Path is not in good condition, hence we avoid going down. There was one more big canon present similar in the size of Laxmi canon. From the fortification wall the view of Aamby Valley city and the runway is clearly visible. We moved ahead and reached South bastion of the fort. The condition of the bastion is good but need some restoration and cleaning work as bastion is full of bushes, We avoid going ahead as there was high chances of having serpents into the bushes.
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| Front layer of Bastion |
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| Bastion inner part |
From the east side of the fortification, we moved ahead towards the main gate (Ganesh Darwaja). While moving towards the main gate observed some workers cutting stones with chisels and hammers for restoration work. We reached the main gate of the fort from there we started our return journey at around 1:00 p.m, While descending the fort we came across small children of age group 7 to 8 years. A school from Pune arranged the picnic for them, a nice initiative of the school to arrange a picnic at a historic place.
We took a rest at the Ganesh cave for 5 minutes and moved ahead, within 30 minutes at around 1:30 p.m. we reached the base village Peth Shahapur. We had to wait for one hour for the MSRTC bus, but luckily a private vehicle arrived, we asked to drop us at Lonavala station; he said he would charge 50 Rs per person. We agreed as we have to spend 15 Rs extra per person, which saves our time. We reached Lonavala station at around 1:50 p.m. He dropped us at Lonavala West, Shivaji Chowk, from there we came to the East using the overhead bridge and again walked for 8 to 10 minutes towards the Bus depot.
We enquired about the bus timing for Khopoli, they said buses are available at 3:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. We had almost one hour in hand, so decided to go for shopping and have lunch. The exact opposite of the bus stand from where buses exit, there was a shop Maganlal Chikki, with varieties of chikkis available there. After purchasing chikki we are searching a restaurant for lunch, but the condition of the restaurant cum dhaba was not good, hence avoid doing lunch and came back to the bus depot, had sugarcane juice and went to the stand where one bus arrived of Junnar - Panvel. We boarded the bus, the bus departed at 3:30 p.m. and reached Khopoli Phata at around 3:40 p.m. We got down at Khopoli Phata. From Khopoli Phata bus stand, Khopoli railway station was 3 km away. There are sharing autos available with 20 Rs per person, but we decided to cover the distance by walking as we had enough time also our walking quota was not yet completed 😅.
With the help of Google Maps, at around 4:20 p.m., we reached Khopoli railway station, the train had already arrived and parked at the platform, due to limited frequency train was almost full, lucky we got seats. The train departed at 4:30 p.m. and reached Dadar at around 6:45 p.m. (The Deccan Express which we are planning to board, was delayed by 40 minutes). We reached Goregaon at around 7:15 p.m.
Places to See Nearby
- Ghangad Fort
- Morgiri Fort
- Tail Baila pinacle
- Tung Tikona Fort
- Dinosour Park
- Wax Museum
Spending Tracker in Rupees
Time Tracker
Random Clicks
