Trekking is definitely interesting. But, trekking along with history and nature makes a wonderful experience.None of us will disagree with this thought. At least we eight for sure. How?...Well, the answer for this is nothing but Our Own Experience!
Day 1-
After scaling King of the fort -Rajgad it was time to visit the second capital of Maratha empire, Gem of forts RAIGAD!
Unexpected holidays are like a Birthday Gift. We never know what the gift is r to open it! Yes. We got 3 day holiday. 8 of the college buddies decided one-night halt at Raigad fort (Let me introduce them-Sudeep, Niraj, Sarvesh, Utkarsh, Hrishikesh, Imam, Suraj (Rockstar) and Me. Caught a train from Ratnagiri to Mahad. Reached Raigad at 12 noon.
As I was only to visit the Raigad twice before, leading the team was obvious. Before starting the trail we had a breakfast of Misal & vada pav. My friend Utkarsh, who hails from Delhi, was unaware of this type of fort structure. He cracked a joke- " Is this a Fort? It seems like a mountain!"......Haha.....But, surely he was amazed by this huge Fort alias mountain!
We started to climb up. After climbing few steps, everyone was looking fatigue ( Though they refused to say!). Especially, Utkarsh. After a slow climb (with a lot of short rests) of about one and half hour, finally, we reached MAHA-Darwaja !And guess who was the first one to reach there?.....Hmmm?.....UTKARSH! Job's Done!
We reached 'Elephant Lake' i.e.Hatti Talav. Visited Hatti Khamb and tomb of Madari Mehtar, who was very faithful to The Great Shivaji Maharaj. We had decided to stay in open for the night. But, after experiencing mid-noon shivering wind of Raigad, we dropped the plan. Finally booked a room after a lot of bargain talks.
It was 2.00 noon and every one was exhausted . Everyone rested till 4 o'clock. After a short breakfast of Poha, we initiated exploring the fort. Visited the famous bronze statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at 'Holicha Mal'. Then visited Nagarkhana and Raj-Darbar. Nagarkhana is one of the well-preserved structures on fort Raigad. Raj darbar is just awesome in case of structure and acoustics. Though there are only ruins of the darbar, we had enough chance to imagine those Glorious days of Shivrajyabhishek. How proud moment it was for every Maratha, Every native Indian! We got our own Empire, SWARAJYA! We got our own King! The savior, the exemplary human and the perfect Administrator! Just keep imagining....
We moved to Jagdishwar temple. Before the temple, we passed through the market place of that time. Its huge with the total of 44 shops. It's engineering in unique . Moving to the temple.This is 15th or 16 th century Shiva temple built in Mughal architecture style. In front of the temple, there is a place where we can just stand still and can do nothing but only pray for that great soul. This is Samadhi (Tomb) of The Great Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Personally, I become very much sensitive at this place.Deep somewhere in the mind intense feelings get crowded . I saw same feelings in my friends. The atmosphere was silent but emotional. Salute to that man! Trivar mujra.......!
The step at the entrance of Jagdishwar temple has a stone script. It describes "सेवेचे ठाई तत्पर - हिरोजी इंदुलकर" i.e. "Studious in the service of (Shivaji or swarajya) - Hiroji Indulkar" Who was this man?
He was the chief engineer of fort Raigad! He was the man behind this magnificent fort. On offering the price from Shivaji Maharaj, he requested to carve his name in such unique way. This was the same step from were Shivaji Maharaj went daily to worship lord Shiva! Salute to Hiroji and his dedication for swarajya!
Now it was a time to enjoy the natural beauty of Sahyadris. We went far side of Raigad fort from where we were able to see two great forts - Torna & Rajgad! The thrilling avatar of Sahyadri is mesmerizing.
We had a great photo shoot in the shadows of sunset. Here are some of them with Thrilling Sahyadri!
We had a beautiful evening that night. We had a dinner in a traditional hut with traditional food- Pithala Bhakari and Of course, in the presence of melody of Suraj's voice! Suraj sings great! He was a 'Taansen' and all others were good 'Kaansen' too! Thanks for that melody Suraj!
Campfire with Horror stories was really a horrible experience. Every one was scared ( me too!). Went asleep after a short game of cards.
Day 2-
It was chillingly cold. I woke up at 6. Went to Nagarkhana alone. I had wished to see that beautiful sunrise on Raigad. My wish was full filled that day. On a quite, fresh morning, I was alone there. Watching rising sun. There is no better way than this to raise hopes and to gain confidence. Great.
I was back in the room. We all were ready and want to see Balekilla. Balekilla is the main fort where Administrative offices, factories, RajMahal were present once a time. Scaled down the fort through the ropeway. I had a 'Short' quarrel with friends over a petty issue. Friends , sorry for that! I was quite nervous!
Changing the mood. SHIVAJI! No words for that legendary man. He is my real inspiration. And our life has been motivated by his sacred deeds. Isn't it friends?......Bol Shiv Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki Jay!!!
More pics for you....
Wait friends!! It's not over! We had to catch a Train at Veer on 10 a.m. We missed it! So, ran to Mangaon for another train. We missed the train again! OMG! This was terrific.As a last try, we caught private traveller and reached Roha station. There, someone raised the idea of visiting Murud Janjira, as it was only 50 km from there! We are always ready for such lovely proposals. Unfortunately due to lack of time (and even lack of money for me ) we had to cancel the plan. Better luck next time. We finally got a train to Ratnagiri at 3 pm. Reached Home safely.
This was really a memorable trip to all of us. Thank you, friends. Jay Shivaji, Jai Bhavani! See you next time with some interesting trek. Bye.
Day 1-
After scaling King of the fort -Rajgad it was time to visit the second capital of Maratha empire, Gem of forts RAIGAD!
Unexpected holidays are like a Birthday Gift. We never know what the gift is r to open it! Yes. We got 3 day holiday. 8 of the college buddies decided one-night halt at Raigad fort (Let me introduce them-Sudeep, Niraj, Sarvesh, Utkarsh, Hrishikesh, Imam, Suraj (Rockstar) and Me. Caught a train from Ratnagiri to Mahad. Reached Raigad at 12 noon.
As I was only to visit the Raigad twice before, leading the team was obvious. Before starting the trail we had a breakfast of Misal & vada pav. My friend Utkarsh, who hails from Delhi, was unaware of this type of fort structure. He cracked a joke- " Is this a Fort? It seems like a mountain!"......Haha.....But, surely he was amazed by this huge Fort alias mountain!
We started to climb up. After climbing few steps, everyone was looking fatigue ( Though they refused to say!). Especially, Utkarsh. After a slow climb (with a lot of short rests) of about one and half hour, finally, we reached MAHA-Darwaja !And guess who was the first one to reach there?.....Hmmm?.....UTKARSH! Job's Done!
 |
| Majestic view of Sahyadri mountains from MAHA-Darwaja |
It was 2.00 noon and every one was exhausted . Everyone rested till 4 o'clock. After a short breakfast of Poha, we initiated exploring the fort. Visited the famous bronze statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at 'Holicha Mal'. Then visited Nagarkhana and Raj-Darbar. Nagarkhana is one of the well-preserved structures on fort Raigad. Raj darbar is just awesome in case of structure and acoustics. Though there are only ruins of the darbar, we had enough chance to imagine those Glorious days of Shivrajyabhishek. How proud moment it was for every Maratha, Every native Indian! We got our own Empire, SWARAJYA! We got our own King! The savior, the exemplary human and the perfect Administrator! Just keep imagining....
 |
| Nagarkhana |
 |
| Raj Sinhasan |
 |
| Samadhi....... |
He was the chief engineer of fort Raigad! He was the man behind this magnificent fort. On offering the price from Shivaji Maharaj, he requested to carve his name in such unique way. This was the same step from were Shivaji Maharaj went daily to worship lord Shiva! Salute to Hiroji and his dedication for swarajya!
Now it was a time to enjoy the natural beauty of Sahyadris. We went far side of Raigad fort from where we were able to see two great forts - Torna & Rajgad! The thrilling avatar of Sahyadri is mesmerizing.
We had a great photo shoot in the shadows of sunset. Here are some of them with Thrilling Sahyadri!
 |
| Thriller |
 |
| Joy |
 |
| Samadhi. In the background- Jagadishwar temple. Picart by Sudeep. |
We had a beautiful evening that night. We had a dinner in a traditional hut with traditional food- Pithala Bhakari and Of course, in the presence of melody of Suraj's voice! Suraj sings great! He was a 'Taansen' and all others were good 'Kaansen' too! Thanks for that melody Suraj!
Campfire with Horror stories was really a horrible experience. Every one was scared ( me too!). Went asleep after a short game of cards.
Day 2-
It was chillingly cold. I woke up at 6. Went to Nagarkhana alone. I had wished to see that beautiful sunrise on Raigad. My wish was full filled that day. On a quite, fresh morning, I was alone there. Watching rising sun. There is no better way than this to raise hopes and to gain confidence. Great.
I was back in the room. We all were ready and want to see Balekilla. Balekilla is the main fort where Administrative offices, factories, RajMahal were present once a time. Scaled down the fort through the ropeway. I had a 'Short' quarrel with friends over a petty issue. Friends , sorry for that! I was quite nervous!
Changing the mood. SHIVAJI! No words for that legendary man. He is my real inspiration. And our life has been motivated by his sacred deeds. Isn't it friends?......Bol Shiv Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki Jay!!!
 |
| Infinity mall..... It really means!!! (Market place on Raigad) |
 |
| Ropeway |
Wait friends!! It's not over! We had to catch a Train at Veer on 10 a.m. We missed it! So, ran to Mangaon for another train. We missed the train again! OMG! This was terrific.As a last try, we caught private traveller and reached Roha station. There, someone raised the idea of visiting Murud Janjira, as it was only 50 km from there! We are always ready for such lovely proposals. Unfortunately due to lack of time (and even lack of money for me ) we had to cancel the plan. Better luck next time. We finally got a train to Ratnagiri at 3 pm. Reached Home safely.
This was really a memorable trip to all of us. Thank you, friends. Jay Shivaji, Jai Bhavani! See you next time with some interesting trek. Bye.
