Sahyadri-My Second Home

It won’t be wrong if I call Sahyadri’s “my second home “as almost every weekend, I have been hiking somewhere in this mountain range. Though being a huge admirer of Sahyadri’s, somewhere my heart still belonged to The Great Himalayas. But, as soon as I did the Harishchandragad Fort Trek, something changed!! Sahyadris left an indelible mark on my heart at the very first moment my eyes met and feasted on the views from the fort.

How to reach Harishchandragad Fort Trek

Harishchandragad (HCG) Fort is located around 140 kms from both Pune and Mumbai. Both these metro cities are well connected to other parts of the country via railways. You can catch a local bus to reach the Khireshwar Village/ Paachnai village (HCG Fort trek base villages) from these metro cities..

Various trekking routes for HCG trek and their difficulty level

There are 3 popular trekking routes options to reach the top of Harishchandragad Fort.

Khireshwar Village route: This is the most popular and the preferred route to trek the HCG. In terms of difficulty level, I would rate this route somewhere between moderate to difficult level. It takes generally around 3-5 hours to reach the top. The views all along the way make it worth to take this route.
Pachnai Village route: This is the easiest route to reach Harishchandragad Fort. I would recommend beginners to take this route. I take around 1-2 hours to reach the fort top from this route depending on an individual’s fitness. The view all along this route are breathtaking.
Nalichi Wat route: It is toughest of all the routes and is only recommended for experienced trekkers. Also, one would need assistance of rope to make it to the top of HCG. It takes around 2 hours to make to HCG Fort via this route.

Our trek to Harishchandragad Fort:

We started our trek to Harishchandragad Fort from the base village named Paachnai. Right after parking our motorbike, we crossed a small bridge across a stream. Our trek started from here. We were able to see numerous waterfalls trickling down the steep rocky terrain in the distance. Huge hills and vast fields filled up the entire landscape. The initial trek was mostly flat with a few easy slopes. We saw white coloured arrows marked on the rocks to guide the correct way. However, our host from Purushwadi village guided us through the path. We slowly moved from one hill to the other.We halted for having lemon water from a local vendor at a small stall at one end of the cliff. Slowly trekking forward, we reached Harishchandragad summit. The view from the summit was impressive but mostly covered by intermittent clouds. On reaching the top, the area was completely flat with several medieval age constructions presumably part of the Harishchandragad Fort. A local film was being shot on the top and we wondered how such heavy equipments have been brought up to such a height.

Main attractions at Harishchandragad Fort:

Harishchandragad temple: The temple of Harishchandreshwar is nestled in the greenery at the top of the Harishchandragad summit. The temple is built out of black rock and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is carved out of a monolithic rock in North Indian style architecture and a similar temple has been built in Bodh Gaya, Bihar.
Saptatirtha Pushkarni Lake: This well-built lake is right beside the Harishchandreshwar temple. On the banks of the lake are 14 small temple-like constructions where idols of Lord Vishnu used to exist.
Kedareshwar Cave: This cave holds a big Shivalinga right in the centre. The Shivalinga is surrounded by knee-deep cold water all the year round. The water in the cave never dries out, not even in the summer season! It is believed that the River – Mangal Ganga originates from Kedareshwar cave.
Konkan Kada: Konkan Kada can be reached by climbing the hill right behind the Harishchandreshwar temple. The temple and the Saptatirtha Pushkarni Lake can be viewed from there. Konkan Kada is a semi-circular overhanging cliff that looks like a snake’s hood. It offers breath-taking views of the vast green fields and the valley. A unique atmospheric phenomenon named ‘Brocken Specter’ is generated at Konkan Kada during monsoon.