Aad Fort Trek
Aad fort trek is located in the Nashik district of Maharashtra. It is an ancient fort that was used mainly as watchtower to protect the area between Sinnar and Igatpuri.
History
Not a lot is known about the history of the fort. The locals at the base village also do not have much information.
Geography
The height of the fort is 3500 feet above the sea level and about 900 feet from the base. The top of the fort is a wide plateau and the total area of the fort is more than 40 acres. There is a natural wide cave in the ridge on the left side of the road leading to the fort on the side of Adwadi and inside there is a temple of Goddess Adubai. Adjacent to this cave is another excavated cave. This cave can be used for accommodation.
Structures in ruins can be seen in some places while walking on the top of the fort. One of the remains has a stone sculpture and the idol is unrecognisable due to its wear and tear. In front of this idol is a large stone lamp like a chandelier. There are the remains of two castles on the upper part of the fort, one of which has a samadhi. To the west of the fort, the remains of another building with a wall can be seen. There are a total of sixteen water tanks at six places on the fort and except for one tank at the cave, there are five water tanks. In all these tanks, ditches are dug on the rock to collect water. There is also a big lake on the fort.
To the north of the fort are the remains of the Konkan Gate. However only the frame of this door stands and the fallen stones of the arch can be seen all around.
The top of the fort offers splendid views of the neighbouring regions. One can easily make out Aundha, Patta, Bitangad, Mhasoba to the east and the Kalsubai Range to the west.
The Trail
The are two approaches to the fort, one is from Madhali Aadwadi, which is straightforward but long. The other is from Varchi Aadwadi and is steep but convenient and takes half-hour.
Varchi Aadwadi (Upper Aadwadi)
The distance from Thangaon to the upper Adwadi at the base of Aad is about 10 km. A little further along the road from the upper Adwadi is an ashram of the Mahanubhav sect. From here a paved trail takes you to the fort in half an hour and you enter the fort through the broken ramparts. This is the closest way to the fort.
Madhali Aadwadi (Lower Aadwadi)
There is another road leading from the village to the fort. One of the trunks of the Aad fort descends from the side of Adwadi, and after a simple ascent, a path turns horizontally to the right. This route takes about an hour to reach the Aad fort.
How to reach
The distance from Taked village on Ghoti-Bhandardara road to Ghoti-Thangaon via Mahismal Ghat is 52 km and 75 km via Sinnar. The distance from Thangaon to the upper Adwadi at the foot of Aad is about 10 km. One can easily reach the base village by ST bus, private jeeps from Nashik. The most convenient way would be to travel by car.
