Chavand Fort Trek

Chavand Fort Trek is situated in the Sahyadri ranges lying in the Pune district in Maharashtra. It is a historical hill type fort. People refer to it as Chavand Gad or Chavand Killa in Marathi.

History

In 1485, Malik Ahmed founded the Nizam Dynasty and was the first Nizamshah who acquired the fort of Chavand after the dissolution of the Bahmanid Empire. The second Burhanshah was the seventh Nizamshah and his grandson Bahadurshah was imprisoned in 1594. In 1636, Shahaji Raje the father of Shivaji father signed a treaty with the Mughals and they got the fort of Chavand. British forces captured the fort on 1st May 1818.

Shivaji Maharaj renamed the fort as “Prasanna Gad”. Once the fort was under the British rule, they destroyed the approach routes to the top as well as most of the monuments.

Geography

Chavand Fort Trek is one of the significant forts in Sahyadri ranges. The fort is situated at 3399 feet from sea level. The Chavand fort is approximately 20 Km away from the city of Junnar in Pune district. There is a varied flora and fauna around the foothills of the Chavand fort trek. There are 12 various species of birds to observe. The base village of the Chavand trek is Chavandwadi village.

There is a huge stone door called the Mahadarwaja which is still structurally intact. One can also see the Chamunda Devi Mandir on the top of the fort. There are a few remnants of a cannon as well. There are seven tanks carved out of a single stone. The top of the fort is the topmost point of the Chavand trek, it offers splendid views of the neighbouring regions along with views of forts like Shivaneri, Jivdhan and Hadsar. One can also see the seven tanks, the Kukadi river and the Manikdoh dam.

The Trail

From the western side of the Chavand Fort, there is a way to go to the top of the fort along with the school of the village. The time required to reach the entrance of the door is about 45 minutes from the western side of the Chavand Fort. From here stairs will take us to the plains of the fort on which remnants of many constructions can be seen.

The base village of the fort is called Chavandwadi and any bus/vehicle going towards Aptale can drop you at Chavandwadi. Once you start the trek from Chavandwadi, you reach rock steps which were destroyed by the British Army. After a short while you will see a huge stone door built in the Gomukhi style architecture. This door is called the Mahadarwaja. From the Mahadarwaja the route splits into two, the left one takes you to the fort walls and the right one takes you to the top of the fort.

On the top of the fort the path further splits into two, the left one takes you to a dilapidated temple and the Seven tanks, while the right one takes you to the Chamunda devi temple.

How to Reach

The way to reach the Chavand Fort Trek is through Manchar- Narayangaon-Junnar. Junnar is the base village that connects the main road and the internal roads of the fort.

From Mumbai to Chavandwadi

There are no trains available for Chavanwadi village from Mumbai. The bus is the only option for trekkers. You can board S.T Buses from Kalyan to Junnar. From Junnar village, rickshaws and S.T buses are available for Chavandwadi village.

From Pune to Chavandwadi

There are no trains available for Chavandwadi village from Pune to Chavandwadi. There are S.T buses available to reach Junnar. These buses start a journey from Shivaji Nagar. Once you reach Junnar, private vehicles and government transportation are available to reach the base village Chavandwadi. Chavand trek is very popular with trekkers from Pune.