Mirgad Fort Trek

The Mirgad fort trek or Songari fort trek is situated in Pen in Raigad district. It is named after the Mir mountain, on which it was built.

History

In 1662, a battle took place between Mughal Sardar Namdarkhan and Shivaji Maharaj in order to acquire the area around Pen city and the surrounding areas. This battle happened in the Mirgad region.

Geography

The Mirgad Fort is 567 m above sea level and has a very picturesque location for a cross country trek. Used as a watchtower to survey the nearby regions it has  Panchgani as its base village

Even though a majority of walls of the fort are in ruins, the trek to the Mirgad Fort is very beautiful. The fort has water tanks that remain dry almost all the time. There are two peaks to the left of the fort.

Near the Mirgad Fort, there is a Vageshwar temple which is around 400 years old. One can witness the splendid waterfalls from the temple during rains.

The trail

The Mirgad Fort trek has a medium level trail it and takes half an hour to reach from its base village.

The route from the Vageshwar temple can take up to an hour to reach the fort.

While ascending towards the fort, we get to see the Manikgad and the Karnala forts.

How to reach

One can come from Pen-Sapoli-Panchgani, but this route may take 3-4 hours to reach.

The route from Pen-Sapoli-Vageshwar is more preferable. There is direct road access to the temple but ST and other public transport services are minimal. Thus coming by private vehicle is more suitable.

The nearest railway station is Pen and has direct trains from Mumbai and Pune.