Panhaledurg Fort Trek

The Panhaledurg fort trek is a hill fort situated in Raigad district of Maharashtra. It is a small fort that was mainly built to keep a watch on the enemy approaching Raigad.

History

When the Raigad Fort was being constructed, Shivaji Maharaj built a chain of forts surrounding Raigad Fort in order to strengthen it. Some of them were the Mangad, Songad, Chambargad and Lingana. The Panhaledurg Fort was also one of them.

Geography

At a small height of 149 m, the Panhaledurg Fort is located near Panhaleghar, which is its base village.

The entrance and bastions of the fort are destroyed but one can still see the remnants of the ramparts. The fort consists of 4 water tanks and as the fort is not that huge, it takes just half an hour to explore the fort.

The trail

The Panhaledurg fort trek has a medium level trail. The base village, Panhaleghar, is 13 km from Mangoan. It takes approximately half an hour to reach the fort from the base village. The trail is not well defined in some parts and it’s advisable to take a local guide from the village.

How to reach

By road, one can come towards Mangaon from Mahad through Mumbai-Goa highway.

Both private and public transport is preferable.

Via train, the nearest railway station is Mangaon. There are regular and direct trains for Diva-Mangaon starting from 6 am in the morning to 5 pm in the evening.