Monsoon is the perfect season for trekking. Being adventure enthusiasts, I crave for such adventure. My past experience, some 5 years back of Sinhgad Fort was amazing. Hence, I wanted to relive the moment. From Mumbai, you have a pretty good option for trekking and from Pune, all those options are more closer. Trekking on the mountain is more difficult activity, especially during monsoon as you don’t get much grip to move forward due to wet ground. But again, the best part of trekking is greenery and that you see in abundance during monsoon.
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| Entrance to Sinhgad Fort |
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| View from the top |
Sinhgad Fort is very simple and hardly people will count it as trekking. There is a base point till which you can take your car (a point which spoil the fun of the walk till the top of the mountain) and from there onwards, you can walk around the huge fort built by some two thousand years ago. Technically, there is hardly any trace of Sinhgad Fort as lot has been destroyed over the years.
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| Fort wall, keeping attackers at bay |
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| The whole fort is surrounded by such walls |
The reason of enjoying the walk around the remaining of the fort is all because of the weather. The fort is at the height of approximately 4000 ft above sea level and during monsoon the feel of walking in the mountain range is as if you are walking on the clouds. The fog surrounds the mountain range and all you can see is greenery peaking from the fog. If you are lucky, rain during such trek is refreshingly cold.
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| Greenery hidden in the fog |
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| Cow gazing |
Sinhgad Fort is closest to the city, Pune and also the difficulty level are for beginner, hence you see many people visiting the fort. 5 years back when I went there in the morning, I hardly saw people coming to the fort. Unlike in today’s time, I saw many people walking with the camera and the phone in their hand, ready to capture the beauty of mountain coupled with awesome weather.
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| Due Drops on plants |
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| Wind Point |
Another thing which adds magic to this experience is the joy of eating hot food. Inside Sinhgad fort, at the entrance and also at the base, you will find many street food stalls inviting you for enjoying piping hot Kanda Bhaji and Thalipeeth (traditional Marathi food). Apart from Kanda bhaji, they also have Aloo bhaji. All the calories you burnt by trekking will get double by eating this street food. The options of food at the fort is many. Whether one crave for hot corn on the cob or salty peanuts, or cold cut mangos or misal pav, you get it all!
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| Kanda Bhaji (Fried Marinated Onion) |
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| Mangos |
Those who don’t enjoy trekking but would like to do something interesting (apart from walking around in a shopping mall), Sinhgad Fort is for you. Those who would like to explore the difficulty of trekking and height, there are many other forts to explore like Lohgad, Tikona and many more!
Location: Sinhgad Fort, Pune (25 km from Pune)
Time: 2-3 Hours to walk around the fort and eat food. 1 hour away from main Pune city centre (depending on traffic).
Carry: Jacket (to protect from rain and also cold), walking shoes, water bottle (you can also get it from vendors) and camera (to click amazing pictures)
Important note: If possible, visit very early in the morning to get a less crowd and also to get good weather (without sun). Most important, go too early to avoid traffic.
More pictures:
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| The freshness of morning on tree |
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| Walking trail |
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| Surviving part of the Sinhgad Fort |
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| Food stalls serving hot food |
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| Corn on the cob |
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| Peanuts |
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| Attack of Fog |
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| Beauty in nothingness |
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| I love due drop and clicking without micro lens is indeed a task |
Salkantay trek is the alternative to the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu was recently named among the 25 best Treks in the World, by National Geographic Adventure Travel Magazine.
Thank you for the information. I wish to do it very soon and share my experience here!