Irshalgad Fort trek | Monsoon trek | Chowk | Raigad | Pious Pravasi

District - Raigad

Base village - Nanivali

Height of the fort - 3700 feet

Grade - Medium (till Nedhe)

Endurance level - moderate

Time (from base to Nedhe) - 2 to 2.5 hours

Nearest Railway Station - Panvel / Karjat

Mumbai to Nanivali - 80 km

Pune to Nanivali - 100 km

Dated - July 11, 2021

Trekked a lot in the rainy season of 2021. One of them was Irshalgad Trek. Adjacent to Matheran, this fort has always been an attraction for trekkers due to its unique shape, especially the Nedhe. This trek is done in three stages. The first stage is a simple trek from Nanivali village to the first Irshalwadi and from there to the small plateau near Nedhe. The second stage is a medium-range trek from the plateau to Nedhe with a slightly difficult and steep climb. The third stage is to climb from Nedhe to the peak of the fort which requires rock climbing skills. So from the novice trekker to rock climbers, everyone comes to visit this fort. Most people trek up to the plateau and some up to Nedhe. The water tank at the base of the peak can be reached by climbing on the top of the Nedhe, but care must be taken during this climb, especially in the rainy season. We were going to trek up to Nedhe and if possible we wanted to go to the water tank and to the small peak near Nedhe. I did this trek 2 years ago in summer and trekked up to Nedhe. I was coming here for the first time in the rainy season. My favorite exploring is visiting the same fort/trekking place from different villages or from different villages but in different seasons. In that sense, it is the first step.

Irshalgad Fort

Travel from Mumbai to Nanivali village

Nanivali village is about 80 km away from my house i.e. Ghatkopar, Mumbai. We left Mumbai early in the morning for Kalamboli. The road from Kalamboli Junction to Panvel is the Mumbai-Pune old highway. 

Kalamboli Junction

On this route, I always stop at Kon village near Panvel. If the weather is clean, then Irshalgad, Prabalgad, Kalavantin Durg, Matheran, Peb fort, Chanderi fort, and Mhaismal peak can be seen from here. Next in the same mountain range are Tahuli peak and Malanggad fort. Due to cloudy weather and thick fog, only Kalavantin Durg and Prabalgad could be seen this time. 

Kalavantin Durg and Prabalgad from Kon village

Trekker friends

We stopped here for a while and started traveling again. Chowk is a village a few km away after Panvel. On the Mumbai Pune old highway near Chowk, there is a road to the left side for Morbe Dam and you can see such a board on the road. 

Way to Nanivali village from Chowk

This is the road leading to Nanivali village. Nearby is the Chowk railway station. 

Chowk railway station

Mountains were covered with fog, clouds on one side and Morbe Dam on the other, and the road were also good. 

Way to Nanivali village

This is the journey to Nanivali village. Parking has been arranged at the end of the village. 

Parking at Nanivali village

The nearest railway station is Panvel and Karjat to reach Chowk village. Public transport is available from both the stations to reach the Chowk. Chowk is 80 km from Mumbai and 100 km from Pune.

Trek begins

The trek starts from the parking place. From here, the fort can be seen in front and Nedhe can also be seen. 

Irshalgad fort view from Nanivali village

The trek route is easily recognizable and there is no possibility of missing the route as the fort can be seen in front all the time during the trek once the fog is clear. 

Trek start point

Trek route

The peak of Irshalgad attracts attention in front and looking back, we see the vast reservoir of the Morbe dam. There was so much fog that we didn't feel exhausted during the trek. 

Fort view in front

Morbe Dam in back

On the way, we met a fort lover. Although he was three times older than us but his love for forts and his determination for them was many times greater than ours. He had come to Panvel from Neral and from Panvel he came to Chowk. He is basically from the Buldhana district of Maharashtra. He had done many treks near Panvel. This was his first visit to Irshalgad. Even at the age of 67, his enthusiasm was of a 17-year-old boy. 

We met a fort lover

After meeting such people I feel that age is just a number, if there is persistence, everything is possible. After talking with him for a while, we started the trek again with new energy. 

Trek route with extreme fog

The fog was so thick that we could not see anything a few meters ahead. There were a lot of tourists but it was getting foggy. 

Trek route with extreme fog

About 90 minutes after we reached Irshalwadi. This is a great place to eat/drink during the trek. 

Irshalwadi village

The trek route goes through the village itself. The trek through the dense forest and fog started again as we cross the village. 

Trek through the dense forest and fog

A few minutes later we reached the temple of Goddess Irshal Devi. On the left side of the temple is the way to the fort. 

Irshal Devi temple

A little further on from the temple, a path goes straight ahead and a path goes up to the fort on the right-hand side. Now the gradual climb had begun. 

Way to Irshalgad fort

We were about to reach the small plateau, the first stage of the trek and I looked back and saw some scenes that I had never thought of and had never seen before. If there was a device to measure happiness, my happiness would have reached its peak at this moment. 

Magnificent view of surrounding from fort

I considered myself very lucky that I was born in this Maharashtra and in my Sahyadri, I was able to explore a little. This scenery reminded me of Govindagraj's writing, a poem in Marathi which tells the glory of Maharashtra.

राकट देशा, कणखर देशा, दगडांच्या देशा

नाजुक देशा, कोमल देशा, फुलांच्याहि देशा

प्रणाम घ्यावा माझा हा श्रीमहाराष्ट्र देशा

Places to visit on the fort

After about 2 hours, we reached the first stage of the trek, a small plateau. 

Irshalgad fort - Small plateau

From here the trek is a bit difficult, with a steep climb at a few places and trembling in the rain. 

Way to Nedhe

After coming a little further we saw a sign saying that there was a cave straight ahead but first we started climbing towards Nedhe. 

Way to cave

Climbing towards Nedhe

Ropes and iron ladders have been installed on difficult climbing sites. There is also a water tank on the way. Extreme caution is required during this climb in the rainy season. 

Water tank and climbing towards Nedhe

We took every step carefully and finally reached Nedhe, the second stage of the trek. You will find this type of Nedhe (a hole formed naturally in the rock) in only a few places in Maharashtra. 

Nedhe

Now we had to climb up on the Nedhe to go to the water tank at the base of the peak. 

Climb over Nedhe

I met that person again whom I met at the beginning of the trek on the Nedhe. 

On top of the Nedhe

We were going towards the peak. There were two ways in front while approaching the peak. 

Irshalgad fort peak

First, we went to the right side of the peak. A few meters ahead there was no road ahead so we turned back again and came to the left side of the peak. 

Right side of the peak

Here is a water tank. 

Water tank on the left side of the peak

Coming back to the Nedhe, we started climbing a small peak near Nedhe. 

Climb on small peak near Nedhe

You should only go here if you have experience of such climbing, otherwise, you should finish your trek at the Nedhe. We came up but returned immediately because of the wind and the rain. 

Small peak near Nedhe

There is a temple of the goddess Irshal Devi just near Nedhe. 

Irshal Devi temple near Nedhe

Now we climbed down and went straight to see the cave. 

Climbing down from the Nedhe

Towards the cave

We did not know about this cave earlier. After walking some distance, we did not see any cave-like remains. 

End of the trek

Because of the heavy rain, we ended our trek here and started our return journey. 

Return journey

When we returned immediately, we saw a crowd of people near the small plateau, and the crowd was growing. During the monsoons, the number of visitors increased and some of them were going to Nedhe while some started to turn back after seeing the climbing part to reach Nedhe. If the weather is clear, Matheran, Prabalgad, and Sondai forts can be easily seen from the Irshalgad fort. Although it was a little difficult due to the rain, we were happy to be able to go to the base of the peak. At the same time, we were saddened because we could not see a cave. But telling ourselves that we would come again, in an hour and a half we came again in Nanivali village. We traveled the same route from Chowk - Panvel - Kalamboli and reached Mumbai.

Click on Irshalgad to watch the YouTube video of this Pravas.

Click on Raigad to read other trek blogs in the Raigad district.

Jay Shivray

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