Mahuli Fort At 2815 ft., this is a sought after trekking destination. I first visited this place last year with my friends for a trek and then again for some Waterfall rappelling. The trek is an intermediate one,totally depends on what route is taken to reach the summit. This is one place I’m sure I’m gonna be visiting every year during the monsoons and  This is one fort in Maharashtra every trek lover has to visit atleast once.

It is the highest point in the Thane district. The forest surrounding Mahuli has been declared as a sanctuary. Once Shahaji Raje, father of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, had this fortress under his belt.

Getting there

The nearest railway station to Mahuli is Asangaon. One can catch either Asangaon or Kasara Local from Mumbai CST, which could also be caught at Kalyan Junction. 4 km walk from Asangaon station will take you to the base temple in 1-1/2 hours. 3 hours trek will take you to the summit.
Asangaon on Mumbai-Nashik highway (91) km from Mumbai. 5 km inside on to the left is the Mahuli village.

History

The creator of this fort is unknown. In 1485 this place came under rule Nijamshahi dynasty. When Shahaji Raje became the secretary of Nijamshahi, Mughals of Delhi tried to end Nijamshahi. In 1635-36, Shahaji Raje transferred himself with Jijabai and Shivaji to Mahuli. When Khan Jaman attacked the fort, Shahaji asked Portuguese for help, who refused and Shahaji surrendered.

Shivaji took this fort from Mughals on 8 Jan 1658. In 1661 it was given back and was won again by Shivaji. In treaty of Purandar, in 1665, Marathas lost these forts again. In Feb 1670, Shivaji Maharaj tried to conquer Mahuli, but failed, thanks to an alert Manohardas Gaud, who was the in charge of the fort. A thousand Marathas were killed. Manohardas Gaud, soon gave up his position and Alveerdi Beg took over. On 16 June 1670, after two months, Moropant Pingle conquered the forts and Mahuli, Bhandargad and Palasgad became part of Swarajya. Till 1817, Shivaji’s dynasty owned the fort but later on it was controlled by the British Raj.

My road trip to Murud with Milan is one of my favorite road trips till date, not only because the ride and destination was not planned until we were already on the bike but also because of the various experiences we faced on the way..attacked by locusts,getting lost in the mountains at Roha,riding in the night through swarms of insects and having an hour long baffling conversation with a koli woman for our accommodation for the night..just to name a few.

Murud is famous for the impregnable fort of Janjira and beautiful beach, situated in Raigad district of Maharashtra.It is famous for being the only fort along India’s western coast that remained undefeated despite Maratha, Dutch and English East India Company attacks.The word Janjira is not native to India, and may have originated after the Arabic word Jazeera, which means an island. Murud was once known in Marathi as Habsan, or Abyssinian’s land. Some of the people also split the name as “JAL JEERA” meaning fort in the water.

To Reach the Janjira Fort, sailboats are available from Murud Port (which is behind Ekdara Village) and Rajpuri port.
Murud doesn’t just have a Beach & the fort. It also has a Temple over the hill next to the New Bus Depot (known as Datta cha Dongar) Hill of Lord Dattatray. One can have a paranormic view of Murud & both the islands together from the hill.
Further ahead of the hill is an Idga Mosque, the walk though the dense jungle is a experience in itself.
The fort also boasts of a sweet water lake inside it. It is considered to be a miracle that the Fort surrounded by the salty water of the sea has a lake full of sweet water. Also the cannons in the fort are quite unique. The biggest cannon boasts a range of around 18 km. It is said that since the entire cannon could not have been transported at once they had to be brought in pieces and they were then assembled inside the fort.

A short history of the fort
The fort was built by the Koli (Fishermen) kings of Konkan and repelled all the attacks of Muslim rulers for almost two hundred years (till 1490). The subedar of Junnar, Mallik Ambar also tried to capture the fort in vain in 1485-86. Finally around 1490, he secretly sent a warship disguised as a merchant ship with 147 Habashi soldiers. The ship’s crew asked for refuge in the fort. The officer at the time, Etbatrao, agreed and took the ship in. The Habashi general, pretending to be a merchant gave liquor to the Koli soldiers. Habashi soldiers hiding in the goods containers attacked and defeated the intoxicated Koli soldiers.

Located just 120 kms from Mumbai, a drive along the picturesque Sahyadri Mountain range and crisp coastal air will take you to Dahanu and Bordi, what one may consider as a small, sleepy coastal town on the shores of the Arabian Sea.

Dahanu is located 65 km north of Virar on the Western Railway line of Mumbai Suburban Railway. It can be reached from the National Highway NH-8, 20 km off from Charoti Naka.

Westward flowing rivers and rivulets emerging from gentle slopes, traversing through thick forests will greet you as you approach Dahanu. There is little chance of you losing the way if you follow the smell of Chikoo orchards. The beaches are very quiet and clean, where the sand is blackish and sticky, and very much in its natural form. It is controlled by the Maharashtra Woods Preservation Department, which is why its natural landscape has been left untouched. The beauty of the place lies in the quiet sea beach, and the surrounding casuarinas and chikoo orchards. Infact, the best way to capture the scenic beauty of the place is to drive down from Dahanu to Bordi, 17kms of it. It also happens to be a safe beach, where the water does not rise above the waist for at least half a kilometre.

The city

The name “Dahanu Gaon” originates from the word “Dhenu Gram” meaning the village of cows. A lot of cattle, particularly cows were owned by the people in Dahanu. Today, Dahanu has become a major commercial and industrial town in the Thane district. It is well known for the chickoo fruit and accounts for over 50% of India’s chickoo production. Rubber balloons, rice mills and manufactured goods, are major manufacturing products which are produced in Dahanu. There is also a 500-MW power plant that supplies electricity to Mumbai

The Beach

It is a quiet and clean beach, where the sand is blackish and sticky, and very much in its natural form. It is controlled by the Maharashtra Woods Preservation Department, which is why its natural landscape has been left untouched. The beauty of the place lies in the quiet sea beach, and the surrounding casuarinas and chikoo orchards. Infact, the best way to capture the scenic beauty of the place is to drive down from Dahanu to Bordi. It also happens to be a safe beach, where the water does not rise above the waist for at least half a kilometre.

Sightseeing

Santoshi Mata Mandir and the Mahalakshmi Temple are the popular temples in the area. Drop in at the famous Vrindavan Studios, where some of historical tele-serials were shot. You could visit the town of Dahanu, either on your way back or on your way to Bordi. See the nearby Bharot Caves and the various other Jain and Hindu Temples there. Udwada, near Dahanu, has the beautiful temple, The Mecca of Zoroastrians, housing the very revered fire said to have been kept alive for a thousand years or so.

For a Pleasant stay at Dahanu, I would recommend Hotel Pearline on Dahanu Beach.