About Harihar Fort Trek:
Harihar Fort is a historic site located in Maharashtra’s Nashik district. The trek for Harihar fort is famous among many travel enthusiasts seeking a quick retreat amidst nature. The Harihar Fort trek is blessed with a soothing aura of rich green foliage and panoramic views of breathtaking landscapes that works as a stress buster dose for every trekker. Soon as you reach the hilltop of Harihar fort, you will be left stunned by the beautiful elongated plateau’s astonishing views in the lapse of mother nature. The trek to the Harihar fort is narrow, which depicts a medium level of difficulty. A professional guide will accompany you throughout the Harihar Fort trek.
a distance of 22 km from Trimbakeshwar and 45 km from Nashik, Harihar Fort or Harihargad is a small hill fort in Upper Vaitarana range near Trimbak in Nashik district of Maharashtra. Also known as Harshgad or Harishgad, the fort is one of the popular monsoon trekking places near Nashik.
Harish Fort was one of the forts in the possession of the Ahmadnagar Sultans. It was visited by Captain Briggs in 1818 AD. In 1636 CE, Harishgad, Trimbakgad, Tringalwadi and few other forts were given by Shahaji to the Mughals. Harishgad was one of the 17 strong places that surrendered to the British on the fall of Trimbak in 1818 CE.
Situated at an altitude of 1120 m (3676 feet), Harihargad lies on a triangular rock with all the three sides vertical and is approachable only from one side i.e. through 200 feet high rock cut staircase. The most fascinating aspect about this trek is the rock cut steps at an angle of 80 degrees that one has to negotiate to enter the fort. Though it is a vertical ladder, the steps are provided with niches for proper grip while ascending. There are 117 steps in all. Ascending and descending through this patch is a thrilling experience.
After climbing up this first set of stairs one can reach the entrance of the fort also called the Darwaja. There is a very narrow path after this which needs to cover very carefully. Again one has to climb 100 steep stairs to reach the top of the fort. The fort has got a tapering plateau with a raised level in the middle. There is a small temple of Lord Hanuman and Lord Shiva on the plateau. A small pond is there in front of this temple and the water is potable. There is a small palace with two rooms inside the fort. There are five cisterns along one side of the palace, one of which has water suitable for drinking. There is a saffron flag hoisted at the highest point of the fort. The view from the top is excellent.
Nirgudpada is the base village for Harihar Fort trek, which is about 22 km from Trimbakeshwar. Visitors need to trek 4 km from the base village in order to reach the Harihar Fort. It is a moderate trek and it takes 2 hours to reach the top of the fort.
Harihar fort , also known as Harshagad, is a fort situated in Nashik district of Maharashtra. The fort is one of the important watch tower constructed to look the trade route through Gonda Ghat. The main attraction of Harihar fort is the 60M height pinnacle, and the steps curved on it. Steps look like a stone ladder placed at 80 degrees along the scarp of the hill. At many places, the steps have worn out but the small holes curved on both edges of the steps are helpful to hold. The first half of the steps are curved on the scarp of the pinnacle and the remaining are curved inside the pinnacle. Last part is steeper than the first one as the height of the steps increases as you go up.
How To Reach Harihar Fort
Harihar Fort is located 20 KM away from Trimbak. The base village for Harihar Fort trek is Nirgudpada village located on Trimbak-Igatpuri road. One has to trek less than 5 KM to reach the top from the base village, Nirgudpada, and will take less than 2 hours.
For those who are coming from Mumbai side, board the first train to Kasara, which is also the first train on the central line. The train will reach Kasara by 7 AM. There is a bus from Igatpur bus station to Trimbak going via Nirgudpada, starts at 8.30 AM. To reach Igatpuri Bus Depot from Kasara Railway Station before the bus starts from the depot, board a shared vehicle to Igatpuri. But the shared vehicles to Igatpuri are not frequent, and the vehicles will not start until all seats are occupied. The other option is to board a shared vehicle to Ghoti, which are frequently available. The bus starting from Igatpuri will reach the Ghoti bus depot after 15 minutes. So you can board the same bus from Ghoti.
Note that the Trimbak bus from Igatpuri is unlikely to start on time. Usually it starts at 9.30 AM. The bus journey will take one and half hour to reach Nirgudpada. The same bus will return to Igatpuri from Trimbak on the same route. The scheduled time to reach Nirgudpada on the return journey is 3.30 PM, but usually, it reaches back at Nirgudpada at 4.30 PM. So you will get a 5-hour buffer at Nirgudpada which is enough to complete the trek, 2-hour trek to Harihar Fort, 1-hour exploration, and 1-hour to get down.
Those who are coming from Nasik side, board an ST bus to Trimbak, which are frequent. ST buses are available to Nirgudpada from Trimbak, they are not frequent. But shared vehicles frequently available to Nirgudpada from Trimbak.
Hareshwadi is another base village for Harihar fort trek and is near to the fort as compared to Nirgudpada. There is another road to reach this Harihar trek base and is only 15KM away from Trimbak. It is better to hire a taxi to Hareshwadi from Trimbak for those who are coming in a group instead of waiting for the bus or shared vehicle.
Ticket:
Kasara Railway Station to Igatpuri : 30.00
Igatpuri to Nirgudpada : 60.00
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