Three days, Five forts, rugged terrain, extreme hot sun, very cold nights, long exhausting walks and for the eyes - 'a beautiful calm scenic Baglan region', this trek will surely be a test of your endurance. As William Barclay has rightly said - "Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory", the sweet smell of success when you are reaching the summit is ineffable.
The twin forts Salota and Salher have played a major role in the then emerging Maratha empire. It is this place, where the first Maratha open field battle was fought and in which the Marathas emerged victorious routing the Mughal army [1].After this victory surrounding major forts and peak positions were in control of Marathas ,this helped them to have a hold over the route of the then flourishing Surat market.
You can plan a 3 days trek in which you can visit Salota-Salher-Hargad-Mulher-Mora forts. From visiting the second highest peak of Maharashtra to exploring historical monuments and artifacts, this trek has many amazing things to offer you.
Itinerary:
You can first visit Salota - Salher from the base village Waghambe on day1, then visit Hargad - Mulher from Mulher village on day 2 and then end the trek with the last one Mora fort on day3.
Day 1: Salota-Salher
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| Waghambe village route toward Salher-Salota col |
There are two ways to reach Salher fort one is from Salherwadi Village and the other from Waghambe village[3]. To ensure that you finish visiting both forts on day1, best way is to start with Salota ascend from the Waghambe village . Keeping the Salher-Salota col (joining point of 2 mountains) in front of your eyes cross over the small Hillocks to reach there. For both Salher and Salota the trail to reach the top of the fort is on the back side of mountain that you view from Waghambe. Once you reach in the col of Salher and Salota, the trail to the left leads you to the Salota. It will take you roughly 1 - 1.5 Hour to reach this point from Waghambe. From here you can begin trail towards Salota (unload your heavy sacks at some safe place here & only carry a couple of bottles, this will help you complete Salota quicker & investing less energy). To give you a rough idea the stairs that lead to the top of the fort lie on the top left while you proceed on this trail[3].
After you begin to walk on the trail watch out for a water way to climb in upward direction this will lead you to a trail going towards top left of that side. The stairs will lead you to an entry gate, the gate is intact even today after over 400 plus years.
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| Salota fort Gate Entrance #2 |
You walk through the carved path way, from where you can see a wonderful view of the Salher fort. Trace the trail that leads to the stairs of the Salher fort from this view. There are caves and water bodies on the way. This way will lead you to the top of the fort. The view from the top of the fort is magnificent, you can also see the Parshuram temple that is on the highest point of Salher. After enjoying the view on salota you begin the descend to reach back to the Salher-Salota col. As you now know the trail that leads to Salher fort, you can find some shade here to relax & have lunch. Exploring Salota fort, enjoying the views & returning to the Col will roughly take 1.5 Hours.
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| Salher fort trail[Dotted Red trail] |
The trail to Salher is simple, climb up the stairs and cross over two gates to reach a carved pathway that have a series of caves and water bodies along the way. After watching the caves here you can just imagine how lively the fort would have been during those days. The map [2] shows a cave in front of the Gangasagar talov where you can stay for the day. It will take you roughly 0.5 Hour to reach here from the Col.
There are two caves out of which one is occupied by cattle & used as cowshed for night, the other one is good for stay. It can easily accommodate around 10 people. There is a clean water cistern near the ‘yadnyakund’, which you can use for drinking and cooking purpose.
See to it that you don’t miss to view the sunset from one of the highest points of Maharashtra.
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| Gangasagar talov view from above the caves.Trail on right leads to Parshuram temple. |
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| Salher water cistern near yadnyakund |
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| Parshuram temple with moon in background |
As shown in the map[2]you can reach the top of the fort by walking on the trail beside the cave. Wind blows at its full speed on the summit, so remember to tighten up the caps you are wearing. The view from the top just can’t be described in words, it is sure that this would be best moment of the trek. Summit can be reached from the Cave in ~15-20 mins
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| Salher Summit |
Day 2: Hargad-Mulher
Begin your day early in morning around 0600 Hours and try to finish morning activities along with breakfast around 0800 Hours & start to begin descend from Salher. You have option of getting down from the other way to reach Salherwadi village or you could just get down by the Waghambe route. The descend will take roughly 1.5 Hours From both villages local vehicles are available that will drop you down to Mulher village. Replenish your food material from the Mulher market and pack your lunch boxes.
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| Mora-Mulher-Hargad from Mulher village. |
From Mulher village , on the right you see Hargad, in middle the Mulher fort and to the left of Mulher you see Mora fort.
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| Ganesh Mandir - Mulher machi |
The road from Mulher village straight away leads you to Mulher fort. After a walk of 1 hour you will reach the first gate of the Mulher (You can see structures built on the way by forest department along the route for resting). Preferably, you can then relax down at the Ganesh mandir on Mulher machi. There is a small artificial water pond in front of the mandir from which you can fill up your drinking water bottles. In the map you see three gates on the right side, cross over this gates to reach Hargad. From the third gate looking upward to hargad you can see the broken fortified wall ,to reach this col you need to walk down the third gate and take a U-turn on the trail. From this col there are two ways you can reach the top of fort, one path is simple but long while the other one is short but has steep climb. The fastest way to reach top would be the shortest path along the visible ridge of Hargad. This path has stairs that will lead you up, but the stairs are damaged & mostly covered with soil making it a bit difficult to climb up. The stairs of shortest path are visible from the col (checkout image). It takes around 15-20 mins to reach the Col from Ganesh mandir. (You can consider keeping / hiding your sacks somewhere safe near the Col & only carrying water to complete Hargad fort faster & spending less energy ; this will also help your climb along the shorter route)
Keep in mind that the trail that leads to this stairs lie on the other side. Sticking to the rock on the other side you find the way up to this stairs[3].After climbing the stairs you can see the gate of Hargad that is facing Mulher fort.
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| Hargad Ascend stairs. |
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| 1st entry gate to Hargad following the direct route from Col of Hargad-Mulher |
From the entrance gate of hargad you can get a clear picture of Mulher and Mora.Watch out for the way [2] that will be lead you to Mulher citadel, it is visible from this point.
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| Long range Cannon - Hargad |
After you climb up the stairs of this gate you reach the top of the fort, the top of fort is vast & appears like a plateau. There is one long range cannon gun on the top. This could be the longest cannon gun you could have ever seen still available on any fort. All the surrounding forts and peaks are visible from this point of the fort. Relax down at this point and enjoy the view of the Baglan region. There are also other things like Water cisterns that can be seen on this fort top, but they will be dry at this time of the year. As you would have observed that the way by which you climbed would be difficult to descend you should use the other way to descend Hargad. This way is in the front of the Rameshwar temple that lies in middle of the fort, you need to walk over the boulders to get down this way. Keep in mind that you need to reach Mulher before the sun sets down so accordingly you should spend your time to relax down. Looking at map[2] and tracing down the landmarks you can easily find out the way that leads you to Mulher fort. Reaching & exploring Hargad fort, enjoying the views & returning to the Col will roughly take 1.5 - 2 Hours.
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| Water Tanks-Mulher fort |
While ascending Mulher, collect dry wood sticks that you may require for cooking purpose on the top of fort. Once you cross over the gates, you will find series of water cisterns that lie on the front side of entry gate. One of the cistern has clean drinking water, you can use this water to fill up your cans and bottles. There are caves at the entrance, but they are not in good condition for stay and also presence of honey bees here is a worry. The best and cleanest place to stay on Mulher is on the Bhandangnath mandir platform, two large water cistern can be seen towards the south of the temple but they will be dry during summers. The Fort also has another cave (more of a storage place) towards the south face of the fort with some fortification around it, however it is not suitable for a stay, one can find this cave if they walk straight ahead along the edge from the series of water cisterns. It will take you around 1 - 1.5 Hour to reach the temple from the Col.
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| Bhadangnath Mandir |
Settle down near this temple for night. This place is very windy at night so try to cover up entire body to get cozy sleep. Also note that, look out for monkeys that come around the temple in the morning; avoid keeping any of belonging in the open.
Day 3: Mulher-Mora
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| Mora Fort |
The 3rd day can be started a little late at around 0800 Hours to explore Mulher and Mora. There is another water tank available in the Mulher-Mora col which can be used for drinking purpose, this one is closest to Temple. Also the fortification available at this Col is large at catches your sight. The fascinating thing of Mora fort is its entry gates, they give a castle effect to the fort. Apart from that the fort doesn't have much to see at the summit except a pond. It takes roughly 20 mins to reach the Col from Bhadangnath Temple & then around 30 mins more to explore Mora fort & return to the Col.
After exploration, descend down from the Mulher-Mora col gate to reach Mulher machi. This route opens directly near Someshwar mandir, temple of lord shiva. Explore around the area on Mulher machi,and the begin the return journey to Mulher village. It will take around 2 Hour to reach Mulher village from the Col.
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| Mora Entrance Gate |
Salher
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Salota
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Hargad
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Mulher
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Mora
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Alltitude
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5141 ft
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4986 ft
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4450 ft
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4500 ft
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4200 ft
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Base Village
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Waghambe / Salherwadi
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Mulher
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Water Availability
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Available
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NA
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N.A
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Available
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Available
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Accommodation
[People]
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Caves opposite to Gangasagar talov
[10-15]
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Not good for stay.
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Rameshwar temple in middle of fort. Not
good for stay
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Open space on Bhadangnath temple platform [10-20]
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Cave at the Col. [3-4]
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How to reach:
Nearest Station: Nashik Road
You have to catch a state transport vehicle from CBS Nashik to reach Satana or Taharabad. After you reach Taharabad, you need to hire a local vehicle (6 seater Rickshaw) to reach Mulher village. From Mulher village there are local vehicles that drop you at Waghambe village or Salher village.
Summary: [Nashik Road Stn - CBS - Satana - Tarhadabad - Mulher - Waghambe]
Instructions:
- Ensure that you begin the trek early morning on all days so that you finish with all the forts on the third day.
- Keeping the maps [2] handy is important as it will help you a lot during the trek to find routes.
- If you are planning a Summer trek like us, ensure to carry lots of water (Approx 4 liters per person)
- Don’t be a litterbug.
"Capture only images, take away memories and leave only footprints."
Photos:
References:
[1]Battle of Salher ”Raja Shivachatrapati-uttaraardha”-Babasaheb Purandare.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_involving_the_Maratha_Empire#Battle_of_Salher
[2] Trekshitiz.com-for Maps of salher-salota ,mulher hargad and mora
http://trekshitiz.com/Maps/MM_DefaultUserAlpha.ASP
http://trekshitiz.com/Maps/MM_DefaultUserAlpha.ASP
[3] Trail Maps
