Shivneri : The birthplace of King of Kings

 

Shivneri fort is the birthplace of Great Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He was born here on 19 February 1630 (some accounts points to 1627), and spent his childhood at the fort. It was not clearly known that who have built this fort but the origins are traced back to Satvahana Period.

It is one of the well maintained forts of India and a must visit place in the books of travel enthusiasts.

This fort is one of the important one in the life pointers of the King Shivaji ,others are Raigadh and Rajgadh.

This Fort is situated in the vicinity of Major cities like Mumbai and Pune near Junnar. It is around 100 Kms from Pune. We took the Pune-Nashik highway and take a detour from Narayangaon to reach Junnar.This fort can also be clubbed with a trip to nearby Bhimashankar.

 It is believed that when the father of Shivaji, King Shahajiraje Bhosale was surrounded by enemy forces, he has shifted his pregnant wife Jijabai to Shivneri which was believed to be safe from enemy eyes .Later Shahajiraje done major changes in the fort to strengthen it to keep their family safe from enemies.

 

Shivai Temple

Shivaji was named after the Goddess Shivai whose temple still adorned this fort.The photography is not allowed inside the temple.

 You can take your vehicle till the foothills of this fort and one has to climb at least 400 steps to completely traverse this fort. The main attraction of this fort are it's seven gates-

Maha darwaza, Ganesh darwaza,Peer darwaza, Hatti darwaza, Shivai darwaza, Mena darwaza and Kulup darwaza. 

The darwaza which requires special attention is Hatti darwaza with it's larger than life wooden gates with iron spikes to keep the charging elephants at bay. After crossing the hatti darwaza,you will find a board to reach Goddess Shivai temple. The surroundings of temple are beautiful,from here you can see the backwaters of dam as well as large swathes of green fields.

 

After visiting the temple you have to cross 2 more gates Mena and Kulup darwaza to enter the main fort.The first structure that you will observe would be a dilapidated but beautiful that is known as Amberkhana. It was built in Black stone and primarily was used as the quarter for Malik Ahmad,a Bahmani commander .Later it was used for multiple purpose's like granaries, stable for horses and Elephants.

 

After a walk of 5 min from here ,you will witness large water tanks known as Ganga Jamuna. These are perennial water sources now engulfed with dirt and moss. 

Further you will see a monument dedicated to Shivaji Maharaj known as Shivkunj. This memorial is having a metal statue of Shivaji with his mother Jijabai.

Shivkunj

 

Kamani Mosque

Just in front of these mosque lies the Kamani Mosque with it's white colored arch's that is visible even from the base town of Junnar.This mosque was built by Mughal Kings.

 

The birthplace of Shivaji Maharaj

From Kamani Mosque ,you will be able to see a large room like stone structure with a balcony.This is the actual birthplace of Shivaji.It was reconstructed in year 1925 by Shahuji Maharaj of Kolhapur.

 

A symbolic cradle at the birthplace.

Inside this 2 story structure ,you will be able to see Shivaji's statue and a cradle on the ground floor.The upper floor is dark and cool. You can spend some quite time here by memorizing the aura and feel of great warrior king Shivaji. The windows are of old Jharokha type style. The surroundings are mostly in ruins ,might be the ruins of the palace.

 

Badami Tank

Just in front of Shivaji's birthplace ,there is a square shaped water fountain surrounded by stone flooring. As you move ahead you will see a big artificial pond known as Badami Talao. The way just besides this pond will take you to the Takmak Tok also known kadelot. This is the extreme point of the fort and was used to throw off the prisoners who were sentenced to death.This is the point from where you have to start your return journey. There is no other way to descend the fort,you have to use the same path to descend.

 

Kadelot

While descending you must observe a stone monument just above the Shivkunj.This is known as Koli Chauthra,that was built in the memory of Hundreds of kolis(fishermen) who were massacred by mughals in 1650.

In 2021, it was added to the tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage sites as part of "Serial Nomination of Maratha Military Architecture in Maharashtra".

 

 Nearby Attractions : Bhimashankar and Lenyadri Caves.

 Best ways to reach : Either take your own car or hire a vehicle.

 

Koyna nagar - A Weekend two day trip from Pune in Monsoon.

 It is considered almost a sin to stay in your house on weekends during monsoon season in Pune.

So I have crafted this two day weekend trip from Pune that takes you to the religious town of Chafal, reverse waterfalls of Sadawaghapur and to the town of Koynanagar that hosts Maharashtra's largest dam. 

We have started from Pune in the morning and reach Chafal as our first stop-

Chafal is famous for its very beautiful Shri Ram Temple that is situated amidst the nature. The temple is associated with Shri Samarth Ramdas Swami, the spiritual guru of Shivaji Maharaj.The temple is made up of Sangamarmar and apart from Shri Ram temple also hosts a temple & dhyan gufa of Shri Samarth Ramdas Swami.This Cave is the special attraction of the temple and also historically important as Shivaji Maharaj used to have meetings with Shri Samarth Ramdas Swami here. The cave is narrow and pitch dark and require a torch to visit and an adventure in itself, a must visit place.

Chafal also hosts two out of eleven maruti temples Daas Maruti & Veer Maruti established by Shri Samarth Ramdas Swami.One of them Veer Maruti is just at backside to Ram Temple and Daas Maruti just in front of Ram Temple.

There is ample parking space in temple and temple closes for an hour in afternoon from 12.30 - 1.30 PM. Do not forget to get down to the river ghat bordering the temple for some wonderful pictures. After spending one hour at temple, we started our onward journey to the Sada Waghapur Plateau to enjoy its beauty and to soak into the waters of reverse waterfalls.

How to reach: Chafal is 155 KMs from Pune on Mumbai-Bangalore Highway,take detour from Umbraj after Satara. Temple is 11 KMs from Umbraj and Roads are good. 

Sada-Waghapur : Reverse Waterfalls, I have been hearing this term since some time and was looking for a place where I can feel its real rhythmic power.

This plateau is situated deep inside in the hinterlands of Sahyadris and in the sugar bowl of Maharashtra. The name is Sada-Waghapur and it's 150 KM from Pune and 25 KM from Umbraj. This place is not known to much and have very less crowds and google maps some time deceives. Hence, the directions are required from the local people.

The roads are in pretty good condition but powerful cars are recommended as there are some steep curves that required to be crossed to reach this vast plateau.

Once you reach on the plateau, you will find yourself in the company of hundreds of windmills churning energy for nearby Suzlon Power Plant. To reach the reverse waterfalls, you need to put your car onto the muddy fields (follow the tire marks left by someone else or wait for some local car to accompany you).

There are numerous reverse waterfalls on the edges of the plateau and it feels heavenly to drench in the water oozing out from reverse waterfalls. Be extra careful while clicking pictures and videos as sometimes the reverse waterfalls surprise you with its power that is based on the heavy wind blowing in these area. There are no shops or restaurants here, so take your water and snacks with you and be ready to spend a gala time here.

Then we bid adieu to this beautiful plateau and started our journey towards Koynanagar. We also stopped for a photo-op at another plateau before Patan.

Koynanagar is a place where river Koyna that originates from Mahabaleshwar has been caged by India's largest Hydro electric dam. This small hamlet is strategically located just before the descend to Konkan Coast. Nature has bestowed Maharashtra with western Ghats and the beauty of this area is just beyond explanation during the monsoons. This is only dam which discharges water both in Arabian sea as well as to Bay of Bengal through Krishna River.

This town is located 200 KMs from Pune and a good weekend hideout during monsoon. This place is having very few overnight stay options and most of them remains sold out months in advance during rainy season. Almost all are situated on Humbarli hillock that overlooks the reservoir of the dam and offers wonderful natural views.

We reached Koynanagar in the evening after visiting Chafal and Sada-Waghapur.After check-in at the resort,as usual I started chit-chatting with the resort staff for a hidden sightseen spot, if any.He suggested me to visit 'Manai Devi Temple' and a nearby Shiva Temple,which is located at the dead-end of one of the very narrow roads of Humbarli Hillock.The temple is located around 10 min drive from our resort and a well paved staircase from here goes towards a more scenic Shiva Temple which offers unexplainable beautiful views of Dam waters.A small waterfall is also located in the temple premises. After visiting this scenic temple, we retire in our rooms with an early dinner as there is nothing to do here after the dark.

We woke up early as suggested by staff as the dam is almost full and it opens it all gates during mornings to discharge the excess water. 

The nature was at its best during the early morning here and we have decided to visit the nearby resorts as well to feel and see the views offered by them for our next trip. We were welcomed by all of them inside their premises and they told us that we can roam freely inside their campus. It was a nice experience to see the mighty Koyna dam disburse water from all its six gates with full force. The view of dam from this hillock is quite magical and you can even sip your tea from one of the resort balconies and feel the thunder of mighty dam releasing the water. Its like watching a movie from a balcony seat when you sit atop and not stretching your neck to observe the proceedings.

After having breakfast, we checked out from the resort and left for Ozarde Waterfall which is 10 KMs from here. This is a major tourist attraction here and require an arduous 30 min trek to reach a view-point from where you can feel the power of this waterfall and get drenched. No one is allowed to bath and go near the waterfall. Though there is a well paved path and stairs to reach the top but some are damaged because of incessant rainfall. One can see different views of waterfall from the many viewpoints along the way. 

This 30 min trek is very adventurous and you need to cross many small waterfalls and many water puddles. But in my view, the best view of the fall can be seen only from the entrance from where this trek starts. So if you are having trouble in walking or having lack of time, you may give a miss to this trek but you will surely miss the thrill of feeling the waterfall from up and close. Entry fees to waterfall is Rs.30.

Nehru Garden-

While returning we have also visited the Nehru Garden. This is a large garden situated on the banks of the dam and it offers a good museum and shows a very good 25 min documentary on the construction and the usage of Koyna dam. Your Koyna trip will only be deemed as complete only after watching this documentary. As this is the only way to understand the gravity and the hard work done by our engineers to construct this engineering marvel. Entrance fees is Rs.20 to the garden.

This was the last point of our trip and we asked our driver to take us directly back to Pune and we dozed off.

Where to Stay-

Koyna Lake Resort.

Gursale Resort.

Wind Chalet Resort.

Presidency Highland Resort.

How to reach- Take Pune-Bangalore Highway till Umbraj and then visit Chafal ,Sada waghapur and reach Koynanagar via Patan.