Mahuli Fort

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Mahuli Fort. At 2815 ft., this is a sought after trekking destination.
Reaching there: Asangaon on Mumbai-Nashik highway (91) Kms from Mumbai. 5 kms inside on to the left is the Mahuli village. A temple and a humble home of Mataji Geetabharati is at the base. Temple dormitory and camp area can be reserved. Mataji provides authentic maharashtrian vegeterian food on advance information.

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. Thousand of 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 and later by the Britishers.

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A distant view of Mahuli from Asangaon

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Road to the village. The famous jain temple - Manas Mandir on right side

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Base camp

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Sunset at Mahuli

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Learning the basics of pitching the tent

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Campfire

Photo courtesy: Arun C

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Games. Some discovered the actor within them

Photo courtesy: Arun C

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Games people play

Photo courtesy: Arun C

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Tent' er memories

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Sunrise

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Warming up for the journey

Photo courtesy: Arun C

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Call of the mountains

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Map of Mahuli fort area inside the temple at the base camp

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The journey begins. Listening to the birds, trying spotting them, looking at various trees, shrubs.......

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A 'river' to cross on the way. During monsoons, the flow can be very dangerous, explains the guide

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Curious camera eyes capture the distant fort

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A plateau after a short climb

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Another view

Photo courtesy: Arun C

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.....

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...

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A short break

Photo courtesy: Arun C

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....

Photo courtesy: Arun C

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.....

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Two lives. And a dead tree

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A wild beauty

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Those little white and colourful spots on top are people

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Appears very near. But a long way to go

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Mountains, valleys and forests to the left side

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Carrying wild plantain leaves - lunch plates

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....

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Wild plantain

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Rest - On the pretext of waiting for others

Photo courtesy: Arun C

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A small steep climb

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The hills on the right side. Extension of the plateau where the fort existed

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.....

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Part of our trail. A peak with deep valleys on all three sides

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.....

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Another short steep climb

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The valley on the left side of our trail

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The peak & valleys. Shot from a higher spot

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Wild flowers

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The right extreme of the plateau

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Another short steep climb. Waiting for their turn to climb the rock.

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So far so good

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A look at all the terrain we have traversed so far. A bit of surprise, pride and excitement

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Mountains, valleys and more

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We are almost there

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Rest before the final climb

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The final climb

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A view from the top.

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Collecting firewood for cooking

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Our share to the fire

Photo courtesy: Arun C

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Dancing to the tunes of the fire (cooking in progress)

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Proof of the pudding....

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Mahuli's own suicide point

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F * R * I * E * N * D * S

Photo courtesy: Arun C

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A photographer caught in the act

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Dnyanesh getting ready for a rappeling session in a steep, rocky waterfall trail

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Grappling with rappeling

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Relaxing. Dangerously

Photo courtesy: Arun C

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Filling precious water, trickling down between the rocks

Photo courtesy: Arun C

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Between the high and the low

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An attempt to capture the depth of the valley and the peak

Photo courtesy: Arun C

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Got it right ?

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At the peak

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Starting point of the descend. View from the peak.

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We rested here on our way up. Now a view from top

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Sliding the way down

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Sometimes even experts trip. Dnyanesh caught unaware

Nature Knights

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Nature Knights is a group of adventurers from diverse background bonded by a common interest for outdoors, environment and eco-tourism.

Nature Knights organizes expeditions, camps and treks providing opportunities for studying the environment and explorations to places of historical importance and heritage.

Nature Knights also organises adventure trips at locations situated at Daunting Heights of Himalayas to the rich Valleys in Western Ghats and Nilgiri mountains.

You can reach Nature Knights at natureknights@yahoo.com