Location: close to the Bhimashankar mountains is a little known but relatively easy trekking fort called Peth

Hike duration: one-day trek but overnight stay is definitely recommended.

Geographical proximities:

Peth fort seems to be amongst the group of the forts, which center on Bhimshankar ranges. The peaks of this range, each have a name and some are of historical significance. This range is a part of the Sahyadri ranges proper and runs approximately in the north south direction.

Other locations that are close by are:-

*Tungi fort

*Padargad [also called as “kalavantini cha mahal”]

*Bhimaskankar temple

*Siddhagad

*Gorakhgad-macchindra peak.

 Routes to arrive at:

1)     Karjat-Ambivali-Peth (shortest and the most frequently used )

2)     Karjat-Khandas-Peth ( partly through Ganpati Ghat)

3)     Pune-Rajgurunagar-Ghoda -Bhimashankar-Peth. ( good tar road till Bhimashankar)

4)     Murbad -Siddhagad - Bhimashankar-Peth

Best time of the year to visit:

Since this region is relatively better off as regards basic amenities are concerned with respect to some other parts of interior Maharashtra. Water and food both may be plentiful just in case they are needed.

Except for May be the dry months of May – June water is available rest of the year. The best time to visit the fort or its surroundings is from August to December.

It is better to avoid the very wet months of June and July as some of the paths and trails may be slippery and dangerous.

 
Journey:  

Image : A map of the general area. Please click on the image to view a larger version.

Karjat –ambivali –peth:

Arrive at Karjat station by train (central railway) by boarding the “Karjat local” which starts from C.S.T and halts at Byculla, Dadar, Kurla, Ghatkopar and Thane.

Cross over to the east side of the station where the State transport bus depot is located. As soon as you exit the station, take the right to walk the road that will lead you out of to the depot. Ask for directions to the depot.

Take the bus going to Jambrukh, which is a village further than Ambivali where we have to alight. There is a bus every hour or so and the timing is matched with the arrival of the karjat local, so it is a good bet to start and catch the bus as soon as you reach there and not do “timepass” at the station !

After a journey of 1 ½ to 2 hours, alight at Ambivali. A bullock cart road starts to ascend upward from the right of the main road before entering the village this is the road that goes to “peth village”

The Actual hike:

The village of peth is situated nearly three-fourths the way to the top on the plateau of the mountain. After trekking for about 2 to 3 hours we reach the village of peth. As arable flat land is scarce milk seems to the only produce of the village and it seems that the villagers export “khawa” to all major sweet meat shops in Bombay.

The fort of Peth juts out from the plateau, after crossing the village take the well used path to start climbing up to the fort proper. Perhaps this fort is the only one of its kind where the route to the top partly has been carved in the insides of the mountain. So you actually reach the top not by climbing from the exterior face of the mountain but through the steps carved with in.

After climbing, the path bifurcates at a broken stone entrance. The path to the right goes to the caves while the path to the left circumvent the fort and also gives an offshoot which goes to “pardhyachi wadi” on the plateau again from where it is possible to trek back to Bhimashankar. This route is very difficult and has fallen out of use, but it is the only one directly connecting the two places together. The route is well used and so it is not a problem once you set out right from Ambivali.

Things to see:

The caves are very old and clean, and can accommodate many people at a time. The top of the mountain is not very wide but offers an excellent view of the surroundings.

 The view of the vast expanse of the horizon is breath taking and on a clear day, it is easy to appreciate a far as Matheran .

On the top of the mountain there is not much to appreciate except for broken remains of the stone doorway and stone steps. The entire round on the top takes about 15 to 20 minutes.

  The view from the top gives a lot of information about the region to the south lies Tata Bhivpuri electric station mountain. The peaks of Bhimashankar, Tungi fort, can be very easily to the north and north –west. In the Southern direction, Matheran and peb can be appreciated in the distance and it is possible to see even the railway line if the visibility is extremely good.

Trek scale:

Very easy, water and place to camp present, trek itself does not take more than 2 to 3 hours at a fast pace.

- Rohit Divekar.