Fort : Vajragad

Distance	40 km	Height	4444 ft / 1355 m
Days	1 Day	Difficulty	Easy
Base Village	Narayanpur (Saswad)
Shelter	Not Available

Overview

Also known as Rudramal, this fort is adjacent to a famous fort - Purandar and shares a common base. It is located on Narayanpur-Saswad road. Narayanpur is about 40 km from Pune on Pune-Satara road.

History

Vajragad was one of the 23 forts given to Mughals in Purandar treaty in 1665. It was won back in 1670. After Shivaji Maharaj’s death, it was lost to Mughal and they named it as “Ajamgad”. Again in 1695, Shahu Maharaj won it and handed over the control to Peshwas. It is also called “Rudramal”. It’s height from sea level is about 4444 ft (~1355 m). Vajragad and Purandar are sibling forts very near to Pune (about 30-35 Kms). Its mythological name is “Indraneel Parvat”. As per Hindu mythology, when Lord Hanuman attempted to carry “Dronagiri” mountain range, a portion of it slipped off his hands and fell down to form “Indraneel Parvat”. There is a Siva Temple in the base village of these forts, “Narayanpur”, called “Narayaneshwar”. This temple is said to be from the days of “Pandavas”. Purandar and Vajragad always had a demanding place in Maratha Empire as Purandar was Capital of Peshwas for many years.

How to Reach

There are two ways to reach the Narayanpur, which is base village for both Purandar and Vajragad. One is via “Saswad” (Pune-Swargate-Hadapsar-Dive Ghat (remember to see the “Mastani Lake” from here)-Saswad-Narayanpur) and another is via “Balaji Temple” near Kapurhol on Pune-Satara highway (Pune-Swargate-Katraj-Katraj Ghat-Kapurhol-Balaji Temple-Narayanpur). One can go either by bike or ST bus or city bus to this fort. There is continuous city bus service for Saswad from Hadapsar and ST bus service for Balaji Temple from Swargate. Once you reach Narayanpur, take the blessings from “Narayaneshwar” and “Ek Mukhi Datta” and then move towards the Narayanpeth. It is a small locality of few houses very close to Narayanpur. From here, one can either go by trek route or by road. There are two trek routes available. One take you directly to “Binni Darwaja” and another route take you through some old bungalows and few lakes. I would suggest go by this route so that you can see the view of Sinhagad, Torna and Rajgad along with some great scenes from down and moreover some of the parts of Purandar and Padmavati Lake. Choose any route from these three (bike/car, trek1 and trek2 (which I suggested)) and you will finally arrive at Binni Darwaja on Pupandar Machi.

Food Facility

Make your own arrangements.

Drinking Water Facility

Potable water isn't available on the top.