| Distance | 105 km | Height | 3500 ft |
| Days | 1 day | Difficulty | Medium |
| Base Village | Junnar | ||
| Shelter | One can make a stay on the fort in Shiv Kunj or Ambarkhana. Shivkunj is a suitable option among the two because of water cisterns are available near it. | ||
Overview
Junnar means “Jirna Nagar”, one of the oldest cities of ancient India. The Shaka dynasty ruled here. Gautamiputra Satkarni, who was a Satvaahan king, defeated the Shakas to establish his rule. The era of Satvaahan is the most glorious one, as many artistic works were carried out during their rule. Junnar became their capital city. This was the golden era of our culture. Here more than 100 caves were carved out in the mountains surrounding Junnar. The mountain on which fortification was constructed, is well protected by steep scarps, and is the most suitable for constructing caves. Here 64 caves were carved, and eight inscriptions are found here. It was named Shivneri. After Satvaahans, the fort went into the hands of Yadavas, and then to the Bahmani Kings. The Bahmanis put a hindrance to the trade between north and southern India. After the death of Malik-ul-Tujar, Malik Ahmed, the son of first Nizam Malik Hasan, claimed himself to be the ruler and established Nizamshahi.Jadhavrao (father of Jijamata) accompanied Jijamata to Shivneri with a cavalry of 500. Shivaji Maharaj was born in 1630 when Shahaji Maharaj was in a distress.
Shivaji Maharaj left this fort in 1632 and it went into the hands of Mughals in 1637. In 1650 the local fishermen refuted against them. The folks lost to the rulers and were assassinated cruelly on the fort. In 1678 the Marathas raided Junnar, but attempt to capture Shivneri was futile. Shahu Maharaj brought the fort under his control forty years later. Later it was under the control of Peshwas.
Places of Interest
The fort has a significant shape, like an arrowhead, pointing towards the north. Someone has described this as an arrow pointing towards the tyrant Moguls of north, threatening about Shivaji Maharaj. It is surrounded by about 7-8 forts in the region, and was built to guard the city of Junnar and the ancient route of Naneghat. From the top of the fort we can have a view of Lenyadri, a famous pilgrimage and the Giant Meteoric Radio Telescopes of Narayangaon.Shiv Janmasthan : This is the place on the fort where the birth of Shivaji Maharaj took place. This place is named as Shiv Mandir. Ahead of Shiv Mandir there is a huge water tank.
Kadelot point : This is the place where prisoners were punished by throwing them down the fort. This point is on the northern end of the fort.
Shiv Kunj : Shiv Kunj is a monument constructed by the state government, in honor of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Inside Shiv Kunj there is an idol of Bal Shivaji and Jijabai made of “Panchdhatu” (An alloy of 5 metals.)
Kamani Masjid : In front of Shiv Kunj on can see this Kamani Masjid. It might have been named Kamani because the top of this structure is like bow that is called as Kaman in Hindi. On the east-facing wall there is an inscription in Urdu.
Ganga Jamuna : These are the water cisterns behind the Shiv Kunj. Water in these cisterns is potable. On whole of Shivneri there are more than 10 water tanks.
Koli Chauthara : This monument is built in the place where Mughals killed thousands of Koli soldiers in the year 1650.
Ambarkhana : Every fort needs to have a warehouse for its storage of grains and food products. Ambarkhana is the place where huge amount of grain can be stored. The caretakers here keep this place very clean. When descending/ascending through the way near Ambarkhana all the seven doors of the fort can be visited.
History
This fort has lot to tell. Shivneri, a birth place of Chhatrapati Shivaji (1627), is located at a distance of around 3 km from Junnar (125 km from Pune). Shahaji, father of Shivaji kept his wife Jijabai in this fort during her pregnancy, as the fort was unique and difficult to reach. It is easier to reach the fort by the normal road than to climb from the hills. One has to get through 7 doors before reaching the actual fort. This fort is a very big structure with a very good height. The old and beautiful 'Devi Shivai' temple is on the way. Shivaji was taken from the name of this goddess. Shivaji spent his childhood on this fort. He acquired all the skills and training on this fort which he used while establishing Swaraj. He learnt the early lessons of Swaraj on this fort.The wide base of the fort is towards the south and the narrow point is towards the north. The ascending path to the fort is defended by seven gates, the fifth one being armoured with anti-elephant spikes. The fort has several rock-hew cisterns and ponds, of which two large ones are known as Ganga and Jumuna. Today, there are only a few structures remaining in the fort. At one end there is a ruined stable and at the other end a mosque of the Mughal period. The house where shivaji was born (in February, 1630 AD) has been recently restored and a temple with statues of Shivaji and Jijabai called Shivakunja, has also been built. Sir Richard Temple in his book Shivaji and the Rise Marathas wrote about Shivaneri: You will see what a rugged precipitous place this is and what a fitting spot it was for a hero to be born in!
Junnar means "Jirna Nagar", one of the oldest cities of ancient India. The Shaka dynasty ruled here. Gautamiputra Satkarni, who was a Satvaahan king, defeated the Shakas to establish his rule. The era of Satvaahan is the most glorious one, as many artistic works were carried out during their rule. Junnar became their capital city. This was the golden era of our culture. Here more than 100 caves were carved out in the mountains surrounding Junnar. The mountain on which fortification was constructed, is well protected by steep scarps, and is the most suitable for constructing caves. Here 64 caves were carved, and eight inscriptions are found here. After the Satavahanas, the Shivneri for was occupied by the Shilaharas, the Yadavas, the Bahamanis and the Mughals. In 1599 AD the hill fort was granted to Shivaji's grandfather, Maloji Bhosale and passed down to Shahaji. Though Shivaji was born here, he had to surrender the fort to the Mughals and could not take it back in his lifetime.
Shivaji Maharaj left this fort in 1632 and it went into the hands of Mughals in 1637. In 1650 the local fishermen refuted against them. The folks lost to the rulers and were assassinated cruelly on the fort. In 1678 the Marathas raided Junnar, but attempt to capture Shivneri was futile. Shahu Maharaj brought the fort under his control forty years later. Later it was under the control of Peshwas.
The Shivneri cluster forts, comprising Harishchandragad, Junnar, Jivadhan, etc. was very important strategically, because it controlled the ancient Name Ghat Pass.
How to Reach
To reach fort Shivneri first we have to reach Junnar. Distance between Junnar bus stand and Shivneri is 2 km by road.Way to reach Junnar
From Mumbai or Kalyan one can reach Junnar via Malshej Ghat or via Khandala Ghat. Route via Malshej Ghat is the preferable as it takes less time. Buses ply hourly from Kalyan towards Junnar. Distance from Mumbai is approximately 100 km.
From Pune or Shivaji Nagar one can take buses for Junnar. Buses ply hourly for Junnar from these bus stands.
On Kalyan – Nagar road there lie two diversions: a) Bangar Phata b) Aale Phata One can also descend at any one of these diversions and use local transport to reach Junnar city.
Way to reach on Shivneri
A 2 km walk from Junnar bus stand takes us to the foothills of Shivneri, right up to the steps. This route is the main one, through 7 magnificent doors. These are named as follows: On this side is the temple of Goddess Shivai. Shivaji was named after the name of the deity. This is situated in the place where stands the cave carved by the Buddhists during the Satvaahan era. To the right of the temple are few more caves. On the walls of second cave is an inscription. Two more are found on the walls of neighboring caves. In all there are 64 caves carved in the walls of mountain on which Shivneri is built. Many people traverse through this route, as it is very easy.
Second route to climb this fort is to ascend from the eastern face. This route is little tiring. From this route it hardly takes 1 hour to reach at the top from the base stand. On the way there is a temple of Hanuman. One has to take a path on the right side of the temple. This small path takes us to the reserved forest. In this forest there lays the path to reach to top. One has to be careful, as there are many paths that can mislead us. Traversing upwards for 20 minutes takes us to the rock cut caves on the eastern side of the fort. On the left we can see steps running upwards. After ascending this steps we can reach top in 10 minutes.
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