The overnight trek to Harishchandragad is on every trekkers’ bucket list. Located on the borders of Pune, Thane and Ahmednagar districts of Maharashtra, the historic hill fort of Harishchandragad is built at a height of about 4,670 feet and captures a panoramic view of the lush green vegetation on rich Indian soil and the majestic Sahyadri ranges. Mind you, the trek is extremely challenging and physically daunting {especially at night} and requires a minimum four hours of steep walk to reach to the peak.
Up For Adventure? Go On A Two-Day Trek To Harishchandragad, Three Hours From Pune
What Is It?
How Do I Get There?
Harishchandragad is about 126km from Pune. If you’re driving, it’ll take about three hours via the Mumbai-Pune highway to reach the base village of Belpada. If you’re up for traveling via public transport, there is a daily bus from Shivajinagar station to Khireswar village. Your trek to the Harishchandragad peak will start from one of these two base villages. We recommend you start from Belpada.
What Is Awesome About It?
Your adrenaline is at its peak throughout the trek. The difficulty level gets doubled during dark. Harishchandragad is massive, boasting of its rugged terrain and bewitching beauty. This trek is an experience of a lifetime.
The trek from the base village to the top takes about nine to ten hours, depending upon your pace. The initial phase of the trek is easy. You walk along the foot of the mountain until you reach the narrow track that leads to sparse forest cover and then to the main stream bed.
The climb-up through the stream bed towards the mountain is arduous and challenging. You have to be extra careful since the trail is covered with large rocks. This trail goes on for the next 30-40 minutes till you reach a tiny waterfall. Take a 10 minutes break out here!
Continue with your trek, follow the steep track for another 90 odd minutes till you reach a gorge to the extreme right of the mountain. Take a short break again. Continue the uphill hike for another 30 minutes and you reach the beginning of the gorge.
The route from the gorge has multiple rocky patches, can get a tad bit slippery and it could take about two hours to cover the section. Once you cross the gorge, you will come across a vast plain land that basically forms the base of the final climb to the top. You can camp here for the night.
Next morning, start early for the final climb. Watch the beautiful sunrise because, trust us, it’ll be best you’ll ever see. Once you reach Harishchandragad, explore the place. Do visit the temple and the cave of Kedareshwar. There is quaint pristine lake adjoining the temple where you can just relax for sometime. If you hike further, the path will lead you to one of the biggest caves of the hill fort.
Anything Else?
Go with an experienced trekking group because the night trek to Harishchandragad isn’t an easy cup of tea. We recommend you to contact the Explorers, based out of Sadashiv Peth. The cost of the trek is INR 850 per person.
Contact: 9850502723/9850506622
Mail: explorerspune@gmail.com
#LBBTip
Don’t leave your home without your hiking shoes {obviously}, four litres of water {at least}, snacks, a torch, a backpack, sleeping bags, camping tents, a first-aid kit, sunglasses, climbing ropes and a pocket knife.