Bahe-Nrusinhapur-Machhindragad

Shri Machindranath is one of the Navnath from Nath family. Macindranath temple is located on a small tekdi[mountain], called Machindragad. The village around is referred as Keille Machindragad. Machindragad can be reached from via Pune – Satara - Karad – Rethare – Keille Machidragad. The distance can be 150km [approx] from Pune.



Nrusinha Temple

Hiranyakashyapu Vadh







Bahe Hanuman

Bahe Hanuman Temple








Ready to climb Machhindragad

Rajgad Kids Camp

'Rajgad' - the name describes the place itself. The king of all the forts. The fort of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He spent almost 25/30 yrs here. The place of historical importance, very near from Pune. Rajgad is south-west 40 Kms from Pune. Rajgad is famous for its construction. Fort is of 1350 Mtrs. high, Rajgad is famous for its Padmavati Machi, Sanjivani Machi ,Suvela Machi and 'Bale killa' - the pride of Maharashtra. It is almost 500 feet high and really difficult to climb.

Must See:

1. Chor darwajas located at different places on the fort.

2. Padmawati Temple

3. Maharani Saibai Samadhi

4. Remains of the Palace

5. Amberkhana

6. Daru kothar

7. Khalbatkhana

8. Balekilla

9. Suvela Machi

10. Sanjivani Machi

11. Nedha

12. Padmawati Machi

13. Pali Darwaja

14. Gunjavani Darwaja

Ratangad

Ratangad (Marathi: रतनगढ़) is a fort overlooking the picturesque locale of Bhandardara, one of the oldest artificial catchment area. The fort is about 400 years old.

Ratangad at the top, has a natural rock peak with a cavity in it which is called 'Nedhe' or 'Eye of the Needle'; formed by natural erosion, it is big enough to accommodate a group of 10 people & the view of the entire region from here is absolutely amazing.

Ratan gad was captured by Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje Bhosle and was one of his favorites. The base village Ratanwadi has a beautiful Amruteshwar temple which is famous for its carvings. The fort is origin for the river Pravara / Amrutvahini . The Bhandardara dam is built on this river.

Main attraction at Ratanwadi, one can take in the beauty of the Amruteshwar temple dating back to the Hemadpant Era Roughly from the 8th Century.

How to reach Ratangad Fort:
Nearest railway station is Igatpuri. From Igatpuri, we have to go to Shendi village. There is a bus around 5-5:30AM from Igatpuri to Shendi. I'm not sure about other timings. Shendi and Bhandardara are two villages separated by Bhandardara Lake. From Shendi to Bhandardar village, we can go by boat. It takes around 30minutes. From Bhandardara, we have to go by walk for around 45min.-1hour to reach base village, Ratanwadi. Amruteshwar temple at this village is good.

Another way, it is about 67Km from Sangamner city which is on NH-50 Pune to Nasik, nearest city & people refer it for there routine work, This route is known as State highway Kolhar-Ghoti.

From here, we have to start trek to Ratangad Fort. It takes around 4hrs. in worst case to reach the top of fort. We have two caves on top of hill/fort. Small cave doesn't have any grill to close the opening of cave and it can accommodate around 5 people. Big cave have grill to close the cave in nights and it can accommodate 25 people. Night stay can be done. No fear of animals, except monkeys. Rain water(collected in the tank on hill) is good enough to have mouth-wash and refreshments in the morning.

Amruteshwar Temple

Rajmachi

Rajmachi consists of two beautiful peaks namely 'Shrivardhan' and 'Manaranjan'. Rajmachi is very famous fort near twin hill stations in Maharashtra - Lonavala and Khanadala. Rajmachi fort is nearby 18/20 Kms from Lonavala but a nice way to reach the fort is from Tungarli Lake. This trek is very good for the beginners.

Shrivardhan and Manaranjan can also be considered as two separate forts. There is one small platue in between them. A temple of 'Bhairoba' is very beautiful. Shrivardhan is 'Bale killa' of Rajmachi. It is almost 3000 feet high. But it was mainly built to keep watch on Konkan area. The other - Manaranjan is 2700 feet high. Manaranjan consists of strong walls, 3 doors and many water tanks. One can see Ulhas river, Dukes Nose (Nagphani), Karnala ,Matheran, Mahuli and Bhimashankar etc. The old caves of 'Kondhavi' on Rajmachi fort are worth to see. The way to fort is long but truly with a good view. One can enjoy a nice forest, Tungarli lake and many waterfalls as well. Truly, Rajmachi is one of the good places to visit around Pune. And the trekkers especially the beginners enjoy the way to fort.