Ramshej Fort

One of the few forts not conquered by the Moguls is the Ramshej fort a few miles away from Nashik. We went to hike there and it is a quick half hour away from the city. The full moon was out and the mountaintop with the fort on it was shrouded in clouds.

As we progressed on our walk, the fog cleared revealing the distinctive shape of the mountaintop.

There were some stairs at the beginning which made for an easy climb.

The steps ended soon enough and the rock face of the mountaintop was visible.

Looking back, we could see the predawn light and the surrounding hills.

The fort area had a cutout carved in the mountain which was visible from a distance.

It turned out to be a small cave with the Shiva Lingam and his vehicle Nandi.

The sun had risen and we could see a pretty orange ball of fire.

A little bit more climb and we were at the fort it was designed to hold the treasury of the Maratha empire during the times of Shivaji.

The fog was still occluding nearby mountains.

Under the fort entrance, we could see the dugout which held the treasury.

The ruins have a glimpse of the former glory of this unconquerable fort.

A brief history of the Maratha forts was described in Marathi.

The cliff at the distance and the small clump of palms looked pretty in the dawn light.

We continued walking to the cliff where the Maratha flag was proudly fluttering in the wind.

Enroute we could see many pools or cisterns carved inside the granite rock.

This area has many mountains of interesting shapes.

Finally we reached the flagpole it was pretty bright and sunny by now. After a brief stop marveling at the surroundings, we started the descent which was very quick. This was one of the short hikes interspersed with a peek at the Maratha history.