Trek to Narayangad Fort - Amba Ambika Caves

August 13, 2017

Trek to Narayangad Fort - Amba Ambika Caves

On the weekend of July 6, we went to a half day trek to Narayangad followed by a visit to Amba Ambika Caves in Narayangaon.

Narayangad seen from the base village, Gadachi Wadi

Co travelers were me, Nirupa, Ashutosh with his son Aarush, Pritesh, Vishal with his wife Aryaa and son Ved.

L to R - me, Aditya, Nirupa, Aryaa, Vishal, Aarush, Pritesh, Ashutosh, Ved.

How to reach - Narayangaon

We left early morning by 5.30 am. We travelled in 2 cars. The route we took was as follows.

Pune - Nashik Fata - Bhosri - Chakan - Rajgurunagar - Manchar - Khodad - Narayangaon.

Pune - Narayangaon - 100 km.

The road condition was simply fantastic. Except almost 70% of the road is 4 lane with a divider. There is a Narayangaon bypass road in progress before you enter the town.

Around 7.30 am we halted for a breakfast in Rajgurunagar. There are number of food joints on the highway between Rajgurunagar and Manchar.

Must try Misal & Wadapav here.

How to reach - Narayangad
As you enter Narayangaon, you can spot the State Transport bus stand on left.

Take a right turn in the square after you pass the bus stand for Narayangad, for Amba Ambika Caves take a left turn in the same square. We visited the fort first and then the caves.

As you take a right turn you approach a Y junction, both the roads take you to the fort. Choose the road on the right as it is in very good condition. 4-5 km of drive and you reach Narayanwadi or Gadachi Wadi, the base village of the fort.

There is ample parking space at the base of the fort near the temple.

This is Mukai Mata Temple. There is enough space for an overnight stay.

Narayangad Fort

History
“The fort is from the Satvahana era and was used as a watch point for the Junnar Paithan route. The fortress is said to have been rebuilt by the first Peshwa Balaji Vishvanath (1714-1720) and given in saranjam or service-grant to Sayaji Povar. In the last Maratha war of 1818 Narayangad is said to have surrendered to the British in 1818 . “ - Wikipedia

About
The fort is easily accessible from the village. There is a temple of Goddess Mukai at its base. The temple is well maintained and there are two large covered halls on both the sides. Also there is ample space around the temple for parking.

There are steps of the left side of the temple, that take you to the fort. Almost half of the climb is by those steps. Later half contains a plain climb with some narrow rocky patches on the way. You need to be careful while crossing the rocky patches especially during rains.

Overall the climb is very easy and within half n hour you reach the top of the fort (gadmatha).

As you can see in the image, the fort is spread horizontally, and the road takes you to the center of the fort. So you need explore the right and left sides once you reach the top of the fort. On both the sides there is some climb. Compared to the left side the path on the right side is quite narrow and rocky. There is not much to see on the fort.

On the right side you can spot number of cisterns on the way. On the left side you can see some ruins of the fort structure. That includes a stoned frame of the door with an image of Lord Ganesh engraved in it. The base structure of the door with tigers chiseled out of stone on both the sides. Again on the way you can spot a cistern.

At the end there is a temple of goddess Hastamata. The temple is clean and offers a shelter for around 20 people if you are planning an overnight stay.

Although there are not much remains left on the fort, the view from the fort is amazing. Especially during the monsoons you can see the green fields all around. The Khodad GMRT project is something worth a view. You can also spot fort Shivneri.

Major part of the trek is done through these steps

Strategically created cluster of cisterns.

Remains of old walls.

Water cistern

Temple of Hasta Mata is the situated at the peak of the fort.

viewing one corner of the fort from the other.

Deep Maal (the tower of lights) near the temple.

Goddess Hasta Mata

View of the trek route from the top.

Yet another cistern.

Remains from the past. 2 faces of tigers carved in the stones.

Ganesh Patti, a stone strip that used to be placed on the entrance door.

Amba Ambika Caves

We left the fort by 12.30 PM, had our lunch at Jeevan restaurant and left for the caves.

About
As you approach the Shivaneri fort, the caves can be easily spotted on your left. All the caves are from Hinayan period dated back to 3rd century.

You can get details about these caves here (Courtesy - Kevin Standage)

How to reach - Amba Ambika Caves

Amba Ambika caves are Buddhist caves located around 13 km from Narayangaon. Take immidiate left after Narayangaon bus stand or you go straight past the bus stand for couple of kilometers and take left for a bypass road. On that road, take a left after Indian Oil petrol pump and drive for another kilometer. You can spot a poultry farm on your right. A walk way goes behind the farm for the Amba Ambika caves.

A smooth trail of 15 mins upwards can take you to the caves.