Korigad Fort Trek

History of Korigad Fort:
Shivaji Maharaj incorporated this fort in Swarajya along with Lohgad, Visapur, Tung and Tikona in 1657. On March 11, 1818, Col. Prother invaded this fort but could not succeed even after prolonged fighting. Finally he succeeded on 14th March, by dropping a cannon ball where the ammunition was stored. Along with this fort the English also conquered Ghangad fort. 

Basic Info:
Korigad is a beautiful hill fort located at around 90 Km from Pune. 
The planned township of Aamby Valley is built over the fort's southern and eastern foothills. The closest village is Peth Shahpur about 1 km north of the fort. The fort is located about 3049 feet above sea level. The fort is surrounded by other forts like Ghangad, Tung and Morgiri and yet it is quite lonely and separate from the others.  The fort has been renovated and still work is going on. Due to renovation the fort now looks good. This is a fort which you can visit during any time of the year for one day trek.

How to reach:
Korigad fort is 90 Km from Pune. The fort can be reached by road via Lonavala-Amby valley route. Peth Shahapur is the base village of this fort. Route to reach base village is Pune--> Lonavla-->Amby Valley road-->Peth Shahapur

Trekkers for this Trek:
Yojana Borole
Hemant Borole
 

Trekking details:
Difficulty level                          Easy to Medium
Height                                        Korigad is 3049 ft (929 mtrs) above sea level.
Base village/District                  Peth Shahapur, Maharashtra, India.  


We were planning for this trek from last 2 weeks. We have decided to go for this trek on 08th Feb 2020. This was our first trek of this year. Our plan was to leave in afternoon and do trek in evening. We have started our bike journey on 8th Feb at around 01:20 Pm. After 40 mins of drive, we have reached at Lonavala lake. We halted there for few mins, had some snacks and started driving towards Amby valley.


Lonavala Lake Bridge
Selfie at Lonavala Bridge
Energy boosting Ice Gola before Trek

After 10 mins of drive, Lonavala-Amby valley ghat was started. Bike riding via this route was amazing. You will see breathtaking views of Lion's point, Tiger point and Amby valley. We have reached base village at around 02:50 Pm. We parked our bike and started walking towards Korigad Fort.


Aamby Valley Road
View of Korigad Fort from Aamby Valley Road
View of Korigad Fort from Base Village

Initial trek of 20 mins was simple until you reach near to electric tower. You will have to ascend for few mins and will have to follow trail on right side. You will see Korigad fort on right side during entire route till you start ascending staircase.


Initial Trek route of Korigad Fort
Water Stream after Initial walk
Relaxing on Rock during Trek
Excited Faces

Forest trail will start on right side once you see sign board of Korigad fort. This trail is surrounded by trees and you rarely see Sun on top. After walking for 10-15 mins on this trail, you will reach at the staircase of Korigad fort. We took break for few mins at the entrance of fort.

Sign board of Korigad Fort before Forest Trail
Forest Trail towards fort
Korigad Fort Information Board
Staircase at the entrance of Fort

We have started ascending rock stairs. After ascending for few mins, we reached near Korigad fort caves. There is small Ganesh temple on left side of caves. You can see big open space and sitting benches in front of these caves. We have relaxed there for some time and started ascending towards fort entrance.


Beautiful view of Stairs
Ganesh Temple and Small open space
Korigad Fort Caves
Staircase towards to second Caves

We reached at another caves in few mins of ascend. You will see beautiful view of Aamby valley from this point. After exploring caves, we have started ascending towards fort gate. You will reach at the entrance of Korigad fort gate after 10 mins of ascend. Entrance gate of Fort is also known as Ganesh Darwaja and it is renovated recently.


Caves near to Entrance gate of Fort
View of Fortification from Caves
Beautiful View of dense forest from Caves
Entrance Gate of Korigad Fort
Ruined walls on left side of Fort

At around 03:50 Pm, we have reached at top of Korigad fort. It took us around an hour to reach there. It will take around 70-90 mins to explore entire fort. Once you enter on fort, You will see big plateau. Fort is being renovated since 2019 so you will see enough space to walk on fort walls. We started walking on right side of fort. There is nothing much to see on right side but you will see staircase once you reach at end on that side.


Ganesh Darwaza
View of Surrounding from top of Fort
View of Aamby Valley City from Korigad Fort
Beautiful View of Lake and Dense Forest from Top

You will reach to Balekilla after ascending staircase. We ascended staircase and sat there for few mins. Saffron flag is built on top of fort. You will see beautiful view of lake, mountains and base village from right top of fort.

Balekilla of Korigad Fort
View of Peth Shahapur village from Balekilla
Beautiful view of Fort from Balekilla
Beautiful View of Balekilla from Plateau

After relaxing for few mins, we have started walking towards other side of fort. There are two lakes adjacent to each other at the center of Korigad plateau.

Korigad Fort Plateau
Renovated fortification of Fort
Lake on Korigad Fort
View of Helipad from Korigad Fort

Take a walk towards left to reach at the bastion where Temple of Goddess Korai Devi is located. This temple has been renovated recently. There is a “DEEPMALA” right in front of the temple. This fort hosts 6 cannons and the biggest of them called Lakshmi Cannon is near the temple of Goddess Korai.


Korai Devi Temple
Deepmala in front of Temple
Lakshmi Cannon near to Temple

We have explored fort for few mins and started descending towards base at around 04:50 Pm. After continuous descending for few mins, we took break of 5 mins near caves. Descending was easy and It took us around 35 mins to reach at base village.


Descending from Fort gate
Walking on Forest Trail
Descending towards Base village

At around 05:30 Pm, We have started driving towards Lonavala. Our next plan was to see sunset from Lion's Point. We reached near Lion's point at around 05:50 Pm. We relaxed there for few mins and had snacks. After snacks, we started driving towards Pune. We reached home safely at around 08:00 Pm. It was wonderful and memorable trek.


View from Lion's Point
Relax Evening at Lion's Point
Kaanda Bhaji at Lion's Point

Best Time To Visit Korigad:
The region in and around Korigad Fort remains moderate throughout the year; hence, you can enjoy the beauty of a cool atmosphere and a favorable climate here anytime during a year. However, you need to be careful while trekking during heavy rain.

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