Harihar Fort – Harsha Gad
SARASIJ MAJUMDER
LOCATION,
HISTORY, & GEOGRAPHY:-
Harihar fort /
Harshagad is a fort located 40 km from Nashik City, 48 km from Igatpuri,
and 40 km from Ghoti in Nashik district, Maharashtra, India. It is an important
fort in Nashik district, and was constructed to look upon the old trade route
through Gonda Ghat.
This Sahyadri fort lies at an altitude of 3,676 feet from
sea level. Harihar fort was built upon a triangular mountain with nearly
vertical elevations ( 80+ degree) and looks rectangular from the village below.
Fort Region belongs to Trymbakeshwar. It was built
during the Seuna alias Yadava Dynasty
period (9th - 14th century) and later taken over by Khan Zamam in 1636 along
with Trymbak and other forts of Pune.
It features a rocky staircase for going up and down, one
meter wide and 80+ m high with niches dug into the rock. The staircase has 117
steps.
The Fort, is known
for its steep steps that lead directly to the top of this rock-solid structure.
To reach the fort you have to climb a first staircase, which is main entrance, and walk under a ledge with a steep drop. Then
you have to climb a second staircase with niches, pass through a staircase
inside the rock and finally reach the top.
Tucked into the secluded quietness of this ancient Fort are
statues that represent Lord Shiva, Lord Hanuman, and Nandi, as well as a
calm little pond!
On a clear day, the view from the Fort Harihar can take your
breath away. You have a great vantage point to see other forts from here, such
as BHASKARGAD, BASGAD, ANJANERI FORT, BRAHMAGIRI , BHANDARDURG, VAITARNA LAKE,
AND UTWAD FORT, to name a few near Nashik. The Sahyadri mountain range is
a sight to behold, particularly after monsoon, when I visited - observing the
Maharashtra forts from this vantage point will entirely transport you into a
different world.
Leopards, Hyenas,
Vultures, Falcons, Hawks, And Eagles are regularly spotted in the jungle
below the FORT.
BRITISH VISITED:
In 1818, a British officer named Briggs captured the
Harihargad, Maharashtra. John Briggs was an officer in the East India
Company’s army. He entered the Madras army in 1801 and accompanied Sir John
Malcolm on his mission to Persia in 1810. Briggs took part in the Mahratta
wars, also serving as a political officer under Malcolm.
The British strategy was to use cannons to destroy the
defences and access roads to the forts also got destroyed in the process. As a
consequence, many Forts, steps, routes and trails were destroyed by the
British. The splendour of Harihar fort's rock-cut steps, on the other hand, might have astounded him. Officer Briggs left
the Fort intact and did not destroy the iconic steps of the Harihar Fort.
HARIHAR FORT TREK TRAIL:
I
did it long back—in 1974, when I first learnt about it. I stayed in the village
for two nights.
The Harihar fort trek route can be broken into two stages based
on the degree of toughness level.
1.
The base village is Nirgudpada; from here, the
trek starts; you will pass another small village called Kotamwadi. It will take
one hour and twenty minutes to reach the plateau. While climbing up the Harihar
Fort will be on your right-hand side.
2.
From the plateau, you will hike towards the
iconic steps and climb to the summit. It will take up to two hours to complete
this section, depending on your skills, accompanying crowd, weather, and
endurance.
3.
The second trailhead for the Harihar Trek is
Harshewadi village. The climb from the village will connect the plateau. After
this, you will have the same route till the summit. Harihar Fort images
can be found in our photo collection.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION:-
Harihar Fort is built on a triangular prism of rock
already told. Its three faces and two edges are vertical at 80-- 90 degrees.
The third edge towards the west is inclined at an angle of 75 degree. A
one-meter wide rocky staircase with niches in it is carved out for ascending
and descending the Hari Har Gad Fort.
There are 117 steps in all. After I climbed the first rocky
staircase to the main entrance, I walked below an overhang with a sheer drop.
Again, I had to climb a set of steep
stairs with niches, then pass through a staircase inside the rock, and then reach the top of the Fort. The view
from the top is excellent. After climbing these steps, I climbed up to the
entrance door. The Fort Harihar has got a tapering plateau with a raised level
in the middle. There is a small temple of Lord Hanuman and Lord Shiva on the
plateau. A small pond is there in front of this temple. Water from this pond was clean, I used the water for drinking, and filling the
water bottle.
In those days—we didn’t have ‘ENERGY BAR’—we took ‘CHOCOLATES’
to get energy back.
Making headway from here, I come across a palace that has
two rooms in it. About 12 people can be accommodated in this palace. One of the
vertical drops of Fort Harihar facing the Nirgudpada village is called
"Scottish Kada", perhaps because it was climbed in November 1986 by
Doug Scott, the legendary Himalayan mountaineer, who also climbed Everest from
South Face. This cliff is about 170 metres in height.
Harihar Trek difficulty is tough, and endurance level
is high.
REFERENCE:--
1.0 My Trekking Diary is main source, cross checked with information available in public domains .
However, one may get enough information from various sites. I use a site for trekking and sharing: https://www.treksandtrails.org/tours/harihar-fort-trek. It will be useful if you want to TREK.
2.0 Images:- I posted the image sourced from GOOGLE.
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