A one day trek to the remains of an 18th century fortress, blessed with panaromic views of the valley.
Without a doubt, Mumbaikars are blessed with wonderful places on the outskirts, which are a boon to all the nature lovers in the city. Visapur Fort is one of the many tourist and trekking attractions situated in Lonavala. Lonavala is an excellent weekend destination for mumbaikars, and has a lot to offer, from serene camping spots to exciting mountainous treks.
To reach Visapur fort, the nearest railway station is Lonavala, and one can get there by regular local trains, or express trains, from Mumbai. For a trek to Visapur fort, one needs to board a train as early as possible from Mumbai. It takes roughly 1.5hrs to cover a distance of 85km to reach Lonavala by train. One can also opt for personal cars or bikes, but travelling by train with friends is an additional treat on the journey. Once you step down at Lonavala station, it is a good idea to reast for a while.
Then next leg of the trip is to board another local train that will take you to Malavali station. This trip takes roughly 7-8 mins, and covers 8km. As you step down at Malavali, make sure to grab essential stuff that you need for a trek, like water, snacks, biscuits etc...
From Malavali, you must get to the base village of the trek, Lohagadwadi. (Fun fact: Visapur Fort is situated at the same plateau as the famous Lohagad Fort). Lohagadwadi is situated around 5km from Malavali Station. Auto-rickshaws or personal taxis are available, (for which you need to up your bargaining game). The fare will be around ₹50 - ₹100 per person.
From Lohagadwadi, climbing the perfectly structured stairs, you will find a straightforward route towards the fort, but as you climb farther up those stairs, you will see an entry point, with a small house that sells tickets. If you are a beginner trekker, it is advisable to get those tickets and continue up the stairs trail.
However, if you crave some craziness and adventure, take a left from the ticket house and continue walking along the bushes. Here, finding your way is a bit confusing, and you will need to do some exploring on your own; you just need to find a way that goes up through the mountains.
Walking on this dense trail will take around approximately 1 hr, And you will find yourself at the base of something resembling a plateau.
After resting here for a while, we headed for the mountains. The off-route trail was a catalyst to our adrenaline rush. Walking through the dense bushes was like navigating a wonderful maze.
Now at the end of this trail was the hardest and trickiest part of the trek. In front of us, was a steep mountain face, that required a very critical climb, angled at almost 70-80 degrees, for around 100m. Since it was the first extreme climb for both of my friends, we were a bit worried that it might turn out too risky to complete. But we started climbing anyways, and, to our astonishment, did really well.
And finally, at long last, we reached our destination: Visapur Fort. The view made it all worth it.
This is the perfect time to relax, click pictures, and have lunch.
Post lunch, we explored a little bit of the fortress and played with the doggos...
Now it was time to find our way down. The descent was a pretty well built trail, made of big rocks and stones. It took us around 40-50 mins to reach the base village. At the base village we treated ourselves to homemade lemon juice.
By this time, it was getting late and dark, and we had to start heading back to Lonavala station, to board the train for Mumbai. Luckily, we found a car that gave us a lift to Malavali station. And what a drive it was, beautiful and scary at the same time, full of treacherous curves.
Following that, the return journey was pretty straightforward. From Malavali to Lonavala, and from Lonavala to Mumbai CSMT.
And, that concludes our one day trek to the beautiful and mesmerising Visapur Fort! For all the trek and nature lovers wanting to skip your daily routines for once, and go on a little adventure, a trek to Visapur Fort is an excellent option!