I think every trekker from Mumbai and Pune would have wishlisted famous waterfall steps: Visapur trek or must have visited it😝. When we stumbled upon one of the blog of Visapur we decided to visit it as it was perfect rainy season to trek through those waterfalls.
Rainy season are like peak time for most of the trekking places around Mumbai and Sundays are worst if you don't like too much of crowd. We wanted to avoid too much crowd so we decided to take a day off on weekday to enjoy the serenity of nature's beauty.
About the fort
Visapur is located near Malavli village and is adjoining to Lohagad fort. Both the forts have dense forest and rocky terrain and are similar in structure built during Satwahan period. Visapur is slightly elevated than Lohagad and is home to lot of Hanuman Mandir.
Transportation
From Mumbai
Take express train from Mumbai to Lonavala
There are two trains namely Indrayani express(5.51 am from dadar) and Intercity (6.15 am from dadar) which will suit your timetable. You can take these same trains for your return journey also 7. 24 pm and 7.04 pm respectively.
(Note: it is very difficult to book tickets for weekend to Lonavala, so you can try going from Karjat to Lonavala with local ticket, it takes 45 mins)
If you take Indrayani express you will have enough time to go out in Lonavala and have good heavy breakfast (it will help you to gain good amount of energy)
Then take local train from Lonavala to Malavli (it is next stop itself). Please check the timetable for to and fro on their website as frequency of trains are else. You can also hire cab if you have high budget as cabs are really expensive because of monopoly in Lonavala.
On reaching Malavli station you can take left side flyover to cross express Highway and then walk down to base village or take an auto rickshaw, which ever ways you are comfortable. It took us 10 mins of walk to reach bhaje waterfall and it was also good warmup💁
ROUTES
There are 3 routes that leads upto Visapur fort
1. from Patan village
As you walk over the bridge, there are adjoining staircase with signboard that will lead to Patan village and from there you can start your trek to Visapur fort. This route is shortest but steep and muddy with many misleading paths so go with proper guide or large group.
2. From bhaje cave
You need to walk till bhaje waterfall from station (Google directions available). Take up staircase leading to caves and then take left and follow white arrow marks that goes to fort.
It takes upto 2 hours to reach at the northern entrance of fort. If you are smaller group then either hire a guide or trek along the group who knows the route.
Note: bhaje caves and Patan village route will take you to those iconic waterfall staircase
3. Gaimukh khind
Follow the tar road from bhaje waterfalls till the point of diversion
The road to right goes to Lohagad and to the left goes to Visapur. This route will lead you to Southern entrance of the fort. This route is easily accessible and can be done without guide. If you want to experience real trek then avoid this route.
Experience
While ascending the fort, we took bhaje cave route and trekked alongwith experienced group as this route becomes slightly difficult during rainy seasons and even have misleading paths. We spent approximately 2-3 hours exploring fort, taking photos and having lunch. At top you will only find a tea stall near entrance so better carry packed food along with you. The view from above is scenic and full of lush greenery covered with fog.
I am sure your gallery will be full of waterfalls and fog😂.
While descending we decided to take Patan village route and joined another trekkers group (we lost the previous group 🙈). The route down was full muddy and slippery. My friends and I fell down numerous times, luckily no one was injured. Even couple of times we lost our ways and had to trek back to junctions but it was fun. We had amazing group with us to help us out. It was adventurous to take different routes and loved exploring it.
Do's and Don'ts
1. Wear proper sports shoes.
2. Carry extra pair of sandal if you cannot wear wet shoes for long time.
3. Carry extra pair of clothes.
4. Do heavy breakfast and carry proper lunch alongwith you
5. Do not litter the place with packaged foods
6. Do not take up dangerous routes if you are beginner.
7. Take up the route which is most comfortable for your group depending on your capabilities.
Duration: one day trek
Best time: July to January
Cost: ₹350-450 per person
Level: moderate
