Harishchandragad: How to Experience the Ancient Hill Fort and Trekking Destination in Maharashtra

Harishchandragad is an ancient hill fort and trekking destination in Maharashtra that offers history, architecture, nature, and adventure. It is one of the most popular and challenging treks in the Sahyadri range, attracting thousands of enthusiasts every year.

In this article, we will tell you everything you need to know about Harishchandragad, including how to reach it from various cities, what are the different trekking routes, what are the main attractions of the fort, what are the camping facilities and amenities, and what are the best tips and advice for visiting this amazing place. Whether you are looking for a weekend getaway, a family vacation, or a solo adventure, Harishchandragad will not disappoint you.

Exploring Harishchandragad: History, Architecture, Temples, Caves, Lake, and Views

Photo of Harishchandragad 1/1 by — (c) Holidify.com

Harishchandragad is not just a trekking destination, but also a historical and cultural treasure. It has a rich and glorious past that dates back to the 6th century AD. It was ruled by various dynasties such as the Kalachuris, the Chalukyas, the Yadavas, the Mughals, the Marathas, and the British. It was also a strategic fort that witnessed many battles and sieges.

The architecture and features of Harishchandragad reflect its ancient and medieval heritage. The fort has walls, bastions, gates, ramparts, and watchtowers that are made of stone and mortar. The fort also has water tanks, grain storage rooms, armory rooms, and secret passages that are carved out of rock.

Main attractions of Harishchandragad

Harishchandreshwar Temple:

This is the most prominent and sacred temple on the fort. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva and his consort Goddess Parvati. It is built in Hemadpanthi style of architecture with intricate carvings and sculptures. The temple has a main shrine, a Nandi idol, a Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum), and a Sabhamandap (assembly hall).

Kedareshwar Cave:

This is a huge cave that houses a Shivalinga that is surrounded by four pillars. The Shivalinga is submerged in water for most of the year, except during winter when the water level recedes. The four pillars represent the four Yugas (epochs) of Hindu mythology: Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga. It is believed that when one pillar breaks, one Yuga ends, and another begins. Currently, only one pillar remains intact.

Saptatirtha Lake:

This is a beautiful lake that is located near the Harishchandreshwar Temple. It is named so because it has seven holy ponds that are connected to each other. The lake is also surrounded by seven hills that form a natural amphitheatre. The lake is a source of water for the fort and the nearby villages. It is also a place of worship and meditation for the devotees.

Konkan Kada:

This is the most famous and breathtaking attraction of Harishchandragad. It is a huge concave cliff that faces west and overlooks the Konkan region. The cliff has a height of about 1424 meters and a width of about 500 meters. The cliff offers a spectacular view of the sunset, the horizon, and the clouds. The cliff also creates a phenomenon called the Brocken spectre, where the shadow of the observer is cast on the clouds with a rainbow halo.

Taramati Peak:

This is the highest point of Harishchandragad and the third highest peak in Maharashtra at an altitude of about 1429 meters and offers a panoramic view of the surrounding hills, valleys, and forests. The peak is also a good spot for birdwatching and stargazing and can be reached by a steep and rocky trail from the fort or by a ridge from the Nane Ghat valley.

Camping at Harishchandragad

Camping at Harishchandragad is one of the best ways to enjoy and explore this amazing place. Camping allows you to stay overnight at the fort and experience its beauty and charm in different times of the day and night. Camping also allows you to bond with your fellow trekkers and share stories and laughter around a bonfire.

There are various camping facilities and amenities available at Harishchandragad for your comfort and convenience. You can either bring your own tent and sleeping bag or rent them from the local villagers or online vendors. You can also find some caves or temples that can serve as shelters for the night. There are toilets and water tanks available at the fort for your hygiene needs. There are also some shops or stalls that sell snacks, beverages, and basic necessities at reasonable prices.

The entertainment options and activities available at Harishchandragad are fun and exciting. You can play some games such as cards, chess, carrom, etc. with your friends or fellow campers.

Harishchandragad is a destination that offers something for everyone. It is a place where you can experience history, culture, nature, and adventure in one go. It is a place where you can challenge yourself, discover yourself, and enjoy yourself. It is a place where you can create memories that will last a lifetime. Harishchandragad is waiting for you.

Also read: A walk in The Mountain:Trek to Harishchandragad via Nalichi Vaat

What are you waiting for? Book your trip now and experience the ancient hill fort and trekking destination in Maharashtra.

Harishchandragad Reviews

Kirti Pawar

305 Followers

View Trip

So one day I just packed my back pack and registered for this two day camping and trekking to harishchandragad. I don't know how but I managed to convince one of my cousin to come along with me. Having zero knowledge about the trekking conditions and the route I just hopped onto the bus and went on the trek. So now I was with a group of unknown people about 25 to 28 people all set for the trek. I was so happy that I was doing something which I was crazy about all my life. There was a bus arranged by the trekking group for all of us till the base village. It was my first time ever going to an unknown place with a bunch of unknown people. As an introvert I had quite hesitation in speaking but I managed it well due to the group as they were such a lovely group as most of them were unknown to each other. So now let's start with the journey.. There are several routes to reach harishchandragad. We took the simplest route which is the panchnai route as most of them in our group were beginners. The bus journey was frightening after crossing Igatpurias the roads were extremely narrow and it was an essel world ride for me. This is a very stupid comparison I know:) but then who cares I was feeling so happy how the journey was going forward. We reached panchnai at around 5 am the next day. I was feeling very energetic even though not slept in the bus. There was a family in the village who arranged breakfast and tea for us. The menu was Kande pohe and tea. After the simple but delicious breakfast We started the trek. The base village was so beautiful and scenic I was awe aspired by the surroundings. We started walking towards our journey. There were so many small waterfalls on the way which we saw. It was the first time I experienced it. And there was something called as a reverse water fall. I had never heard about this term which I saw from my naked eyes. It was so beautiful. On the way there were several wild flowers which I saw and also mushroom habitations. After around 2 hours of walking we reached our first destination where we were about to stay at night and you won't believe it!!!! It was not the tents but there were several caves which could accommodate around 20 to 30 people. The caves were so clean and beautiful. We slept through the night in the chilled weather. The next day our destination was the taramati peak and the Konkankada. The early morning weather was absolutely foggy and we could not see any thing further. We were divided into two groups and special tone of speaking was being done to find out the correct route and finding each other It was so much fun. We were enjoying ourselves to the core and feeling lucky that the weather was so nice to us. It was drizzling and the feeling was awesome. The route to taramati peak is very hard and dangerous which is what I felt. But as soon as we reached the top the feeling was something different we didn't even had the time to click pictures as we were capturing the same with our naked eyes in our heart. So after this great experience our next route was the kokankada. This is the place which everyone was eagerly waiting for. Each and everyone had a picture in the back of the mind about this place. As soon as we physically experienced the place we forgot all that we had in our mind and were truly amazed by the view it had. The pressure in wind was so powerful that we were astonished and thought that we would just fly away. It's an experience that can't be put into words but can only be experienced physically. We had couple of hours just sitting on this kada and saving all the pictures in our heart. We had a great time on this trek and made so many friends on the way which is the amazing fact of travelling with unknown people and become friends for life. We started our journey back to Mumbaiin the evening. No body was tired. Everyone was sad about leaving this beautiful place. I wish one day I could just quit my job and do trekking for rest of my life as I don't feel corporate world and enviornment is suited for my personality I wish I wish and i wish again!!!!!!!

TrippyTravelkar

82 Followers

View Trip

Harishchandragad is a hill fort in the Ahmednagar district of India. Its history is linked with that of Malshej Ghat, kothale village . 23 मार्च (5 pm ) :- आम्ही 6 मित्र 3 बाईक वरती पुण्याकडून हरिश्चंद्रगडा कडे निघालो . यामधील अंतर 175 km होता . 5 वाजता ठीक आम्ही पुणे सोडले आणि निघालो आमच्या वाटेने मग 8 वाजता चहा साठी ब्रेक घेतला तेंव्हा कुठे 80 km अंतर पार झाले होते. रात्रीची वेळ आणि समोरून येणाऱ्या गाडया आणि त्यांचा प्रकाश खूप त्रासदायक प्रवास चालू होता. रात्रीचे 11 वाजले मग ठरवलं की आपण जेवण करून घेऊ . एवढ्या रात्री तिथे काही मिळणार नाही . एका हॉटेल मध्ये जेवण केलं आणि तिथून निघालो . आणि एका फाट्या पासून आत निघालो त्या गावाच्या पायथ्याशी ( खिरेश्वर गाव ) . काळोख अंधार आणि आमच्या फक्त 3 गाड्या भीती वाटत होती एवढा भयानक रोड आणि बाजूला मोठा तलाव . कसे कसे रात्री 12 वाजता गडाच्या पायथ्याशी पोहोंचलो. तिथे एका घराबाहेर रात्र घालवली . 24 मार्च ( 7am ) :- सकाळी सर्वजण तयार झाले , चहा बिस्कीट घेतले आणि आम्ही गाड्या तिथेच पार्क करून गड चढण्यास सुरुवात केली. सुरवात अशी झाली की असे वाटायला लागले की आपण कधी हा पार करणार . लिंबू शरबत घेत घेत कसे तरी वर पर्यंत गेलो. वरून सुर्यादेवता आग सोडत होते आणि उन्हाळा होता , त्यामुळे थोडे जास्तच हाल झाले . पाणी खालून भरून घेतले होते , ( 12 lit) प्रत्यकाकडे 2 बॉटल अस , मग दुपारी 1 वाजता आम्ही वरती ( मंदिराजवळ ) पोहनचलो . मग तिथे आराम केला आणि 5 वाजता नाश्ता करून कोंकण कड्याकडे निघालो . परत कोकणकड्याच्या कडेवर बसून सूर्यास्त पहिला, फोटोशूट केला , परत शेकोटी करून तिथे जेवन केले आणि tent मध्ये झोपलो . 25 मार्च ( 8am ) :- सकाळी सर्व वरचं आवरून घेतले, ना कोणच्या मोबाइलला चार्जिंग ना नेटवर्क , गड उतरण्यास सुरवात केली आणि उन्हामध्ये कसे कसे दुपारी 2 वाजता खाली पोहनचलो . खाली जिथे आम्ही आमच्या गाड्या पार्क केल्या होत्या तिथे जेवण केले आणि ऊन कमी होई पर्यन्त आराम केला मग आराम करून पुण्याच्या दिशेने वापस निघालो .. अशी 3 दिवस 2 रात्रिची छोटी trip झाली . तुम्ही पण जाऊ शकता तुमच्या फॅमिली , मित्रपरिवार यां सोबत .. एकदा तरी आयुष्यात हरिश्चंद्र ट्रेक करायला हवा असा मला वाटतं . एकूण खर्च :- पेट्रोल एका(2 wheeler) गाडीला (570₹ : 50 kmpl) :- नाश्ता चहा पाणी 150₹ : जेवण (1 lunch 1 dinner ) 200/- : रात्री झोपण्यासाठी ( tent on rent ) 140₹ ( गडावर कोणत्याही नेटवर्कला range नाही भेटत. Jio नेटवर्क असेल तर सोयीस्कर होऊ शकत . ) मार्ग :- पुणे - चाकण - राजगुरुनगर - नारायणगाव - जुन्नर - खिरेश्वर (पायथा) एकूण अंतर : 175 km . धन्यवाद 😊 :- Sagar Potdar

Kriti

160 Followers

View Trip

Living in the hustling vicinity of Mumbai, the city that never sleeps, the constant traffic jams and the monotonous college life I often found myself daydreaming about valleys and beautiful landscapes, hills and treks every day. Travelling all the way to North, to the majestic Himalayas seemed almost impossible for a broke college student with no time. Living in Mumbai for almost two years now, I had been to endless beaches in the vicinity but the heart wants what it wants. And mine wanted the hills. Lucky for me, a friend suggested a place called Harishchandragarh. A hill fort in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, Harishchandragarh is a heritage place with origins from the 6th Century. It is known to be one of the most challenging treks in the Western Ghats. As opposed to whatever the existing travel blogs say about the best time for the trek, I think it would be heavenly if you go for it in the monsoons . It sure can be a little tricky and you'll have to be extra cautious as the rocks become slippery due to the rain. But it's all about the experience, right? THE JOURNEY The picture of Harishchandragarh in my head was entirely different from what it really turned out to be. Honestly, I didn't expect to find such scenic brilliance in a small town of Maharashtra. Harishchandragad lies where the boundaries of Thane, Pune and Ahmednagar districts converge. It is approximately 200 kms (4 hour drive) from Mumbai, 150 kms from Pune. The trek can also be approached through multiple routes. One such route is via Nalichi Vaat(which translates to 'passage through a gorge') which is a channel that lies to the extreme right of the mountain. It is said to be one of the difficult climbs. Nalichi Vaat involves a near 80 degree climb. I started the trek from Khireshwar village. It was drizzling throughout the journey to the village and the moment I saw the backwater around the dam, I knew what love at first sight meant.

Ronak Shah

227 Followers

View Trip

Mighty Sahyadri always amazed people... Harishchandragad is located in UNESCO world heritage site known as Western Ghat. Why to Go harishchandragad ? If you are trekker and you love a steef valleys and running clouds, Cold air, Infinite horizon you must go to this place. Early morning is best time to explore fort as you can see mesmerizing play of clouds with delight sunlight by taking sip of tea sitting on edge of KOKANKADA. Wohhhh!! Feeling is great. Nevertheless sunset is Best to takeout all tiredness from you and your life. When to go? If you want to experience the view I posted. Go in winter season. If you want to take a look of never-ending horizon and land you should go in summer or probably post Mansoon. What to explore? Harishchragad blessed with many historical monument. Temple, Lake and many more. Also If you visit post manosoon around Nov - Dec. You can experience different type of flower. Me and my cousin started at 6:30 am from Khireshwar base village from Malshej Ghat side. Tolar khind was a moderate to difficult trek...Crossing 7 hills on the way ..Reached Harishchandragarh top in 4.5 hours while resting and sipping lime/Kokam juice on the way...stayed there for 2.5 hours..ate nice Junka bhaker at a place and descended mountain in 2.5 hours...Luckily it was eve of MahaShivratri and lots of villages with kids were trekking to the top..it was nice festive atmosphere at the top..Would love to go back again... At last; " Explore more than You can" Note: Please Keep Nature Clean.

dimpesh solanki

46 Followers

View Trip

Early morning, our plan was to capture sunrise from Konkanda. Konkanda is a semi-circular overhanging cliff. It offers breath-taking views of the vast green fields and the valley. Konkanda is believed to be one of the wonders of Sahyadri mountain range. We reach the Konkanda before sunrise, do manage to get the astonishing sunrise picture. This was surely best part of whole trek. Next was the temples of Harishchandragad nestled in the greenery. The temple is built out of black rock. The temple is carved out of a rock in North Indian style architecture. Many local people trek because of these temples. Kadareshwar caves holds a Shivalinga right in the center. The Shivalinga is surrounded by cold water all the year round. The water in the cave never dries out, not even in the summer seasonal when we visited. The interesting part of this cave is it has Four pillars surround the Shivalinga and support the cave. Out of these four, only one is left intact and the rest others are broken. It is believed that the four pillars represent four yugas of life. HAR HAR MAHADEV!!! Saptatirtha Pushkarni is well-built place right beside the temple. Place is attractive by its stepwell look ,but to be honest the place is not maintain in good shape, still decent place to get group picture. There is few more caves near to temple which can be explore by yourself. The trek ended here, back to Mumbai. Share your reviews.