Koraigad/ Korigad Fort Trek

Beginning the new year with a trek, how good is that !!!

How to get there?

Mumbai --> Lonavala --> Bushi Dam --> INS Shivaji --> Peth Shahpur village(2-4 kms before Amby Valley).

Once you are in Lonavala ask for the direction of Amby Valley since that village is very small and not famous. It is around 25 kms from Lonavala.

The total trek distance is quite small and you can cover it in an hour.

Best time to visit is winter. In summer, the heat will become unbearable since you have nearly a 2.5 km trail to cover on the top of fort without a single tree or any other shade. In rains, I think you will not be able to see anything at all from the top.

Caution: Depths in the photograph are greater than what they appear.
I still don't understand why hardly any of the photographs from the 4 digicams, reflect the true depths as we saw. Almost 90% of the pix have misleading depths.

The Village Trail

The trail begins near a school in the village. This part is stony and dusty and without much forest cover.

The Forest Trail

This is a very small part, where you have to go through a forest. I think one of the trails near the village goes right into the forest, but we had avoided it. Now there was no option but to go in.

The Steps Trail

After the forest trail, you will come to a clearing from where you can see the broken steps. As Dileena said, "We need a ladder to get to the steps". There is a pathway to the right of the steps that will take you above the broken part.

Ashish-Dileena point - So named bcoz both were trying to push each other. Note that the depth is deceptive.

Dynamite point - At this point we heard a loud explosion which shook Swati. I had said that this sounded like a dynamite explosion done for quarrying purpose (Later we did see that happening.)

One of the many caves along the way



Grand Entrance

Overall I feel, the steps here are remarkably well-preserved and usable.

The Fort Trail

There are quite a good views of the surrounding area. In a radius of about 10-15 km, this is probably the tallest solitary hill . No doubt a perfect place for a fort.

Unfortunately, nothing remains of the original fort other than the perimeter wall which is almost completely intact.

Cannons

Gayatri's Great Wall of China

Dileena sharing a solitary moment with . . . . .



. . . . . Toads

4 Idiots



Highest point of fort

The Amby Valley has a lot of security, but all that goes for a toss from here. Much of that place is easily accessible by this route. I feel that the fort might be blocked in future. Already there are lights illuminating the slopes of this hill fort to track movements at night.

Some views of Amby Valley: