Thursday 16 July 2015

Nasik Range trek- Day IV: Fort Salher, Fort Salota

Previous partsNasik Range trek- Day I: Fort Achala, Fort Ahivant
                        Nasik Range trek- Day II: Saptshringi gad, Markandya
                        Nasik Range trek- Day III: Ravlya-Javlya, Fort Kanhergad


Today's challenge was to climb Salher and Salota. We woke up at 5.30am, took the bags from the aunty and reached to the main road where we could get the vehicle towards Waghambe, base village for both the forts. Usually frequency of vehicles towards Waghambe is less from Taharabad. So we followed the route till Mulherwadi, base village for Mora, Mulher and Hargad fort. We had breakfast there and headed towards Waghambe by six seater. It took us 1 hr to reach the village. We kept our bags at a villagers house and confirmed the directions.



From Waghambe, you can clearly spot the col in between Salher and Salota.
View from Waghambe
 To reach col, we climbed a hill with considerable ascend. Route till the col is well trodden. You can always confirm your orientation with the direction of col. It took us 1.5 hrs to reach the col. Right Fort is Salher and left one is Salota.

Route to Salher is considerable traverse after col; followed by ascend using rock cut steps. Entire route is distinct. Not at all chances of missing the route!!!
Route to Salher




We passed through series of gates(still in good condition).




After third gate, you again need to walk on a traverse. On this traverse you will find numerous caves some carved, some naturally build. Most of them may be used for storage of water.
Caves on Salher

At the end of this traverse we again passed though a gate and entered into vast expanse of Salher.


 There are numerous remnants on the fort. Significant in them is Gangasagar lake, Renuka mata temple, cave in front of temple. Vising the highest place on the fort i.e. temple of Lord Parshuram was most amazing moment of our entire trek. View from the top was mesmerizing!!!




Cave in front of Gangasagar lake, almost suitable for night stay



View of  Salota from Salher
Spending quality time in the temple, we moved to Salota. We descended down completely till the col and started walking towards Salota.
                           
Route to the Salota is not well trodden. So from Salher top we mapped the route( with guessing ) and searched the route accordingly. From col to certain distance route is distinct but at the ascent there are multiple routes emerged. You need to confirm your directions with respect to rock cut steps. Steps are visible from the route. We struggled 15-20 minutes to reach to correct path.
Steps of Salota


Constructions of rockcut steps are awesome. All the forts from Nasik region has the peculiarity of having extraordinary stone work at the entrances, steps etc.
It was 1.00pm , the peak heat time. Entrance to the fort is 70% buried by landslide. And looking at the condition of stones, there are lot of chances of such incidents again.
Entrance of Salota..almost burried



Like Salher, Salota also has many caves, used for storage of water.
Caves on Salota

Passing through 3 entrances we reached on the top of Salota. Area is small as compared to Salher. Few water tanks, broken temple and amazing views ; that are the only things present on the fort.



View of Salher steps from Salota
After Sight-seeing and photoshoot we descended down till col and then to Waghambe.
Overall these two forts are scenic in terms of the construction of the entrances, its routes and the surrounding area from the top.
It was 4th day of our trek. Due to personal reason, i opted out of the trek for 5th day. Later Ganesh,Ruturaj didn't want to continue. The only willing member was Mahadeo. But due to lack of company he averted his plans to trek Mulher,Mora and Hargad.

From Waghambe we grabbed a truck to reach Mulherwadi and from there to Taharabad. I headed towards my hometown Chalisgaon and other three had dinner at the aunties mess and moved to Pune.

It was truly endurance testing range trek due to harsh heat. But the forts made us strong and confident to conquer one after another!!!!! Lot of trekking yet to come!!!!!  

26 comments:

  1. Do you have any local contact numbers from Waghambe & Mulher ? If yes pls mail me @ ny.sujit@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I dedicated this year Ganesha decoration (strictly eco-friendly) to highlight the glory of ignored fort 'Salher' thru recreation of a model similar to the actual fort in past. Fort Salher is the highest fort in the Sahyadri mountains and the second highest peak at 1,567 metres (5,141 ft) after Kalsubai in Maharashtra. The eco-friendly decoration of Salher recreation is a shear effort to aware trekkers, tourists, fort lovers and concerned authorities about fort Salher and its proud history ancient and historically significant.

    https://www.facebook.com/PrashantKPatil/posts/1066211923398746?pnref=story

    Hope you like it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I dedicated this year Ganesha decoration (strictly eco-friendly) to highlight the glory of ignored fort 'Salher' thru recreation of a model similar to the actual fort in past. Fort Salher is the highest fort in the Sahyadri mountains and the second highest peak at 1,567 metres (5,141 ft) after Kalsubai in Maharashtra. The eco-friendly decoration of Salher recreation is a shear effort to aware trekkers, tourists, fort lovers and concerned authorities about fort Salher and its proud history ancient and historically significant.

    https://www.facebook.com/PrashantKPatil/posts/1066211923398746?pnref=story

    Hope you like it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Can u please suggest travelling means from mumbai

    ReplyDelete
  5. Can u please suggest travelling means from mumbai

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Punit,
      Best option is to catch train to Nasik. There are lot of trains travelling via Nasik. Try to catch one which will alight you in Nasik at early morning. then you can follow the itinerary which we did for this fort range.
      Or choose the forts which you are interested and accordingly you need to catch ST or Jeeps to reach to base village of fort.
      Try to identify range where you can start from one fort and the range continues till 3-4 forts. This way dependency on local transport gets minimized.

      Delete
  6. Very well explained. If you ascend from Salher Wadi and decent towards waghambe you can cover all the doors on the side of Salher Wadi.
    Doors and water tanks on that side are also amazing.
    Loved ur blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Nirad!! Yes I did my first ascend to Salher from Salherwadi route. It was amazing!! As I didn't had camera at that time to capture them , I couldn't put it in the blog.

      Delete
  7. Very well explained. If you ascend from Salher Wadi and decent towards waghambe you can cover all the doors on the side of Salher Wadi.
    Doors and water tanks on that side are also amazing.
    Loved ur blog.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Can i get local contact from salherwadi r Waghambe?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Nithin,
      Unfortulately, I do not have any local contact number from Salherwadi/Waghambe. Once you go in the village you can request the villagers for guide/food. They are helpful.

      Delete
  9. Can i get local contact from salherwadi r Waghambe?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hey, yash.

    I'm liking your blog a lot. You have done a splendid job of giving very detailed description of the treks along with apt photos and map routes.

    Can you share your number or email address.

    Thanks and have a great day.

    My mail id is gauraang at Gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Gauraang!! You can contact me on jdiyash@gmail.com

      Delete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  13. The baglan (satana) region of nasik dist is rich in fortress .This tehsil has maximum forts in any tehsil (approx. 20/25 forts).Baglan forts demand high endurance. So try out remaining forts of baglan too..
    keep trekking. explore_baglan
    😊✌

    ReplyDelete
  14. Very helpful article. Planning this trek since so many years, Thanks Yash!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Very nice info buddy and soon will be visiting baglan range.
    Thanx a lot Yash!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Plz share any local contact details

    ReplyDelete
  17. DADA AMHI PAN PLAN KARAT AAHOT ... DECEMBER MADHE ... PHOTOS BAGHUN ASA VATAT AHE THODA HARD TREK AAHE ... Hyat KONTI KALJI GHELI PAHIJE HEY SANGA .... ani ajun kahi sangta yeil te pan sanga... dhanywaad..

    ReplyDelete