Narayangad

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There is a hill fort called Narayangad near Narayangoan. This fort is around 10 km from Narayangaon. The fort is easy to climb. From Narayangaon catch a State Transport bus to Khodadgaon(Khodad). Get down at Malyacha Mala about 8 km from Narayangaon.

Start walking towards Gadachiwadi.Even you can approach fort on your own vechile, Reach a place called 14(chawda number) till the Champagne factory, took immediate left towards narayangad via rough road, which leads towards base of the narayanfort.

The fort has Hastamata temple and some water tanks such as Narayan Taka, Chambhar Taka & Saat Taka.

Narayangaon is a town in the Pune district of Maharashtra state, India.

The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (khodad) site lies 10 kilometres to the west.
The area around the town is rapidly gaining reputation as one of the leading wine-producing areas in India.

For Narayangad pictures please click here: Narayangad Pictures

Hadsar Fort

How to reach Hadsar:

There are two major ways to reach fort Hadsar:One of them is the royal entrance whereas the other one is made by the villagers by carving steps in the rock. Both these ways start from the village of Hadsar. From Junnar any bus going towards Nimgiri, Rajur or Kewada takes us to Hadsar within about 45 minutes.

There is a well on the way when one starts up the hill from village Hadsar. Walk for a short while towards left on the plateau and a pass between two hillocks can be seen after traversing for about 15 minutes. Moving straight ahead in the direction of this pass brings us to the bastion within about half an hour. A simple climb on the rock will take us to the fort's entrance. Two water cisterns dug in to the rock can be seen on the way.

To take the other route, instead of moving in the direction of the pass one has to circumvent the hill from left and reach the other side of the hill. About 150 steps from this point will take us to the main entrance in the pass. This being the royal approach is the simpler way. About an hour's time is enough to reach the fort from here.

About Hadsar:
The Sahyadri range has plethora of forts. Likewise, Taluka Junnar, belonging to the Pune districts is decorated with a good number. Hadsar is a beautiful fort located in this region. Starting from Naneghat, one can combine Jeevdhan, Shivneri, Lenyadri, Hadsar and Harishchandragad into a six-day trek.

Fort Hadsar, also known as Parvatgad, was constructed in the Satvaahan era and was quite inhabited during that period. It is located on the outskirts of Nagar (Ahmednagar) in order to protect the trade route passing through Naneghat. Documentary evidence shows that fort Hadsar was included in the treaty made by Shahaji Raje with the Mughals in 1637. In 1818 the British forces conquered Junnar and the forts in the region. Like in case of other forts, the approach-ways of fort Hadsar were destroyed at that time as well.

Sightseeing Hadsar:

The entrance gates on fort Hadsar are good examples of the medieval architecture. Twin doors in the tunnel-like entrance way, steps carved out of the rock and "Gomukhi" construction of the gate are worth seeing. Passing through the main entrance, the path gets divided into two. One of these leads to the top of a hillock whereas the other one leads to the second gate. Immediately after passing through the second gate one can see a water cistern, with good potable water.

Walking towards the elevated area in front of the cistern leads us to three huge stores carved in the rock butting the cliff. However, these are not suitable for camping. The rock also carries images of lord Ganesh. Towards right of this place is a big pond and Mahadeo temple with a large-sized Nandi. The main hall of the temple has six corners, three of which carry the idols of Lord Ganesh, Garud (Eagle) and Lord Hanuman respectively. Adjacent to the temple lays a strong bastion.

There is a pond just in front of the temple, which gets completely filled during the monsoon season. A stonewalled well-like construction can be seen at the center of the pond.

If we descend from the right of the bastion-wall, a cistern now filled up with sand can be seen. Proceeding little ahead leads us to a carved-out cave in the rock. This is however, the spot for reconnaissance.

A splendid view of the Manikdoh dam and its surroundings is offered to us from this place. The whole range of Chavand, Naneghat, Shivneri, Bhairavgad and Jeevdhan is visible from here.

For More Hadsar Fort Picture please click here: Hadsar Fort

Manmodi group of caves : Junnar

Junnar (19°10’ N; 73°53’ E), Taluka Junnar, district Pune is located at a distance of 96 km from Pune and on the southern bank of river Kukdi. Another river namely Mina flows 5 km towards the east. The location of Junnar is also ideal, for, it is in the transitional zone between the Sahyadris and the broad plains to the east. It is encircled by a series of hills, on all sides, namely Sivanei and Tulja hills on the west; the Sulaiman on the north and east; and Manmodi on the south.

Junnar has the largest number of excavations numbering over 200 independent excavations and spread over the four hills. All the excavations belong to the Hinayana phase and are datable from mid 3rd century B.C. to late 3rd century A.D. The presence of largest number of rock cut excavations, a large number of inscriptions enabling a paleographical study makes Junnar a prominent site for the study of rock cut architecture. Here there are 24 inscriptions, which provide useful paleographical data for the relative dating of the caves. The donors include members of the royal family as well as commoners, which also includes Yavanas (Greeks). One particular inscription from the Manmodi group mentions the name of a minister of Maharathi Nahapana (c. A.D. 119-124).

Manmodi group of caves located on the Manmodi hill situated to the south-southwest of the town. The monastic complex was known as Gidha-vihara (Gridhra-vihara) and the hill as Manamukuda in ancient inscriptions. The cave group consists of nearly 40 individual excavations excluding the cisterns. They are located in three distinct groups known as:

(i) Bhimasankar group, southeast of Manmodi hill, in which one cave has the donor inscription of Ayama, the minister of King Nahapana dated in the year 46 (A.D. 124).

(ii) Amba-Ambika group, to the north of Bhimasankar, known such due to the carving of figures of Tirthankaras and Ambika, the latter Sasanadevi of 23rd Jaina Tirthankara, Neminatha.

(iii) Bhutalinga group, nearly 200 m west of the Amba-Ambalika group.

For Picture Please Visit Here: Manmodi Caves