PS - looking forward to do this same hike in monsoons, when its raining heavily, mud path becomes dangerously slippery...one slip and u can end with few broken bones.....or even dead, and as if this is not enough... whole fort gets shrouded under a mysterious blanket of mist.... sometimes for days together...that will be some fun indeed :D
Now let the pics talk.
The colorful entrance arch to Tikona Peth village. The road inside goes straight to the Tikona Fort, and the hiking trail starts about one kilometer from this gate.
The road to Tikona Fort, you can easily make out the triangular shape of the fort.
Finally after 50 km enjoyable morning ride I reached the parking lot at the base of Tikona Fort, hiking trail to the top of the fort starts from here. Since it was a Sunday morning the parking lot was fairly crowded, the relatively easy climb makes this place quite popular with families interested in hiking.
The fort walls as seen from the parking lot.
The trail is narrow and steep but easily doable save for few spots where it becomes extra steep and loose stones make walking very difficult, make sure you are wearing shoes with good grip to navigate such patches without any accident while going up and more importantly while coming down because its very easy to slip and have a nasty fall. But as you climb higher the lovely view of the surrounding hills and countryside will make all the effort worth while.
When i reached the first level I saw this board pointing to some caves below, which I did not explore this time as I was late and in a hurry to get to the fort top. Not going to the caves turned out to be a good decision because as the fort caretaker told me later, the caves were located in a dense forest with many wild boars which may get aggressive and attack when they see loan traveler, so its always safer and more prudent to visit the caves in a group. Well next time I will surely make it a point to visit these caves...ancient caves, dense forest and aggressive wild boars, all points towards some exciting adventure.
I could see the fort perched high up on a steep hill, and I still had a long way to go.
These stones/stairs go to the next level, I could not guess if they were natural or man made.
Half way into the climb i reached this cave like structure which also served as a gate and had place for guards to sit and rest. For me this place was a welcome sight, as I could sit and rest in its cool shade. There is hardly any shade along the route to the top save three or four places, so if you are making the climb when the Sun is high it will be good decision to use these places as rest stops and recoup your energy and also to avoid severe dehydration.
And in the cave like structure met a wonderful person, Jnaneshwar Mohol, he was the 'Gadpal' or caretaker of the fort. He welcomed me to the fort, asked me to put the backpack down and take some rest in the cool shade, and then he went on to offer me cool water and teel gud, and all this he did with a charming smile on his faces. He welcomed me to the fort just like he would welcome a guest to his home. I was really touched by his caring attitude. And it was not just me who was welcomed in this style, but every visitor was treated in the same way. I rested there, clicked few pics and saw Mr.Mohol go about his work - welcoming visitors in his unique style. After entering my details in the visitor register, I thanked Jananeshwar for his hospitality and moved on towards the top.
Shivdurg Sanvardhan , the organization behind the conservation of these legendary forts, which are integral part of the history and culture of Maharashtra.
I reached dense shady forest , and saw this eye catching Maruti statue. There is also a small temple and big water cipher in this same shady patch. Many visitors after visiting the fort top come down here to have their food, its a nice place to have a picnic lunch.
A little further I saw this ancient contraption, used for crushing limestone which used as the mortar to set the stones which make this strong fort.
The fort citadel or 'Baale Killa' as seen from the small forest, its still quite a climb away. Inside these high walls the forces holding the fort would make a last stand against the attacking army. There is no way inside this other than a very narrow stone staircase, the invaders could only climb this in a single file.
A close up of the steep Fort Walls. The colour of the wall and the rock on which its built merge so well. It must have been very difficult for the enemy to spot these, particularly on misty ....foggy days. Just a reminder this region receives very heavy rainfall in monsoons, which makes the climb to the fort top quite treacherous.
The narrow staircase going to the fort top as seen from the base of Baale Killa. The first look at these narrow stairs gave my already tired body shivers. I knew the way to the top of the fort is going to be difficult but this looked impossible. Then another question popped up in my mind, even if I push myself to climb this narrow staircase with foot high stairs...how am i going to come down?, because while coming down I will be looking down at the bottom of the deep valley...which will surely be more scary.
I kept looking at the staircase as if willing it to give me some solution to the problem. I kept wishing ...only if there was a elevator here which would take me up to the top ...without putting in all this hard work...lol.
But this is just a momentary phase, but very crucial in every difficult hike or trek, when your body is tired and exhausted and your mind is trying to find logical reasons of not completing the venture, and dropping out as completing it would not add anything...materially...to our life. But then your spirit comes forward, your feet will find new strength, and you will take another step forward, because that is the code of the warrior, you may be down.... but you are not out of the race till you have achieved your goal :)
It was quite windy, thanks to the thick cable seen on the right hand I could hold on to it and climb slowly to the top. It was not very difficult, but exciting all the same...
.....till I came to this door way...and saw another steep flight of steps going up, but after conquering the first set of steps I did not hesitate even for a second to take on them, and after enjoying the view of the surrounding countryside from the doorway.... I started climbing again.
The steep flight of steps ended and thru another arched doorway I finally entered the large courtyard of Baale Killa the citadel of Tikona Fort.
And i saw another flight of steps going up...now this had to be the top.
As I came up the stairs this is what I saw. The small room like structure is a temple dedicated to Bhagwan Mahadev, and this is the only shelter from on this fort. And the small mound behind the temple is the highest part of the fort.
The Shiv Ling inside the temple...Har Har Mahadev.
The huge water cipher is the only source of water for thirsty hikers who come here.These tanks are supposed to hold water even in the driest summer months.
Like always I carried enough water with me, so did not drink this water, but I did see some people fill there bottles and drink this same water.
There was another huge water tank below inside the small forest which was also used by the travelers as the source of drinking water, but personally would not try a unknown source of water for drinking purpose unless really forced to.
Finally I climbed the small mound behind the temple, which is the highest point in this fort, to enjoy excellent views of the backwaters of Pavana Dam spread out far below.
The villages, green brown fields and the twisty road make such refreshing vistas.
And the mighty Tung Fort standing tall and alone, its steep sides and narrow pinnacle daring me to try and climb it. So I made a promise to to Tung ..."I will be visiting you soon" .
After enjoying the lovely views from the windy top for more than an hour, I started the the climb back.
Coming down the narrow staircase was not difficult...but i needed to be careful not to twist my ankle or hurt my knees as the steps were quite deep and uneven.
Reached the parking within an hour, and from there it was another enjoy able evening ride back to home with just a brief stop at the Pavana Dam to take in awesome the view of its waters shimmering in the setting Sun.
Glittering water of the Pavana lake, the setting Sun also marks the end of a Sunday well spent in exploring a interesting fort, which still stands tall after hundreds of years.
Next Sunday I will be testing my strength against the steep slopes of Tung Fort which is said to be much more difficult than the Tikona fort climb, and its because of this degree of hardship in getting to the fort top... Tung is also called 'Kathin Gad' or the Difficult Fort :D
