Palasdari fort Trek

Palasdari fort

 

Palasdari fort also known as Songiri fort is situated near Palasdari Railway station, Karjat, in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

To reach Palasdari station, One needs to get down at Karjat Station. We had our breakfast at  Karjat station.  The coordinators already brought Idli, Vada and tea. Then we catched  "Karjat-Khopoli" local train which stops at Palasdari Railway station. Since Palasdari is not developed commercially, there are no restaurants or hotels. But the villagers are always ready to extend their hospitality if demanded.  The village name is derived from "Palas" tree and "Dhari" means Mountain Pass.

Further walk along the railway track will take you to a tunnel. The trek starts from Palasdari tunnel. You will notice a hillock on the left side  and proceed upwards towards dome-shaped hillock. The dome is clearly visible only after crossing two plateau's.

Palasdari tunnel

The trek continues through dense forest and finding the routs is challenging and tricky.  The thrilling route makes Palasdari trek worth doing.  Further the trial goes through grass which was double higher than us.

Rain god had already blessed and everything around turned  green. We passed through beautiful landscapes, listening to birds chirping. We had a halt in between to enjoy the cool breeze around.

As we were doing this trek in the Monsoon, many people were slipping while walking through the final portion of the trek.

Reaching to the furthest end requires good amount of skill as there is a rocky patch to overcome. It took around 3 hours to reach the top.

There are not much of fort structures at the top except few ramparts, fortifications and two water tanks. We rested here around 30 minutes looking at the beauty of surrounding area . We sat at the edge of the hill just sitting and feeling the wind and the sun.

View of surrounding area from top of the fort is spectacular. We got a beautiful view of  Rajmachi, Dhak, Bhivgad and Prabalgad  from top. This fort also offers good view of  Palasdhari Lake, Irshal fort, Morbe dam and Ulhas river.

The Karjat-Khopoli Railway track were well in line of sight.

View of Karjat-Khopoli Railway line from top

After exploring the top and surroundings, we started our descending. Descending was quite risky.

Soon, we completed our descending of  Palasdari fort and reached near tunnel.   Overall it was a memorable experience.