Lush green Tung via Tikona Fort Trek – Bike Ride journey
Maharashtra is
the home to a number of spectacular monsoon destinations, one among
which is its numerous forts. While a few of these places will treat you
with amazing views without making much of an effort, there are some
places where one would need to earn their views. Tung fort trek is the
perfect example of how nature will bless you with some outstanding view
once you reach the top of the fort.
Date of experience : 2nd November 2019
Trip type : Traveled with friends
Tung Fort Details
- Tung Fort Trek Difficulty Level : Moderate
- Base Village for Tung Fort : Tungwadi
- Region : Lonavala
- Tung Fort Height: 3000 ft. (approx.)
My journey to Tung Fort from Tikona
With Pune being my city of residence from the last couple
of years, I have explored most of the touristy places in and around the
city. My Kind of Diwali, I have been traveling almost every weekend to
explore a new place nearby Pune as last weekend I explored Loahgad
- perfect single day trek.
This time the long pending visit to the Tung Fort trek came to my mind. Tung Fort lies in the same region where the other popular forts like Tikona , Lohagad and Visapur Fort
lies which I had already visited. Unlike the other forts in the Pawana
region, Tung Fort is the least popular among the trekkers. I had no clue
what exactly was the reason behind the same. Hence, I decided to have a
visit to the fort with my crazy friends and find the reason for its
unpopularity.
Our gears were ready and we departed on your bikes
around 09:00 am from Deccan Gymkhana and other meet up points to reach
the base village and you can have a good breakfast along the way. We
reached around 10:30 am to the base, after which we began the trek and
reached the top of Tikona around 12:00 pm. After exploring the famous forts around and clicking some
good pictures, we began our descend to the base village around 1:30 pm
and enjoy a delicious lunch ( Pitla bhakri
) at a local restaurant. Once done, we started our ride to Tungawadi around 02:30 pm.It’s almost the same route to that of Korigad Fort. The entire route is lush green and dozens of waterfalls add to the beauty of the route. Driving on the curvy roads with Pawna Lake (Beautiful Sunset Point) and lush green mountains in the background is a moment to cheer about.
It generally took around 1 hours via Javan Tungi
Road to reach Tung fort from Tikona , but due to the various pit stops I
took for clicking the pictures, we made it to the Tung Fort in around 2
hours. There is an ample parking space at the start point with a small
Hanuman Temple. Kick-start your Tung Fort trek by taking blessings at
the Temple!!) at a local restaurant. Once done, we started our ride to Tungawadi around 02:30 pm.It’s almost the same route to that of Korigad Fort. The entire route is lush green and dozens of waterfalls add to the beauty of the route. Driving on the curvy roads with Pawna Lake (Beautiful Sunset Point) and lush green mountains in the background is a moment to cheer about.
We were very surprised to see no bikes /cars parked at the
base though it was a weekend. That was a clear indication that most
probably there will be no one on the entire trek. The initial climb
starts with a few concrete stairs followed by a gradual ascending trail.
After a few minutes of hiking, you will come across
steep climbs. Moving ahead, the trail is in completely ruined state.
The loose boulders, narrow steps cut in the rocks and the narrow route
passing by the edge of the mountain add to the difficulty while
trekking.
Apart from the views, there is
nothing much to see on the fort. At the top, there is a temple of Tungi
Devi. Just before climbing Ballekilla, there is another temple of Lord
Ganesh with a water cistern at the backside.
After exploring the fort, we happily started
descending around 6 pm and made it to the base in around 1/2 hour. En
route Lonavala we experienced the scenic Lion Point and with all the
beautiful memories, we headed back for Pune.
At last 5 Friends explored 4 Places with 3 Vehicles and 2 Forts in 1 Day !!!
The fort is also known as Kathingad meaning “difficult fort” due to the difficulty in climbing. The trail is in a ruined state, loose boulders, narrow steps cut in the rocks and narrow route on the edge of the mountain throughout add to the difficulty while trekking. If you are a beginner in terms of trekking then you need to take an experienced trekker along with you. You can see all around from the top .You can see the Pawna lake , Tikona , Lohgad and Visapur forts from the top .There is a Ganesh temple and a water tank on top and a Tungi devi temple.
ReplyDeleteIt generally takes around 2 hour to reach the top from the base and approx 1 hour to descend.
The views were just outstanding.
Do not forget to carry your phone/camera with you.