Rajgad

Rajgad is a hill fort in South Maharashtra. It was built as Murumbdev and was later renamed Rajgad by Shivaji Maharaj. It is south-west of Pune City. The base village Gunjavane is around 60 km from Pune. This fort was the first capital of Shivaji Maharaj's Hindavi Swarajya. The capital was later shifted to Raigad. The area of the fort base is 62 km² (24 sq mi).

Get in
There are several routes to climb this fort.

Padmavati Machee via Chor Darwaza (Secret Doorway)
This is the most popular route and starts from Gunjavane village. This route takes approximately 2½ hours to ascend the fort and leads to the Padmavati Machee (Plateau). However, one needs to navigate a treacherous and steep rocky incline to reach Chor Darwaza. To reach Gunjavane, drive towards Satara on the Pune Bangalore NH4 Highway. After about 30 km from Warje Naka in Pune, turn right at Nasrapur. From here, Gunjavane is 28 km. Follow road directions to Rajgad. These directions are only available in Marathi. However, asking the locals on the street will be a great help.

Via Pali Darwaza
This is a simple climb. However, it will take longer to climb from here as compared to Chor Darwaza. To get here, turn right from Nasrapur and go to Velhe village. From there, walk to Pabe village and ask the locals for directions to climb the fort. It should take approximately 3 hours to climb via this route.

Suvela Machee via Chor Darwaza
From Gunjavane village, there is a route through the forest which leads to Suvela Machee. However, it's a treacherous path comprising steep rock faces. It's advisable to climb from this path only under expert guidance and with professional mountain climbing equipment.

See