Friday, August 10, 2012
trek to karnala fort & bird santuary: karnala trek: star attraction peacock
trek to karnala fort & bird santuary: karnala trek: star attraction peacock: It was a well planned trek for us as a mumbaikar couple getaway on sunday from our hectic weekdays to Karnala bird santuary and karnala for...
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
karnala trek: star attraction peacock
It was a well planned trek for us as a mumbaikar couple getaway on sunday from our hectic weekdays to Karnala bird santuary and karnala fort.We put our rucksacks in the back of the car and headed toeards our destination and after crossing kalamboli in panvel took the nh17 ,mumbai goa highway.
About the karnala fort:
(also called Funnel Hill is a hill fort in Raigad district about 10 km from Panvel city. Currently it is a protected place lying within the Karnala Bird Sanctuary. It was a fort of strategic importance as it overlooked the Bor pass.
Karnala fort actually consists of two forts one at a higher level and other lower. At the centre of the higher level is a 125 feet high basalt pillar. It is also called Pandu's tower. This structure was used as watchtower when the fort was occupied however now it is in a ruined condition. The presence of bee hives also makes it difficult to climb and have resulted in at least one casualty in recent times[6]. There is a water cistern which provides fresh water all year long. From the top the forts of Prabalgad and Rajmachi are clearly visible[6].
The fort has two inscriptions one in Marathi and the other in Persian. The Marathi inscription which has no date is seen on the lower gate on the inner side. Its words are indecipherable. The Persian writing is on upper gate reads "Syed Nuruddin Muhammad Khan, Hijri, 1147 AH (1735 CE)[2] and probably dates from the Mughal occupation of the fort.
Its exact date of formation is not know but likely it predates 1400 CE as under the Devagiri Yadavs(1248–1318) and under the Tughlaq rulers (1318–1347), Karnala was the capital of the north Konkan districts of their respective empires.[2] It later fell under the command of the Gujarat Sultanate but in 1540 was taken over by Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar.
Shivaji conquered it from the Portuguese in 1670 by building breastworks as he advanced.[2] After his death in 1680 it was taken over by Aurangzeb. After this the Mughals occupied it for some time after which it in 1740 with the rise of the Peshwas of Pune it went to them. It remained under the command of killedar (garrison commander) Anantrao[5] until a colonel Prother won the fort and established the rule of the British East India Company there.
We started the trek at 8.30 a.m. and were the fourth ones amongst the three groups that entered prior us.Its a great job that the forest officers do is that of checking your bag and entering the number of plastic bottles,tiffinns,etc,so that one does not litter and helps in keeping our mother nature clean ,raw and at its best.we paid the entry ,parking fees and the refundable amount for our plastics(which we would get back only if we get them back until exit).
The nature trail was amazing lush green,but little bit slippery in certain streches.At one patch the trek is quite challenging wherein one need to actually climb the rocks .Few areas one person can walk at a time and people coming back or descending cannot descend at the same time with the ascending hikers.
In the rains we found beautiful kinds of flowers and could click them ,appreciate the beauty well.
We reache the base of the fort by 10a.m.
Exploring the fort took another half an hour .we had the packed sandwiches there at the end of the fort and had an amazing nap in the cool breeze.Its very very breezy out there and one can have a great panoramic view.the peaks of prabalgad and rajmachi can be distinctly seen from the end of this fort.
About the karnala fort:
(also called Funnel Hill is a hill fort in Raigad district about 10 km from Panvel city. Currently it is a protected place lying within the Karnala Bird Sanctuary. It was a fort of strategic importance as it overlooked the Bor pass.
Karnala fort actually consists of two forts one at a higher level and other lower. At the centre of the higher level is a 125 feet high basalt pillar. It is also called Pandu's tower. This structure was used as watchtower when the fort was occupied however now it is in a ruined condition. The presence of bee hives also makes it difficult to climb and have resulted in at least one casualty in recent times[6]. There is a water cistern which provides fresh water all year long. From the top the forts of Prabalgad and Rajmachi are clearly visible[6].
The fort has two inscriptions one in Marathi and the other in Persian. The Marathi inscription which has no date is seen on the lower gate on the inner side. Its words are indecipherable. The Persian writing is on upper gate reads "Syed Nuruddin Muhammad Khan, Hijri, 1147 AH (1735 CE)[2] and probably dates from the Mughal occupation of the fort.
Its exact date of formation is not know but likely it predates 1400 CE as under the Devagiri Yadavs(1248–1318) and under the Tughlaq rulers (1318–1347), Karnala was the capital of the north Konkan districts of their respective empires.[2] It later fell under the command of the Gujarat Sultanate but in 1540 was taken over by Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar.
Shivaji conquered it from the Portuguese in 1670 by building breastworks as he advanced.[2] After his death in 1680 it was taken over by Aurangzeb. After this the Mughals occupied it for some time after which it in 1740 with the rise of the Peshwas of Pune it went to them. It remained under the command of killedar (garrison commander) Anantrao[5] until a colonel Prother won the fort and established the rule of the British East India Company there.
We started the trek at 8.30 a.m. and were the fourth ones amongst the three groups that entered prior us.Its a great job that the forest officers do is that of checking your bag and entering the number of plastic bottles,tiffinns,etc,so that one does not litter and helps in keeping our mother nature clean ,raw and at its best.we paid the entry ,parking fees and the refundable amount for our plastics(which we would get back only if we get them back until exit).
The nature trail was amazing lush green,but little bit slippery in certain streches.At one patch the trek is quite challenging wherein one need to actually climb the rocks .Few areas one person can walk at a time and people coming back or descending cannot descend at the same time with the ascending hikers.
In the rains we found beautiful kinds of flowers and could click them ,appreciate the beauty well.
We reache the base of the fort by 10a.m.
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