Nashik has been known as a market for a long time. In ancient times, goods from Kalyan, Sopara, and Dahanu ports used to come to this market through various wharf routes. Today, some of these wharf routes have been converted into highways. The wharf route which is today known as Kasara Ghat was previously known as Thal Ghat. Balwantgad fort was built on a small hill in front of the Ghat and separated from the main mountain range to keep an eye on the Thal Ghat descending from the Nashik area to North Konkan. The fort, which is the custodian of the ancient Thal Ghat, is still neglected. To visit Balwantgad, first, you have to reach Vihigaon. The distance from Mumbai to Vihigaon is 110 km and can be reached from Khodala fork in Kasara Ghat, while it is 55 km from Nashik via Ghatandevi. ... A road leads to Mal village on the left of the Forest Department office near Vihigaon. This place has a Relax Country Resort sign. This route covers a distance of 1.5 km. After climbing the slope a stone mentioning 1/400 to 1/600 km, there is a footpath leading to the fort on the left between the two stones. There are currently no other signs to mention the path to the fort here. As you ascend the hill towards the fort, you start to see the ramparts of the fort and in 10 minutes you enter the fort through the collapsed ramparts on the south side of the fort. The height of the fort is 710 feet above the sea level and the top of the fort is spread over 1.5 acres from east to west. There are two bastions on the eastern ramparts of the fort and one bastion can be seen at the western end of the fort. The ramparts of the fort are still in good condition and no mixtures have been used to join these fortified ramparts. A large amount of soil has accumulated on the curtain wall of the ramparts and a small drain can be seen at one place in the ramparts to carry water. While walking on the ramparts, you can see the hummock in the middle of the fort. Under the tree on this hill, there are some stone sculptures. Remains of two ruined houses can be seen in the next part of the hummock. There is a Maruti idol with a sword in one hand and a mace in the other. In front of the idol is a small Shiviling and Nandi. On the lower side of the fort, there is a large cistern carved in the rock which is the only source of water, but these cisterns are broken and do not store water due to a large amount of soil and rocks collected in it. To see this cistern you need to proceed further, then turn right and come down. After seeing the cistern and moving ahead, we reach the western part of the fort. Looking at the crumbling ramparts and other ruins, it is clear that there was a gate to the fort here. At one point in the ramparts, there is a notch to block the door. Coming up from here, we reach the bastion at the western end of the fort. From this bastion, you can see Thal Ghat, Mumbai Nashik Highway as well as railway and Kasara village. From the eastern bastion, you can see the plateau of Tringalwadi and Mal village. Half an hour is enough to walk around the entire fort. There is no record of any historical incident that took place on this fort.
© Suresh Nimbalkar