Harishchandragad fort in Akole Taluka of Ahmednagar district is a favorite fort of the trekkers. Kunjargad (Kombadgad), Bhairavgad (Kothale), Kaladgad, Bhairavgad (Shirpunje) forts were built in ancient times to keep an eye on the various routes leading to Harishchandragad. Out of these four forts, Kaladgad fort was built to keep an eye on the way to Harishchandragad from Sadhale Ghat. Kaladgad was built at the top of the Sadhale Ghat. Kaladgad is to the west of Harishchandragad. Considering the overall structure of the fort, this fort must be built with Harishchandragad. To visit Kaladgad, one has to travel from Mumbai via Malshej Ghat to Otur-Bamanwada-Kotul-Kothale-Pachanai or via Mumbai-Ghoti-Bhandardara to Pachnai village. ... The village of Pachnai is situated at the foot of the hill of Harishchandragad. In front of this village, Kaladgad is the only hill that can be seen. Pethewadi village at the foot of Kaladgad is at a distance of 7 km from Pachanai and the road leading to the fort is at a distance of 5 km from Pachanai. As the fort is away from the main roads and the way to climb the fort is difficult, very few people visit this fort although one should visit this fort at least once to see the natural beauty and lifestyle of people around it. In an hour's walk from Pachanai village and 15 minutes by car, we reach the foothills of Kaladgad. There is a road leading to the fort from the south of Kaladgad. The forest department has built a cement shelter on the left side of the road on the way to Pethewadi. Here you can see the footpath leading to the fort under a tree. As the locals often visit the Bhairoba deity on the fort, the way to the fort is visible. Kaladgad is small but the steep path that starts from the first step remains up to the head of the fort. After walking through the bushes for about 10 minutes, we come to an open area. From here to the head of the fort, there are three cliffs. In the first phase, in the beginning, some steps carved out of rock and an idol can be seen here. Climbing these steps, we reach the second stage, which is about a half-hour vertical climb. After this climb, we reach the steps in the third stage, which is carved into the rock in front of a steep wall. These steps are so small that your legs can barely fit on them, they are carved in a slanting direction. You should climb these steps with the support of your hands and crossing the steep wall in front of us, we reach the cave of Bhairoba carved under a square-shaped ground. In this cave, which is carved out of rock under the ground, there is a Bhairoba idol with 2 snake sculptures on the outside. On the upper right side of the cave, at some distance, there are water cisterns carved in the rock, and near this cistern, the remains of a structure can be seen. It takes about 1 hour to reach here from the foothills. The height of Kaladgad is 3400 feet above sea level and this fort with the narrow head is spread over 5 acres from south to north. After visiting the Bhairoba idol in the cave, the head of the fort is on the right and the valley is on the left. Here a straight long footpath is seen going towards the trunk, this path 2 cisterns that are carved out of rock can be seen. These cisterns are broken and stones have collapsed in them. Some remnants of the ramparts are visible on the left. Further on, there is a small dome at the end of the trunk, and in front of it are two large round stones with some idols. After turning back from here, a path leads to the top of the fort from the broken cistern. In 5 minutes we reach the top. The head of the fort is narrow to the north and wide to the south. At the southern end, you can see the place of the flagpole and the stone remains of some structures as well as a water cistern. From the top, Harishchandragad, Malshej Ghat, Moroshi's Bhairavgad, Nanacha Angtha, Nakata hill near Sadhale Ghat, Kombada hill, Ajoba hill, Kumshet's Lingi, Ghanchakkar plateau, Shirpunje Bhairavgad, Kunjargad, and Kothale Bhairavgad are seen. This is where your fort round ends. It takes an hour to see the fort. To descend get down near the broken cisterns and return by the way you came. As there is no water on the fort, keep enough water with you and avoid going to the fort in the rainy season.
© Suresh Nimbalkar