Karnala Fort Trek | A Beautiful Day Trek Will Make You Happy

Most of those are belong to the state of Maharashtra in the western region. Karnala Fort is one of those monuments and Karnala Fort trek is one such activity that followed by travelers. It is not only a fort but also a hub for many colorful birds. Yes, you heard me right; Karnala is a bird sanctuary and the fort is situated inside the sanctuary. Sounds good right; Karnala Fort is a hill fort in the Raigad district of Maharashtra state. The height of the Karnala Fort is 1500 feet. It is situated at a distance of 10 km from Panvel city. The fort has much historic importance.

By Road

The Hill has located at a distance of 60 km from Mumbai and 110 km from Pune, on Mumbai Goa highway. It is 2 hours drive from Thane city. There are state transport buses that run between Mumbai Central to Karnala. You can also catch a bus from the Panvel bus depo. The distance is not more than 10 km.

By Train

Panvel is the nearest railhead to reach the fort, it is located on the central line of Mumbai and Central railways are also run the train from Thane, CST to Panvel. Walk 10 min from railway station to reach the bus depo of Panvel and catch any bus going towards Pen or Alibaug, Karnala lies on the way. you can also take a direct rickshaw to reach the fort.

What Is The History of Karnala Fort?

There were so many fights and wars done to conquer the fort. The fort was constructed before 1400 under two rulers Devgiri Yadavas and Tughlaq rulers. It was also the capital of the North Konkan district. Later, it went under the command of Gujarat Sultanate, and again it was taken by Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar. Later, Gujarat Sultanate requested a Portuguese commanding officer to win the area. The fort was returned to Gujarat Sultanate, but yes with Portuguese officers.

Gujarat Sultanate fled to Vasai, surrendering to fort back to the Portuguese. At this time Nizam tried to conquer the fort with 5000 men, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Portuguese continued to hold. Later, the Portuguese handover this fort to Nizam for an annual payment of 17500.

Shivaji Maharaj conquered the fort from the Mughals and continued to hold it, but after his death, it was controlled by Aurangzeb. After this Mughals continued to occupy the fort for quite a long time. In 1740, the fort went to Peshwas of Pune and remained under their command. In 1818, the British East India Company started to hold the fort.

Coming back to my corner of the story, it was my second visit to this beautiful pinnacle. The very first time was when I finished my 10th class. I had also tried to visit here two months back when the lockdown was just lifted out, but the fort was still close, I had to return back from the fort. One fine day everything happened as per planning, and I got an opportunity to visit this monument. Being located on a minimal distance from my hometown, traveling to this place was not a big task. National Highway NH17 passes from the Karnala route, and then it further connects to the Konkan coastal. Karnala fort trekking is one such place filled with many families with their kids.

One has to purchase the entrance ticket before you start the trek. On holiday this is the most crowded fort with a long queue standing to buy a ticket at the counter. It is always advisable to start the trek as early as possible as this fort normally opens at 7 am. The route of the fort goes through the Karnala bird sanctuary. On weekend there are lots of professional photographers visiting here to click the pictures of different species of birds. The initial 10 min walk is easy and simple with no diversion. As you walk ahead you see a few birds kept inside the nest at the base point. There are few canteens on route selling breakfast and lunch. Food is reasonable here.

The route passes from the restaurant. It has two diversions, left which has rock cut steps and also a most preferred route. Most of the family prefers to take a left side road due to its small ascend. Right from here is the route for experienced trekkers. One who wants to experience adventure trekking, this is the most adventurous climb. If you are not regular trekkers then better to avoid this route. Coming back to my story we decided to take this adventurous road for trekking. As we started ascending through the forest sun rays started peeling out through branches. It was a difficult task to ascend through this route, the reason the trail was a bit slippery due to sand. Trekking to the summit of the fort was a bit challenging, but yes life itself is an adventure. Though this route was the shortcut to reach the summit, it was steep ascending through small rocks and muddy trail. After a walk for around 1-hour route meets up to the first road giving the first glimpse of Karnala’s mystic valley and the surrounding mountain. The view was simply amazing and breathe taking. One can get engaged in clicking nature's beauty. Being a little dry weather water break was a necessity throughout the trek.

As we reached the valley point, the trek becomes a gradual walk through little of a slope. The ruined part of the fort structure is visible from here. Recently railing has been installed here for safety purposes. As you walk more close to your destination rock-cut steps with railing on both the side adds flavor in your trek, climbing becomes so easy. Steps are a bit narrow; one person at a time is the thumb rule. As you cross those steps, you reach the first gate of Karnala fort. A glimpse of the ruined Karnala fort is visible from here. There is a long pinnacle ahead of the first gate along with a flag of Swarajya. This pinnacle is called as Pandus tower. It was used as a watchtower in the early time, but now it is completely ruined. Karnala fort also has a Bhawani temple that can be visited on the first route while ascending towards the fort. Small descending from the first gate will take you to the summit point of the fort. The fort also has lots of monkeys. If you are smart enough then don’t keep any plastic rappers or water bottles in hand, monkeys will snatch it.

Karnala fort is situated on a small height, the distance for a trek is not more than two hours. It is an ideal trek for first-timers or for those who hardly trek. The Summit of the fort offers an astonishing view of surrounding forts like Prabalgad, Kalavantin, Sondai, Irshalgad, and Rajmachi fort. One can take a long break to capture the moments of summit view. Descending from any fort is easy. It hardly took 1 hour to reach back to the base point.