Rajmachi Trek, Camping, Fireflies & Kondana Caves

This post is about my adventures of Rajmachi trek, Kataldhar waterfall, fireflies at Rajmachi, camping near the fort & descend towards Kondana caves. I am sharing my beautiful experience so that you can plan your Rajmachi trek easily.

I had already heard numerous tales of the natural paradise at Rajmachi. Earlier in 2016, we hiked halfway up to the Kune falls. We chose to go back due to the heavy rains storms and insane winds. But I realised that I will have to come back one day. Now that I had already seen the wild side of nature at this place in monsoon. I choose a pre-monsoon trek to avoid the wild nature and the monsoon crowds. I was also quite eager to see the fireflies which appear at Rajmachi only before the monsoon.

At this point, I had no previous experience in trekking. The Vasota trek I had done earlier was with my office colleagues. I thought it would be fun to join some trekking group in Pune. I found an organised trek to Rajmachi with a quick online search, which was by a trekking group from Mumbai. A few more searches and reviews later I knew that they can be relied upon for my adventure.

Quick Details of My Rajmachi Trekking Adventure

• Rajmachi Fort Trek duration: 2 days, 1 night.
• Time of my visit: June 2019
• Best time for the trek: June to Sept.
• Difficulty level: Easy to moderate
• Kilometres walked: 21 km.
  • From Fanasarai to Kondana: 14 km.
  • Up and down on Shrivardhan Fort and around Rajmachi: 7 km.
• Camping areas and Washrooms: Available at the Udhewadi base village.
• Accessibility: Minimum level of physical fitness is necessary. Obviously, not accessible for wheelchairs and strollers.
• Rajmachi Fort distance from Pune: 81 km
• Rajmachi from Mumbai distance: 94 km

About Rajmachi

Rajmachi is often mistakenly called as Rajmachi fort. In fact, Rajmachi is the name of the place, which is alternatively called the Udhewadi village. Udhewadi is the base village for the trek. After reaching here, I got to know that Rajmachi fort is actually a set of twin fortresses- Shrivardhan Fort and Manaranjan Fort.

The twin forts at Rajmachi were built by the Satavahanas to protect the most important historical trade route called the Borghat. Borghat is now declared as a protected monument. This route connected the inland Deccan plateau region (now Pune) to the western coast of India (now Mumbai) in ancient times. The fort was later captured by Chp. Shivaji Maharaj, then by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, again recaptured by Shahu Maharaj and eventually captured by the British.

Rajmachi Trek route details

Rajmachi Forts are located in the popular hill stations of Lonavala-Khandala. They can be reached from Mumbai side via Kondane village or from Pune side via Lonavala.

Kondane village to Rajmachi trek

This route is from Karjat – Kondane village – Kondane caves – Rajmachi. It is a difficult and challenging trek with extremely beautiful nature and scenery. It is quite hard to climb from that side. You can use this trek for polishing your trekking and mountaineering skills. In our organised trek, we were going to reach the top via Lonavala and then descend via Kondane village.

Lonavala to Rajmachi trek

Lonavala is the easiest route to reach Rajmachi. From Lonavala railway station, you can find numerous jeeps and SUVs that will take you to the base village of Udhewadi. We were asked to reach the Lonavala station from Pune city by 4.30 pm. And the Mumbai participants were also going to come here at the same place. The SUVs organised by the trekking club were ready and waiting near the station.

There is no proper tar road once you leave the highway near Dellas Adventures. If you are going by your car, make sure it is a powerful SUV or Jeep. Some daredevils have managed to do this journey on a bike! We were driven past the Kune falls, to a point called as Fanasarai. From this point, it is around 8 km walk to the Udhewadi village. You can hike from Dellas adventures to Udewadi village. It is an easy route and will take you 2-4 hours.

There is something about being in the nature between the mountains that rejuvenates you. As we walked the sun was already setting. The hiking route is in between the mountains, inside the valley, so the dusk was falling fast. In no time it was dark, and the last bit of the hike was to be done in darkness with torches. I was walking with full hopes of meeting the fireflies at this point. But unfortunately, I didn’t get to see any. Rajmachi night trek should be done in humid weather in order to witness the magical fireflies.

Rajmachi Camping

There are several options of camping at the base of the twin forts of Rajmachi. If you have your own tent and food, you can set up your camp near the Udaysagar Lake or at Kalbhairav temple. If you don’t have tents, you can easily rent them at Udhewadi village. Another way is to stay for the night at traditional local houses in Udhewadi village. Our trek organisers opted for the 2nd option of local homestays.

Udhewadi Village is nothing but a small group of houses at the foothills of Rajmachi twin forts. It has approximately 22 households. The locals are extremely tourist-friendly as this is their source of livelihood. These people offer amazing homestays at some cheap rates. They also provide you with delicious local Maratha food. We reached Udhewadi village after sunset and had our dinner. Unfortunately, untimely rains had caused the fireflies to turn away, meaning we didn’t get to see any.

Shrivardhan Fort (Ballekilla) at Rajmachi

The next day after a quick breakfast we started up the Shrivardhan Fort. Shrivardhan is higher in height than its other twin. It was used for keeping an eye on the Borghat trade route. Going atop Shrivardhan fort is easy because there are stone stairs for half of the way. At later stages, you have to climb over the rocks, which is easy too. Make sure to stop and enjoy the views of Rajmachi.

You will find a person selling lemon sherbet (lemonade) at the top. The remains of the ancient architecture will remind you of the grandeur of our ancestors. From atop the Shrivardhan Fort you can see in the Ulhas valley below. You can also see Kataldhar waterfall in distance.

At the time I visited Shrivardhan Fort the entire valley was full of clouds and the weather was very humid. But standing atop the mountain fort seemed like being above the clouds. For a moment the valley was covered in the clouds, the next moment we could see clearly for miles. While climbing up Shrivardhan Fort, if you look towards your right you can see a small mirror-like Udaysagar Lake.

Rajmachi Caves

There is a cave on the way, where we stopped for resting. The first picture in this blog is clicked at this Rajmachi Cave. You can even set up your camp at this cave. The caves at Rajmachi can accommodate almost 40 people. It is difficult to set up a tent here, as it is always windy on the mountain. Instead, this cave atop Shrivardhan fort is the best place to spend the night.

Kalbhairavnath Temple

At the base of Shrivardhan Fort is the temple of Kalbhairavnath. This temple is also a place where you can set up your camp for the night. The surrounding mountains seem very high due to their close proximity. We visited this place on the way to Shrivardhan Fort. You can see it in the picture above which I clicked from the top of Shrivardhan, from nearby the caves. The temple is in ancient Konkani style architecture.

Manaranjan Fort (Balekilla) at Rajmachi

As we had to descend towards Kondane village in time before sunset, we skipped Manaranjan fort. Manaranjan was clearly visible from the highest point of Shrivardhan Fort. Manaranjan Fort like the name suggests was used for leisure. Even today you can find rock-cut jacuzzi tubs filled with natural water on the top. From the top of Manaranjan fort, you can see Dhak Bahiri, Sinhagad, Raigad, Rajgad, Lohagad and some mountains of Matheran on a clear day. It is an interesting exercise trying to find out which mountains is which fort. Dhak Bahiri is clearly visible due to its close proximity.

Kataldhar Waterfall near Rajmachi Forts

Kataldhar Waterfalls can be seen from Shrivardhan Fort. But alas, when I visited the waterfall was dry. I could still see the beautiful circular shaped rocks, from where it falls. Kataldhar is the highest waterfall in Pune district. Its also called the Horseshoe Waterfall due to its beautiful arched shape. There is no water here except for the monsoon. While visiting Rajmachi, keep 4-5 hours reserved for Kataldhar waterfall trek.

If you wish to go near to the waterfall, you have to descend through the dense forest of Ulhas Valley. Even experienced trekkers cannot find there way near to the waterfalls. It is best to go with a local guide or someone who knows the Kataldhar waterfall trekking route. Behind the waterfalls is an eye-shaped cave which can easily accommodate a 100 people. When you reach the falls you can see the twin-forts in distance.

You need to take a tiny forest trail from near a mango tree. This trail cannot be found so easily. But once you find it, there is a huge waterfall ahead that needs to be crossed. Later you will reach a concrete road leading towards the falls.

Uday Sagar Lake

After coming down from Shrivardhan Fort, we headed straight towards the Udaysagar Lake and the adjacent temple. This is a very good spot to cool off after the trek. This lake is like a reservoir of water for the village and also for everyone who treks to Rajmachi. Several trekkers use the banks of this lake as a campsite.

Godhaneshwar Shiva Temple

Besides the lake, is a quaint old Shiva temple, which dates long back in time. It is a must-visit place in Rajmachi. The finest details of the carved architecture of this basalt rock temple will leave you speechless. The lake nearby adds a cool and calm atmosphere to this place. Godhaneshwar temple is the best place to meditate by yourself.

There is a Gomukh – water outlet here which miraculously gives water for 365 days a year. At the time we visited, there were small drips falling through. This ancient architecture is so cleverly built by our ancestors, that apart from standing tall for centuries, it also functions as if it were built yesterday!

Descent to Kondana Caves

After lunch, we started our descent towards Kondhane caves. Kondana caves are located near a small village called Kondane near Karjat. This was the challenging yet the most beautiful part of the trek. As we went below, we seldom met other trekkers trying to climb the Rajmachi from this side. The way is through some dense forest. If there was no guide with us, we could have been lost easily. On the way, there were numerous pretty waterfalls and other beautiful sights. But I couldn’t capture much, because by now I was into survival mode. The trek leaders were extremely supportive at this part of the journey.

Kondana Caves

I was tired after trekking from Rajmachi to Kondana Caves. But as soon as I saw the caves in the distance, I pushed forward with newfound energy. Inside the caves, at once you feel really cool and clam. There is a mighty waterfall which comes out through the caves. These Buddhist caves were carved in the 1st century B.C. and found out in the 19th century. There are various carvings and ancient style sculptures here. It also has one inscription which tells about the donors of the caves. There are some vendors selling snacks and lemon sherbet outside the caves.

Homeward Journey

After the Kondana Caves, we headed to the Kondane Village, then took a cab towards Karjat. I headed to Pune – my home with heavy feet and lots of memories.

What to Pack for Rajmachi Trek?

• Waterproof Backpack: It is most important to have a backpack which means your hands remain free while you climb.
• Water bottles and Water Filters: You will need 2-3 litres of water for a single trek. Bring one or two energy drinks too. You can take a water bottle with a filter (that removes bacteria and turbidity from water) if you want to drink water straight from the waterfalls or lakes.
• Trekking Shoes: Needless to say you will need proper trekking footwear to scale the Sahyadri.
• Personal Medical Kit: You can take a pain relief spray for just in case and your regular medicines, etc. Do take an insect repellent with you. You will also need a good sunscreen in winters.
• And your Cameras!

AN APPEAL TO TOURISTS AND TREKKERS

Please carry your trash and also the trash left by others! I saw several plastic bottles atop the Shrivardhan Fort, and also along the descent towards Kondana caves. It is very easy to throw a plastic bottle in the valley. But it is extremely difficult to find and collect the plastic trash strewn by tourist trekkers. If you are coming to the mountains, leave them in a better condition than you found them yourself.

Other places to visit nearby

• Shirota Lake
• Kune Waterfalls
• Valvan Dam

Frequently Asked Questions about Rajmachi trek

This post is sponsored by Treks and Trails, which is a Mumbai based trekking club that started in 2012. You can join them for the Rajmachi Monsoon Trek.