Visit To The Harishchandra Gad.

Harishchandra Gad

Height of the fort:- 

4671 Feet.

How to Reach :- 

Via Road :- 

1) From Thane District ( Mumbai) : One has to board the bus for Nagar from Kalyan & alight at ‘Khubi Phata’. From there we reach the village of Khireshwar by bus or private vehicle. This village is 7 km from the foothills of the fort.(Kalyan-Murbad-Malshej- Khireshvar)

2) From Pune District: There is a daily bus from Shivajinagar ST stand (Pune) to Khireswar village.

Nearest Airport :- 

1) Shirdi  Airport ( 110 km ) One has to take bus from Shirdi to Kalyan. 

2) Mumbai Airport (140 km) one has to take same rout from thane.

History 

The fort originally dated back to 6th century during the rule of Kalchuri kingdom.its fortified area was build during same time, and various caves probably have been carved out in the 11th century AD.  Later the fort was under the control of Mughals and Marathas captured it in 1747 AD. There is AD old Caves on Harishchandra gad with drinking water.

Accommodation :- 

The forest department has shut down all overnight stay at the top of Harishchandragad. They walk around at night and impose large fines upon anyone caught camping overnight. This has been done in order to cut back on drunken revelry and environmental degradation. This has helped greatly improve the quality of the Harischandragad environment. The height of the fort is 1,424 meters. Harishchandragad is very popular place for trekking in Maharashtra 
and also one of the famous Bhandardara tourist places.                          

One can take different ways to reach at top there are total 3-4 routs.

From Junnar Dravaja :- 

The way beside the caves, where water tanks are seen, proceeds further to Junnar Darvaja (Entrance From Junnar). From here, the route goes straight to Tolar Khind. Walking a few minutes from Tolar Khind, we come across a rock-patch on which railings are fixed. After ascending the railings, we come to the plateau region on which less dense forests are seen. From here, we have to cross 7 hills & after a walk of 2–3 hours, we reach the temple of Harishchandreshwar, the temple of Lord Shiva. This Tolar Khind is the great remembrance of the great freedom fighter tribe Mr. Raghoji Bhangre Note: On this way, many arrows help in indicating the way.

From Sadhleghat :-

The second way is specially meant for hikers, which is via Sadhleghat. One should board the bus for Malshej Ghat and go to the village of Belpada via Savarne village on the Malshej-Kalyan road. From here, the route goes through Sadhleghat. Here one has to climb a straight rock patch on which grips are provided. The temple is situated at a height of about 1 km from Belpada. The total distance is about 19 km

From Khireshvar :-

There is another way to reach Harischandragad is from Khireshvar village, a village you can reach by buses or private vehicles. it is on Kalyan to junnar way one can take buses from this route & vehicle users can follow NH 61 till Khireshvar naka. From Khireshvar naka the distance is 8 km to reach Khireshvar. in between there is Pimpalgaon Jaga Dam which gives magnificent view. In Khireshwar, local school is the best for a night’s stay. In this village, we can see the temple of Nageshwar as well as ancient caves of the Yadav era.

there is private parking place for vehicles, they charge few buck for it.
one can gate nice spicy and Dongari food in here. 

from Khireshvar to Harishchandra gad trek take around 3 to 4 hrs. to reach our destination. its best to plan for 2 days hence it can complete in one day also. trekking from base of Khireshvar to Harishchandra gad is full of trill & enjoyment with mind refreshing  views of surrounding  Mountains & waterfalls. one has to go through almost 2-3 mounts to reach Harishchandra gad in between there are some rocky part where one has to climb through rocks, in monsoon its becomes slippery. also this rout's some part goes through a dense forest  but its very clam & very fresh air with the smell of trees, wood, dust & rock. Its only if you know where to look. 
on this trekking one does not have to worry about food or water because  local have built there small Dhaba cum huts on the trekking way where you can get nice food with packed bottle water.
but its good to carry 3-4 lit water. 

After climbing rocky part of around 400 ft - 500 ft this trekking path reach to base of Harishchandra gad Bale killa. one has to walk around 1 hr to reach Harishchandra gad Bale killa. this place gives best view of Malshej Ghat & valley of Harishchandra gad. in monsoon this area is always covered with clouds its like walking in Haven or Riding on Clouds.
from here one has to walk for hour to reach Harishchandra Temples on this path there is caves. It is best place to treat your self with haven beauty on face of Earth.