I had another couple of days to spend in the beautiful city of Pune. I had almost covered all the nearby places of interest. I checked with the hotel staff about the forts in Pune. The hotel offers visits to forts in Pune as per the requests of guests. The next day a group of people had already arranged vehicle through the hotel to go for trekking in Torna Fort. I also planned to join them. The staff told me it would take about 2 hours to reach there and I should carry enough stuff to keep me going through the entire journey. I was eagerly waiting for the journey.
Trekking To Torna Fort I Image Resource : blogspot.com
A bus had come to pick us. We were about 17 people. We boarded the bus and began the journey. It was time to familiarize with each other so I began interacting with the people and soon they were all friendly. People of all age groups represented the group. The oldest of all was a 45-year old person. The bus dropped us at Velhe, which is the base village. All of us were ready to go up the hill. It is the highest fort in Pune district and its historical significance is that it is the first ever conquest of King Shivaji at a young age of 16. It is located on the Sahayadri mountain range.
Trekking To Torna Fort I Image Resource : meetupstatic.com
We conversed with the locals for directions and few other information. We began our journey. It was interesting as we spoke freely to each other, shared many jokes, incidents and also sang songs together. The journey up ht hill is not very easy, but as I had good friends to accompany, I did not feel the strain. It took about 3 hours and 15 minutes for us to reach the top of the hill. I experienced a feel of victory after reaching the top. It is a fabulous view from the hill.
We reached the main entrance, which is known as ‘Bini Darwaza’. Amazing construction of the fort and its layout takes us back to the olden days and the hard work involved behind building such a fort. These are the glories of Indian history! I am proud to have visited a historical place.
Rugged Anay 