My trip to Kolhapur was an impromptu one. I was at home for quite a long time and my itchy feet were dying to get out and go anywhere, upon that the incredible monsoon was making the call all the more appealing. I immediately called my wife from the office and told her “Just stuff the bag with some clothes as we are leaving tonight for Kolhapur”. My wife exclaimed, Kolhapur Udhar kyo! (Why there). I replied, “Arre tu kapade pack kar na” ( You please pack the clothes). This time there was no further protest from her probably because she is used to my erratic behavior when it comes to traveling. ( Thank god I am blessed to have such an understanding companion.)

I reached home around 7 pm., meanwhile, I checked if any train is available for Kolhapur, but at being last moment there was no availability of seats. Next, I checked for bus bookings, Luckily the seats were available and I quickly booked two lower berth sleepers.

Our bus left from Andheri at 10.30 pm and we reached Kolhapur at 8.00 am. We checked into a hotel that was near the bus stand because I had planned to visit a few places for which we had to be taking the bus, therefore proximity to the bus stand will help us save time and travel faster.

Boss travel me bahut dimag lagana padta hai.Dimag ki batti hamesha ON rehna mangata hai 😃

Once we had checked into our hotel we visited a restaurant nearby and had breakfast and at around 10 am we were at the Kolhapur bus stand. Our first-day plan was to visit Gagangad Fort. We inquired at the Enquiry counter as to from which platform the bus will leave. We were told to get into the bus that was going to Vijaydurg because the bus would be going via Gagan bawda. My wife and me we both boarded the bus and we got a window seat which for me is a big bonus. Pura paisa wasool agar kidki mil gayi toh.😍 

Soon our bus left the Bus depot and weaved its way out of the narrow crowded roads of Kolhapur toward the highway. The route was very scenic and it was raining very heavily all the way. The views outside the window were simply mesmerizing the lush greenery, the open fields, etc.

our bus passed through villages and it always fascinates me to see how people of different culture mingles, in our bus a few employees of govt organization were traveling, laughing and cracking jokes. They all looked so happy and carefree. I requested one of them to inform me when Gagan Bawda stop comes.

After about one and half hours of journey, the person who was supposed to inform me about my bus stop stood up to get down. I was like Arre Bhai agar yeh neeche utar gaya toh mere ko stop kon batayega, seeing my quizzical looks he must have understood my anxiety, he smiled at me and said in chaste Marathi pudcha stop tumcha aahe. (next stop is yours) I heaved a sigh of relief. Our bus moved on further and in just a few minutes left the road and entered a bus depot. The bus conductor announced that they are taking 10 minutes break. Most of the passengers got down and only two of us were on the bus. It was raining very heavily outside and we go hardly see anything due to poor visibility.

We decided to sit inside the bus and wait till the rain stops. As the visibility improved the view outside looked very amazing with mist around us, we clicked a few pictures, and as soon as the drizzle started again my wife and I quickly jumped into the bus again. Soon the other passengers started to get back and take their seats. Finally, the driver and conductor too boarded the bus. I asked the driver that did they take a break for lunch. He said, “No, we took the break because now the ghat section will begin from here for quite a long time”   I then asked the driver how far is Gagan Bawda from here, and he said, “Hach Gagan Bawda Cha stop aahe” (this is Gagan Bawda bus stop) I was flabbergasted and hastily jumped out of my seat and frantically waved at the driver to stop the bus. Like bumbling fools, we jumped out of the bus and walked all the way back to the bus stop. Do bechare Bina sahare…..👫

Upon reaching the bus stop, we checked out the directions from the shopkeeper as to how we can go to Gagangad fort. He pointed out the Kaman or the entrance gate which can be seen from the bus stop itself and told us to there and follow the road going uphill. Without any further thought, both of us started our trek to Gagangad fort.

The road going to Gagangad fort is a completely tarred road, hence if you have your own vehicle you can go right up to the gate. As far as we were concerned as I said earlier also Do bechare bina sahare… started walking. Honestly speaking this small trek turned out to be a blessing in disguise because as we were walking we were able to enjoy the lush greenery surrounding us, the fog which was making the atmosphere so romantic, and sometimes the drizzles that made us open our umbrella and sometimes we just soaked the wet rainfall and enjoyed the journey. At times we stopped to enjoy the mesmerizing valley below and sometimes stopped at the small waterfalls near the road which gets instantly created due to rains.

The road was long and we were the only lonely souls throughout the treks (For someone from the crowded city of Mumbai, this experience of having all of the road to ourselves was simply heavenly). at times one or two bikers whizzed passed us. Paidal paidel sirf hum dono..  and me humming.Akele hai toh kya ghum hai… bas ik zara sath ho tera  ( believe me I’ll always cherish this moment )

We had almost reached the end of the trek when my wife who was slowly getting tired playfully waved her hand to a passing car, surprisingly they stopped the car and gave us the lift, however, the lift was too short as we were almost there at our destination. Sach pucho toh lift ka kuch fayda nahi hua… Haan yeh zaroor ho gaya ki who family see dosti ho gayi and one of the boys from their family actually showed me the entire Gagangad fort, which in all likelihood I would have missed.

Gagangad fort was built by Raja Bhoj II of Shilahara dynasty in 1190 and the British demolished the fort in 1844. I was told that from the top of the fort, beautiful views of Karul ghat, Bhubawda Ghat, and the surrounding valley can be seen. The fort has natural caves where Gagangiri Maharaj used to meditate and Gagangiri math is erected at this place and many devotees visit this ashram. I was very eager to explore the fort.

There is a huge entrance gate from which the stairs to gagangad fort starts. Upon climbing few steps immediately on your right you see a large idol of a bison  and just in front of that is Mhasoba mandir .

From here to reach Gagangad fort we climb close to 100 steps , which is just at the start of Gagangad fort. Just after the gate on the left side there is a natural cave. Since Gagangiri Maharaj lived and meditated here the place has been converted into a temple We paid our respect at the Gagangiri Maharaj and as we were coming out from the math, the family who had given us the lift called out and said, Prasad lekar jana aap, At first I was puzzled as to what he was trying to say, then he waved at me and pointed his hand towards the hall opposite to the math, I was like bhai akhir kehna kya chate ho, he again indicated at me to follow him, so obediently I started to follow them and went to the hall opposite to the math. Once inside the hall I realized that it’s the place where they serve bhandara or you can say Satvik lunch of rice, sabji and dal. We squatted on the floor and had this lunch which though very basic and simple was very tasty. After finishing our meal we picked up our plates and washed them ourselves and placed them back on the shelf for another devotee. 

, oAs we were coming out of this dining hall,  one of the boys from the family who gave us the lift asked me how come I am at Gaganbawda, I told him how I love to visit offbeat places and then write about them so that the others can benefit from my experience and travel by themselves. He was quite excited to know about this passion of mine and even took my mobile number. In fact, he was so excited he said Sir mere ko humare goan ki pass bahut jagah maloom hai aur koi nayi jagah maloom padegi toh aapko phone karunga” ( Sir I know many places near my village and if I come across any new place I will share it with you) Seeing his excitement I told him that I have plans for the next day, why don’t you join me? He said, I would so love to travel with you but unfortunately I cannot because I have come to Kolhapur to give my exam so I won’t get time. However least I can do is I will show you around Gagangad Fort. I agreed immediately.

Thus once we finished exploring the ashram we had to climb little further which takes us to a plateau   above the math/ashram. while walking towards the plateau on our left we see images of various deities carved on the stone wall.

Upon reaching the plateau we see a huge temple of Gagangiri Maharaj. and behind that there are two bastions on which canions are placed however when I visited this place visibility was very poor due to dense clouds thus couldn’t see the bastions properly. We walked a little further from this place and we see a Shiva Temple perched above a mound.

At this point, my wife was feeling a little tired so I told her to sit and rest at Shiva Temple, meanwhile I further trekked with this boy to explore the top. After walking for a few minutes we come across stairs that we have to climb to reach the Hasrat Gabbi Pir Dargah. This Dargah is right at the top of Gagangad Fort , next to the dargah there is a temple of goddess Vithalai and the view from behind the dargah is an exhilarating experience.  For me clouds kept playing hide and seek so momentarily I used to catch astounding views and in the next moment, the white foggy clouds covered those views.

Believe me, friends in this dense fog which has engulfed the Gagangad fort, I could have easily missed visiting the top, Sometimes as a traveler, you are destined to visit certain places, no matter what you do, you end up being there. Perhaps this was the reason I remembered a few lines that I had read somewhere and I quote

Well, it was now time to turn back, hence we started to descend from the top of Gagangad fort to the entrance. We started our trek back to the bus station. This time, while we were getting down the hill,  the fog that was there in the morning had cleared a lot and we were lucky to witness many stunning views of the valley and the mountains around us more vividly.

It was 3 pm when we reached the base from where we started the trek in the morning. Today luck seems to be with us because when we reached the bus stand, the Kolhapur bus was standing there at the depot. We quickly jumped into the bus and soon we were on our way to Kolhapur.

If we are well on time, ie if daylight is still there, we decided that we will visit the Mahalaxmi temple today itself.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Day 1, to know whether we were able to see Mahalaxmi temple today or was our bus late to reach Kolhapur.

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