In 1630, Adilshah contolled it and in 1648, it was captured by Shivaji and appointed Netaji Palkar to guard. Then came Aurangzeb, capturing and recapturing the fort from Shivaji in 1700. The fort was developed by one of the Peshwas- Nana Phadnis, who renovated the 1st,2nd and 4th entrance to the fort. He used the fort for treasury, in the Laxmi Kothi. Later in 1818, colonel Prother captured Visapur and had took the fort without shedding a single drop of blood.

On the bright Saturday late afternoon, with two bag packs filled with necessary accessories, we boarded the local train from Goregoan to Dadar. To our surprise, the whole Mumbai seemed to be travelling that day by local...making our way through the crowd, we just got decent foothold to stand and the balance was done by dear passengers! It was a great relief to be actually thrown out the train at Dadar station, guess our adventure had already begun!!!

We were welcomed by Mr. Kaustubh, the founder member of the group. He then escorted us to the minibus for the journey to begin. Started at about 5:30 P.M., we reached our destination - Bhaje village at about 7:30 P.M. a small village with about 200 houses. What surprised me was that the village had provision of all the urban amenities including the kids having access to computers in school. The main occupation of the villagers is farming, they just harvested Rice and sown some pulses, a friendly villager told me.

All the 31 members of the trek group got formally introduced over a cup of hot tea, prepared at a grocery store. This store is well equipped with all the items one would need for a trek to the fort. So, if you forgot anything on your list, don’t panic as you may find it with this store guy. One word of caution though! If you prefer less sugar in tea, then make sure you communicate the same to avoid sipping sugary mixture than garam garam chai (tea).

It took us about half hour to get organized for our mission. Registering the instructions from the organizers, I decided to join the local village guide whom we called ’Mammu’, thanks to the popular Munna Bhai fever! We made our way on the torch lit path. The thrill of trekking through the night in these hills was definitely a unique experience. By this time, sun had already set and the starlit night was mindblowing- never before had I witnessed in this part of the country, a clear sky full of twinkles, illuminating the path and creating a sensual appeal to the atmosphere. Somehow the absence of moon did not make any difference! Must say, this night was perfectly romantic for star gazers. Cool wind swept across my face as I marched with new friends I made, and shared the same exhilarating experience of seeing the boundaries of the hills in various shades of gray and black all around us.

The trail to the top was wider in the beginning; I could see the outline of a waterfall to the left in torch lights. But as the group marched further, the trail narrowed down into a steep climb. We took our first break after walking for about 1.5 hours just on the  turning to right from `Gaimukh Khind`.  The view from here was simply astonishing. Stars from top, complementing the lights coming from houses on hills and the sight of local train serpenting its way on invisible track as a thin illuminated line in darkness. Who would not have skipped a beat and uttered 'Wow'. Gaining strength, we got ready for another 40 minutes trek to village Lohgaon and to reach the base of the fort. We took break for dinner at the local Sai hotel, where a family of 4 with 3 kids greeted us warmly. The food was homemade and simply one of the best I have had in Mumbai till now.

Quickly after dinner, the group started its journey ahead and reached the stairs leading to the top which looked like giant leaps to me. By this time my heart was beating heavily, muscles tightened and the thought of another half hour steep climb was more than notorious. But determination overpowered fatigue as the thought of being on top of the hill watching beautiful sky on flat floor in open, was tantalizing.

At about 1 A.M, we reached our destination, the imposing Narayana entrance to the Lohgarh fort, built in the 17th century, greeted us. I couldn't help thinking of the glorious days of Maratha dynasty when Lohgarh, one of the 350 odd forts spread across Maharashtra, would have held back marauding invaders. Another cliff rose by in the distance which Gaurav promptly described us to be the Visapur fort. The twin forts were used as watch towers to guard the historical trade route used by Shivaji. Shivaji battled the Moghuls throughout his battle scarred life, which started at the fort of Torna when in 1643 A.D., at the age of 16 he vowed for achieving independence from the Moghuls. The Maratha dynasty lasted for a little more than a couple of centuries after Shivaji laid the foundation to his glorious achievements.

We walked a little ahead where a flat floored surface saw all 31 dumping their bags, laid back on floor in groups, listening to Prathamesh & his team who introducted us to the world of astronomy: hunter,butterfly,bull & many more...the best was looking at the galxy 20 million light years away with telescope. Back in time, the platform served as a pad for the devotees of Lord Shiva and a small temple built near the centre of one of the sides of the platform. A statue of the Nandi bull, Lord Shiva's escort sits in front of the temple's entrance. How I wished, this night never saw dawn and time froze, the romance had just beugn...But my adventure was short lived :-( it beacme colder and unbearable to stay in open for long. So my group shifted to a big cave called 'Laxmi Kothi' where our sleeping arrangement was done. The Kothi has many rooms and prides itslef for storing   treasury of Nana Phadnis.The cosyness of the place transversed me to dreamland the moment I hit the floor while others enjoyed bon fire and lots of singing too...

By the time my eyes opened, it was already 8 A.M. The cave had many guests now, still sleeping. After refreshing, my sister decided to take a short tour of the place. Both of us were surprised to see that the fort still preserves many old constructions and much of its fortification is very intact. This became clear as both of us marched our way back to the doors which invited us last night. The 'Ganesh Darwaaja', followed by 'Narayan Darwaaja', then 'Hanuman Darwaaja' & finally 'Maha Darwaaja'. Out of these, Hanuman Darwaaja is the most ancient.The entrances and the ramparts are as they were 200 years ago. Enterance to Ganesh Darwaaja has an inscription on a rectangular stone which reveal that the construction was initiated and done by Dhondopant under Nana Phadnis. The galleries for guards reminds the heyday of this place. Between Narayan & Hanuman Darwaaja rested the place for storage of granary. After entering the Maha Darwaaja I come across an old 'Dargah' living the marks of the remnants of the court.

On the northern side of the fort is a newly built Dargah, the tomb of Sheikh Umar. The history is interesting. Three Arabs named Sheikh Umar, Sheikh Salla and Sheikh Malang invaded Pune. Salla resided in Pune city and destroyed the temples. Malang went and stayed on what is known as Malanggad, near Kalyan. Umar seized Lohgad. A sage was meditating here. Umar threw him off the cliff and became the ruler here. Today his Dargah has gained importance as pilgrimage.

Going ahead from the old Dargah towards right there is small a temple of Lord Shiva. this was the flat floor where we did star gazing last night. Going ahead we come across a small pond besides which the only drinking water reservoirs exists. After walking 15 to 20 minutes, we come to a bigger pond which was built by Nana Phadanavis. The pond is polygonal with 16 sides, and was constructed by Nana Phadnis. These big reservoirs of water are dug out and lined with circular stone walls, with stairs descending the side of these walls touching the base below. These were probably used as water reservoirs to supply the population during times of seize. Lohgarh had acquired a reputation of being impregnable during its time, which can be partly seen by the excellent fortification that could be achieved by the natural boundaries of the fort.

After this short tour, we both returned to the base cave for breakfast. Mouthwatering pohas n hot tea were more than welcome in bright chilly morning. The group decided to take a walk towards the western end of the fort, to a place called 'Vinchu Kata', which reminds of 'Sanjeevni Machi 'of Rajgad. It is 1500m long & 30m wide part of the mountain, separated from the main part. Viewing from the fort this portion looks like scorpion’s sting and hence it is called 'Vinchu Kata'. As named, this portion was to keep a watch on the surrounding region, and any activity of the enemy in its vicinity could be tackled. Ample quantity of water is available in this area. The bastion on the end of this machi is like the Armour of the fort. The passage's nearer half ended at a high rocky terrian. To reach the tip of the passage and enjoy serenic beauty of  rest of the valley, we had to climb down. This was the time for all the rock climers to get high! A perfect place to experience their favourite sports. Since I have acrophobia, I choose to take a different route, which was no less perilless, one foot slip, and I would have booked a place in Hell/ Heaven for sure! Jungle Lore guys gave the pioneers few tips to climb down the rocks and half the team decided to give it a try. After some thrilling, moments climbing down the rocks and some like me, making there way from the trail on the edge of the mountain, we reached the passage's tip from where the whole valley below came into view - an excellent vantage point for watching over vastness and tranquil of this beautiful place. We spend some private moments here, enjoying the serenity and calmness. Few shooted too, but ofcourse with their cameras.

Till noon, we explored the fort and then decided to descend down to the base village for lunch. This time we were greeted by three kids in the family, who actively worked to make all of us feel comfortable. We lazed for a while after lunch at the same place. At 4 P.M., the group marched down for another adventure, this time at the beautiful  Pavana Dam. Idea was to enjoy the breathtaking sunset besides the manmade lake. If there is one word to describe what it was to be there at sunset then i would say i was "Astonished".

Journey back to mumbai was fun too! The minibus took us from the interior of Lonavala, in persuit to find connecting road to the Express Highway...we must have travelled for some 2 hours, just to find our way from small villages to Lonavala Nagar before hitting the main road. I had the pleasure of beautiful views with beautiful people who by there sheer presence, made this trip a memoriable one.