TheFreeBird
Niraj I am planning a Lonavala trip more specifically Pawna lake, anything to do nearby ? Apart from the usual suspects of Lohagad & Visapur , there is the nearby Tung & Tikona fort. Tikona fort trek being the easiest & smallest trek of all which has spectacular views of the Pawna lake especially during sunsets. In this Tikona fort trek blog you will get all the information to plan this trek yourself. Similar treks like Tikona & more things to do in Lonavala are mentioned at the end of this post.
Is Tikona fort trek difficult for beginners ?
Niraj, how difficult is Tikona for trek for beginners? Tikona is the ideal trek for beginners to make a foray into sahyadris. After about 45 min of climb you reach the top of the fort . The climb consists of gradual ascend and steps are available at many places making it easy for a family outing – basic fitness is required. How much time does it take to complete Tikona ? Tikona will take 2 hours for the complete trek till the parking area and the extra time which you will take to just enjoy the windy views from the top.
What is the best time for Tikona fort trek ?
Being a easy trek you can do it anytime of the year. The most sought after thing in Tikona is the view from top which has the vast canvas of Pawna lake, Tung, Lohagad & Visapur. During the winter & summer you can get terrific sunsets from here while during monsoon you can enjoy the hide & seek of clouds.
Tikona fort history
Tikona fort gets its name from the pyramid/ triangular shape of the fort. It is also known as Vitandgad . Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj incorporated this fort in Swarajya along with Lohagad, Visapur, Tung and Korigad in 1657. Due to its strategic location Tikona was the centre of control for the entire Pawana Mawal region. British took over Tikona in 1818.
Where can we stay for Tikona fort trek?
Tikona trek takes about 3 hours & hence done as a day trip. Tikona Peth is a small village and has basic accommodation. If you have a planned weekend visit it would be preferable to stay in Lonavala for a comfortable time. ( During my Lonavala visit I had stayed at the luxury resorts of Dukes Retreat & Upper Deck which are very close to nature)
Tikona trek : Khane me kya hai ?
There are many hotels in Tikona Peth base village. Few new hotels have cropped up near the parking area as well. The are two food huts on trail before the main door which are operational on weekends. As always its better to carry your own water and back up food.
How to reach Tikona fort from Mumbai & Pune?
Where is Tikona located? Tikona is located in the Mawal taluka, Pune Maharashtra with the base village being Tikona Peth. It is 25kms from Lonavala which is nearest big railway station & a transport hub. To reach by public transport the best way to reach here would be to reach Lonavala from Mumbai & take a local train to Pune to get down at Kamshet station. From Pune taking a Lonavala local one can get down at Kamshet station. From Kamshet, buses run to Tikona Peth on hourly basis. The trail stars some 2km away from Tikona Peth. The best way would be to reach here by private car that way you can easily cover Pawna lake as well.
Tikona fort trek blog: TheFreeBird’s story
I wanted to visit Pawna lake, but as a trekker you don’t just visit a picnic spot , you also add a trek to the itinerary. To get a better view of Pawna I zeroed in on Tikona fort and planned to reach here by sunset. I was surprised by the pre monsoon clouds playing hide and seek with Tikona fort. Thankfully the clouds vanished later on providing a spectacular view of the surrounding which includes the Pawna lake , Tung , visapur & Lohagad.
The base village of Tikona Peth is a sleepy hamlet on normal days but is set abuzz by hordes of weekend travelers. To avoid the crowd I planned a weekday visit. In the first half I had covered Korigad and then reached Tikona after driving on a road going around Pawna lake. Reaching the parking lot, we quickly started towards the top since we were already late for the sunset. Initially the trail passes through a small jungle with no views, but after climbing a bit the beautiful views become visible
The climb is gradual and within no time we reached the first gate for the fort which is a entrance created by tunnelling through a rock. The entrance leads to the first buruj/bastion which houses the Vetal darwaja. On the right side, Pawna lake backwater started to be slowly visible and one can only gauge the vastness of the lake once you see it from the top of Tikona fort.
Entering the Vetal darwaja & going a bit ahead we find a massive Hanuman idol of almost 7ft. carved into a rock. Last time I was here the idol was in open, but now since the fort is being renovated a roof has popped up & also the older make shift rock stairs are being replaced by proper squarish steps at places. Going ahead we reach huge cave which houses a Tuljadevi mandir and to add to its mystic presence there is a huge water tank in front creating an illusion of a floating cave
This cave & the tank canopied by trees has to be the most silent & peaceful place on the fort. Our ancestors had found a perfect place to create a temple. When 10,000’s of people crowd the famous religious temples, God probably escapes that crowd & noise to such peaceful places. A meditating sadhu added a spiritual bliss to the ambience. By the cave the road forks to the top and another goes down to a different gate which is lesser used. Taking the top route first thing we see is the Chunyacha Ghana.
Chunyacha ghana consists of a stone wheel which was used to crush chuna / limestone and was mixed with jaggery to form a paste which was used as adhesive to build forts. Such paste prevented cracks in construction and also kept the structure cold unlike cement which heats up your home. I really feel by giving up our traditional knowledge we are moving backward
Fortunately these second of stairs have steel wires tied for support . If you are someone who is scared of heights then better not look down and just take one step at a time. These stair lead to the bigger entrance.
Few more stairs and we reach the main entrance of Tikona. These stairs might be the only difficult climb on the trek as these are very steep. Here we reach the main entrance of the fort. Once we cross the entrance door we see another set of stairs which are even steeper.
After climbing these stairs we reach a entrance to the Ballekilla & on the right is another set of caves. The Ballekilla has a Vitandeshwar shiv mandir , huge water tank and few remains but the major attarction is he vast canvas of Pawna lake being framed by forts of Tung, Lohagad & Visapur on 3 sides. This view can be enjoyed from the two buruj on the Pawna side.
When I reached the top the weather was clear , but within 2 minutes there was a gang of clouds terrorizing the entire region. What could have been a Pawna lake canvas was now spray painted white. This was the exact expectation when I planned this pre monsoon trek.
The hide and seek of clouds continued as the visibility on fort changed from 0 to 1 after every 2 minutes. For a minute the clouds used to clear up and the shiny water of Pawn lake would be visible before the clouds took over again. I was in heaven. I didnt expect anything better but nature god had decided to blow my mind as I could slowly see a sunset amidst all the clouds. And if the clouds cleared up I was in for a treat. It did clear up !
If this is not heaven then I dont know want to die. Finally the Pawna canvas cleared up as all the forts became visible painted in a golden hue. As I sat there mesmerised by the entire scenery an hour had passed by.
I would have sat there for few more hours if I didnt have to travel back home. With heavy heart we started the descend, reached the parking lot in 20 minutes, had some snacks, hopped on my bike & headed home.
Bye !!
That’s it for the Tikona fort trek blog.
If you have any doubts add a comment at the end of this post or reach out to me on my social media channels(at the end of this page). I also create ambience sahyadri videos on youtube.
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