TheFreeBird
Hey Niraj, can you tell me a quick trip near Nashik for a beautiful sunrise ? Anjaneri ticks all the right boxes with its simple trek, short duration, near to Nashik & most of all spectacular views ( on a clear day). Anjaneri fort has a spiritual connection being the birthplace of Lord Hanuman. How Anjaneri has remained away from spotlight is beyond me. Probably the proximity to Trimbakeshwar – 1 of 12 jyotirlingas i.e. 12 holy shrines of Lord Shiva, has kept Anjaneri fort obscure. In this Anjaneri fort blog you will all the information to plan this trek yourself. More such beautiful places & other things do in Nashik at the end of this post.
Is Anjaneri fort Trek difficult for beginners ?
Niraj, how difficult is Anjaneri fort trek for beginners? This is an easy trek in all season. In monsoon the rocky stairs can be a bit slippery but it is nothing which a good pair of shoes cant handle. My trek gear.
How long is the Anjaneri trek ?
Niraj, how much time does it take to complete anjaneri fort ? The trek starts from Anjaneri village from where it will take about 2-3 hours at normal speed including photo sessions & snacks to reach the top. Anjaneri fort has vast expanse but doesnt seem to have other remains apart from the temples , hence most people just visit the Hanuman temple at the top of Anjaneri. Walking the entire plateau will take much longer and is mostly done only by regular trekkers.
What is the best time for Anjaneri Trek ?
WINTER: Anjaneri has the most beautiful sunrises you will experience from Nashik especially from near the Hanuman lake where you get to see the reflection in the lake. To experience the best sunrise head there in winters. The number of forts are also visible in winter like AMK, Kalsubai, Kirda, Sakira, Mordhan, Kavnai, harihar, Basgad, brahmagiri & bhandardurg, Bahula etc if the weather is clear which happens after rains with the onset of winter.
MONSOON: There are beautiful waterfalls throughout the trail & the entire region is covered in lush green carpet embellished with variety of flowers. The water flowing from Anjaneri stairs in monsoon is a wonderful sight.
SUMMER: Summers can be a bit hot and should be reserved for hardcore trekkers. Early morning starts are a must if you dont want to be roasted by the hot sun.
Anjaneri History
The fort is famous for being the birthplace of Lord Hanuman. Hanuman is the son of Anjani mata & the wind god, hence known as ‘Anjani suta ‘ and ‘pavanputra’. Mythology says that Anjani mata did penance for 108 years and was blessed with Hanuman. There are many temples in Anjaneri dedicated to Anajani mata & Hanuman. In the village itself there are atleast 16 temples , 4 Hindu & 12 Jain temples giving this place a high religious significance.
Where can we stay for Anjaneri fort ?
Anjaneri itself is still not as developed inspite of such religious background. Hence better to stay at hotels in Nashik or hotels in Trimbakeshwar. Camping on the fort is no longer allowed as the forest department has made the rules more stringent. It was allowed 10 years back when I experienced one of the best sunrises near Hanuman lake. The fort entrance only allows people after 7 am till 3pm , hence if you want to get the best of the sunrise better be on time.
Anjaneri trek : Khane me kya hai ?
There are 3 small snack shacks on the trail. There is one at the forest checkpost/parking area , one near the lake & one at the top most point besides Hanuman temple. On weekdays some may be closed , but the top most ones remains open serving basic snacks.
Anjaneri fort trek map
How to reach Anjaneri from Mumbai , Pune & Nashik?
Where is Anjaneri located? Anjaneri is located in the Nashik district Maharashtra. It is 6kms from Trimbakeshwar, 20 kms from Nashik city, 175 kms from Mumbai & 220 kms from Pune.
Nearest Railway Station is Nashik road railway station
Base Village for Anajneri Trek is ofcourse Anjaneri village
Anjaneri from Mumbai, Pune & Nashik: The easiest way from Mumbai & Pune is to take the train to Nashik road railway station. Out side the station is a bus stand where you might get a bus to Anjaneri/Trimbakeshwar. Bus frequency from outside of the railway station is less. Hence one can take a bus to Nashik CBS Central bus stand and from there take one of the frequent buses to Trimbakeshwar . 20kms from Nashik towards Trimbakeshwar is the Anjaneri phata where you will be dropped in about Rs 30-40.
From the phata , one needs to walk 1.5 kms on good road till Anjaneri village, from where the rough road till the forest checkpost begins for another 2kms. Walking till the forest checkpoint from highway will take 45-60min. From the checkpost till till the Anajani mata temple on the fort will take another 60minutes, From there till top will take about 90 minutes.
Faster way from Mumbai: One can easily reach Kasara railway station and book a direct jeep till Anjaneri,. It will be slightly costly hence would be a preferred option when travelling in large number else Nashik city option is cheaper but slightly more time consuming.
Anjaneri fort Trek blog: TheFreeBird’s story
I was on my 3 day Nashik road trip and decided to end my trip on a high with the Anjaneri trek. With the goal of enjoying the sunrise from the Hanuman lake I started early from my Nashik hotel & reached Anjaneri phata in the early morning. As an auspicious start to the day I visited the Siddha Hanuman temple first before starting with the trek.
There are many temples in Anjaneri , atleast 16 of them & I didnt have time to visit that many and offered my prayers to all of them through this one.
After this, I drove till Anjaneri village on a good road and then started off to the forest check post on a rough road.
The road from the village till the check post is very rough but I could still see many people bringing their 4 wheelers here. I would have not driven my car here , but for my bike it was a cake walk which saved me some 30minutes as I would have spend atleast 45minutes walking from the Anjaneri phata.
The forest checkpost has many restrictions and strict backpack checking.
- Entry restricted from 7am to 3pm
- Cameras are not allowed. Mobile phones allowed. Dont understand this logic
- Camping is not allowed.
- Being a religious place tobacco / alcohol is not allowed.
- Feeding monkeys is a strictly prohibited
The first 25% of the Anjaneri fort trek is just walking on stone stairs accompanied my monkeys till we reach the first plateau. Going ahead is a rocky trail with metal railings which has made the route much safer as it gets slippery in monsoon.
In monsoon the monkeys are replaced by the beautiful waterfall cascading over the stairs▶️
◀️ The railing route leads to a final set of rock cut stairs. The original rock cut stairs have now been replaced by cement ones. This is the place where there are many troubling monkeys who gang up as the route is very narrow and there is no place to run
Precautions against monkeys on forts
- Dont give food to monkeys . As it increases there expectation from every other person. Plus its not good for there health
- If you have any backpack, place it in the front like I did (above) that deters the monkeys from snatching from backside
- Keep your mobiles inside. You dont want any monkey snatching your phone and messaging your girlfriend daily 😁
- If any girl in the group , let some guy carry her bag for sometime as monkeys tend to aggressively snatch from girls/ladies who are seen as soft targets
- Dont hit the monkeys as they will team up against you. You can try to scare them as a last case scenario by showing sticks or even selfie sticks. Scare them but dont hit.
- Best is not making any eye contact and quickly getting across
Because of the many monkeys I couldnt take proper photos on the stairs. There is a small Jain cave on the left side of these stairs but too many monkeys sitting there meant I didnt visit it. After the stairs is a plateau which leads to the Anjani mata temple.
This temple dedicated to Anjani mata has one of the cutest idol of young Hanuman as might have seen at the start of the blog. Bought boiled peanuts from the village girls outside the temple and made my way to the Hanuman lake to enjoy the sunrise
History of Hanuman lake / Indrakund at Anjaneri fort
Mythology says that Hanuman as a kid was attracted by the sun in the sky thinking of it as a fruit and then leaped towards it to grab the fruit from the sky. This leap caused a footprint to be imprinted on Anjaneri which is now filled with water and known as Hanuman lake. You have to trek a bit higher to see the lake appear as a foot print. The sunrise from here is one of the most beautiful ones sadly I reached a bit late that day.
On the way from the lake to the top, there is a trail on the left which leads to Sita gufa which is supposed to be the actual birth place of Hanuman. Near this cave is an ashram with 3 temples. I spend some time here and then started on the stairs to the top of the mountain & to see the foot shaped lake.
The climb from lake to the top takes about an hour, from where you get to see a wide range of mountains . Unfortunately that day it was too cloudy for a good view. I will revisit this place sometime in the future to get a better view. At the top is a huge plateau where you walk for some 30minutes to reach the main Hanuman temple.
At this temple there is a pleasant cool breeze flowing through which eases all your pains and you feel so relaxed. The interior of the temple is even cooler. I sat near the temple in silence for sometime . Rejuvenating.
Besides the temple is small snack shack from where I got tea & enjoyed it as it was cooled by the breeze. There was no point in going further on the plateau as it was cloudy and no mountains would be visible . Hence started to descend and reached down within 40 minutes at super speed. Got on my bike & headed to Trimbakeshwar for jyotirlinga visit & Brahmagiri trek
That’s it for the Anjaneri fort trek blog.
Bye !!!
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