Harihar Fort Trek ❤️ For the love of vertical stairs

Harihar fort has become famous because of the scary videos of its vertical stairs. In reality the vertical stairs can be difficult for some but are not as risky as portrayed on social media. When I had first seen the photos of Harihar fort I was not only smitten by the beauty of the stairs but was just amazed by the sheer skillsets possessed by our ancestors to build this architectural marvel with just hammers and chisels. This Harihar fort Trek blog captures my trek journey and will be your Harihar fort trek guide to plan this trek yourself. More adventures like Harihar fort at the end of this post.

How long is the Harihar fort trek ?

Niraj, how much time does it take to complete this Harihar fort trek ? With good stamina it takes about 90 minutes to reach the top from Nirgudnpada base village (even lesser from Harshewadi base village) & another 50 minutes to explore the top . More time would be required if are photographer as the rock cut stairs are really beautiful !

Is Harihar fort trek difficult for beginners ?

Niraj, what is the difficulty level for Harihar fort ? Harihar is a small fort & a simple trek. Only thing you can find difficult are the steep stairs. If you dont have a fear of heights then it should be as easy as climbing the stairs of a building since the stairs also have holds cut in the rock face for a proper grip. During monsoon it becomes risky due to slippery stairs.

What is the best time for Harihar Fort Trek ?

WINTER: The best time for Harihar fort trek is winter when the weather is cool & you can enjoy beautiful sunsets from top. Winter time just after monsoon also gives a clear weather where you spot many nearby forts which are mostly hidden throughout the year.

MONSOON: For adventure lovers monsoon provides such a thrilling time on stairs. Plus the view of stairs disappearing in the clouds makes it a exciting trek. However As Harihar fort has become extremely famous it is very crowded on monsoon weekends. With narrow slippery stairs as the only access route for Harihar fort & with more than 100 people waiting their turn to climb & descend from the same route makes it risky. Hence it is better to avoid on monsoon weekends. Monsoon weekdays seem to be a better option . Here are other sahyadri treks which you can choose to do otherwise.

SUMMER: Summer time is strictly for pro-trekkers who like trekking more than photos for social media. Early morning starts in summer are must if you dont want to face the wrath of the hot sun.

Food & Stay at Harihar Fort

On weekends you can find many food huts selling snacks throughout the trek route. Nirgudpada has plenty of bigger hotels. You can always camp on the fort or stay in the temple/schools at the base village. ( checkout my trek food & trek gear )

How to reach Harihar Fort from Mumbai & Pune?

Where is the Harihar fort located? Harihar fort lies in Nashik district of Maharashtra , India. Harihar fort is 60kms from Kasara/Igatpuri & 40 kms from Nashik. There are two routes to Harihar fort Nashik based on the following base village

1. Nirgunpada is the most widely used base village near by Kasara/Igatpuri/Ghoti
2. Harshewadi is another base location which is easier route for Harihar trek mostly preferred from Nashik/ Trimbak side

NEAREST RAILWAY STATION: Nashik & Igatpuri are the nearest big railway stations for Harihar fort. Kasara railway is slightly far away railway station as compared to Igatpuri but has better connectivity

Ways to reach Nirgunpada (Preferred for Igatpuri/ Kasara side)

• FROM KASARA STATION: There is no direct transport to Nirgunpada. One can share the jeep from Kasara to Khodala (Rs 50 approx.) and change vehicles to Nirgunpada ( bus or taxi). Takes around 90 minutes if you planning to travel in the morning. We had booked a complete taxi from Kasara to Nirgunpada ( jeep with Mr. Prakash – 9823986233 )
• FROM IGATPURI: One can board in a bus for Trimbakeshwar and alight at Nirgudpada ( confirm the bus route before hand as the bus have alternate routes bypassing Nirgudpada as well)
• FROM GHOTI: bus stand you can get bus as well as  sharing jeeps / taxi to Nirgunpada

Ways to reach Harshewadi (Preferred for Nashik/Trimbak side)

• FROM IGATPURI: One can take the  Igatpuri – Khodala-Trimbakeshwar bus and get down at Kasurli. From Kasurli village one has to climb a small hill to reach Harshewadi. But the frequency of this is pretty low.
• FROM NASHIK: better option is to reach Trimbakeshwar which has proper road connectivity through out the day from Nashik. From Trimbakeshwar you can bargain with an auto/ taxi to drop you to Harhsewadi (Rs 350-500 )

Harshewadi route for the Harihar fort trek is slightly easier as compared to the route from Nirgudpada and is mostly preferred if you have personal vehicle. Nirgudpada route is the most famous trail & I would be focusing on the Nirgudpada trail. The Harshewadi trail to Harihar is straight forward and well marked & meets the Nirgudpada trail at the plateau.

Harihar fort trek route map

Harihar trek Blog: TheFreeBird’s Story

Since the time I first saw Harihar fort stair photos I wanted to see the vertical stairs & to trek here on a rainy day. As fate it would have it I reached here on hot summer day. It was a hot afternoon and we couldn’t  have chosen a more difficult time for the climb. After we completed the Basgad fort in the morning we returned to Nirgudpada (which is the base village for both Harihar & Basgad trek).

We refilled our bottles at well nearby & had lunch in the shadows of a big mango tree. Morning trek was tiring and the lunch made me drowsy. I would have dozed off, but just the idea of climbing those vertical stairs got me excited. We had two options either to walk to Kotamwadi nearby & then take the Harihar trail or take a short cut from Nirgudpada ( from a dhaba) to the meet the Kotamwadi trail midway. We decided to take the shortcut. Both the trails are almost same distance.

At that time when we visited there was just a small trail through the paddy fields which was quite confusing. As it has become a huge tourist destination now the route is well marked. Due to the heat we had to stop frequently but with couple of ORS we were charged up

Initial trail is on flat land till we reach the base of Harihar fort hill. Here we took a left turn to start a small climb to reach a plateau. On this plateau another trail from Harshewadi merges. There is a small food hut which serves snacks & more importantly cold drinks. I have a thing for lemonade on hot trek days. On that day I would have even paid 1000 Rs for that cold lemon juice. I had three full glasses. Blessed.

Recharged we started walking ahead. Soon Harihar fort became visible in all its glory. I have always admired these rock cut stairs on all the forts like Kothaligad, Bhairavgad, Bahulagad, kalavantin .. These Harihar stairs however would have been very risky to be build. Makes one realize that the skilled people who built this centuries ago with hammers & chisels indeed had a balls of titanium.

After taking lots of photos we started the climb. Every step has a notch carved for a good hand grip making it easier to climb. These stairs are much easier to climb than they appear in the picture. However If you are afraid of heights better not look back from this point

Few of my freinds who were new trekkers got scared with the sight of these stairs. But once they got the hang of it they quickly started climbing with ease & reached the top. Finally at the top of these stairs we heaved a sigh of relief as we got some much needed relief from the sun in the Harihar fort’s shadow..

Once pass the main entrance the route slithers to the top through the huge rock in a mesmerizing way. Harihar fort is a huge piece of rock where every route till the top is carved by hand. Such an architectural wonder.

These second set of stairs have remained relatively unbranded as compared to the huge celebrity status of the main stairs. These stairs are much more stunning as they are curved like a slithering snake & are situated at a much higher place with a green jungle backdrop. The stairs reach a tunnel carved through the huge rock which reaches the second entrance of Harihar fort. These stair structure is similar to Kothaligad where stairs are carved through huge rocks & through tunnels.

We get a beautiful 360 view from here which would have been used to keep track of all the enemy movements in the neighbouring area. Brahmagiri & Bhandardurg fort are visible from here. Brahamagiri is the origin of 3 rivers including Godavari while Bhandardurg has a stairs cut through entire rocks which lead to tunnels & rock bridges. Both of these are very unique forts & I would suggest to visit those if you liked Harihar stairs.

On the other side of the fort near the entrance we can see Basgad, Feni & Utwad. Many other forts from the Kasara range are visible if there is clear climate ( mostly after monsoon)

The highest point of Harihar fort is a ballekilla ( small fort within a fort) which has flag mounted on top. After spending 2 hours at the top of Harihar we started our descend via the zig zag stairs. Climbing the stairs was a huge adrenaline pump. But looking down at the same stairs gave me different feeling all together. As the mountain saying goes descending is much more difficult & riskier than the climb.

By the time I climbed down the stairs the climate had become cooler and the views had become more beautiful with the softer ambient lights. Wish i had waited at the top for the sunset.

Since we were already late for our train from Kasara we hurried our way to Nirgudpada. We breezed through the descent in half an hour, reached our jeep , had lemonades and hurried off to Kasara.

With a tired body and a mind full of memories we headed back to Mumbai. Till next time.

Bye !!

That’s it for the Harihar fort trek blog.