History of Prabalgad Fort
Alternate name for Prabalgad (प्रबळगड) is Muranjan Gad (मुरंजन गड)
Prabalgad was built in 1458 AD by the Bahmani Sultanate to keep the watch on the Panvel fort and the Kalyan fort in the north side of the Konkan.
Malik Ahmed, the prime minister of Ahmednagar kingdom built this fort during the capture of Konkan region.
After the fall of Bahmani sultanates the fort stayed with the Ahmednagar sultanate. While the Ahmednagar Sultanate was about to end, Shahaji Raje moved to Muranjan with his wife Jijabai and son Shivaji Maharaj for long time.
Shahaji Raje followed defeat from Mughal Empire and the Adilshahi family and surrendered this fort with the north Konkan and Prabalgad to the Mahuli, Mughals . Mughals authorized Prabalgad to Adilshah of Bijapur.
In 1657 during the establishment of Kalyan – Bhivandi area, Shivaji Maharaj captured Prabalgad from the Mughals.
Kesarsingh a Mughal sardar the governor of the fort gave a strong fight to Shivaji Maharaj during this capture. Kesarsingh died in the battle in October 1657.
‘Jauhar’ (a tradition of getting to respectful death by jumping into Chita – burning woods) was performed by the woman seeing the defeat of Kesarsingh.
Shivaji Maharaj proved his kindness and let his mother and grandchild free to go.
It is also said that in the year 1826 Umaji Naik (a freedom fighter) made shelter alongwith his friends here for a long time.
Recent history in English era
Matheran hill station developed by the British collector of Thane, Mr. Hugh Poyntz Malet in May 1850.
Prabalgad is near to Matheran and has good plateau with dense forest English people also thought of converting Prabalgad into a hill station, however due to lack of water availability this plan was dropped.
Although there is a Dodhani Lake (गाडेश्वर तलाव) near the Chanderi fort.
Difficulty level
height is 2300 feet,
Best time to visit
Things to see ! Wiki link about Prabalgad
- I would say sun set from Prbal Machi village is a thing to experience
- Kalavanteendurg (कलावंतीनदुर्ग)
- East, Ulahas River
- West, Gadhi River, and the Chanderi and Peb forts
- South, Patalganga River, and Manikgad
- North, Karnala fort
- Kelve Teen (also known as Kalavantin or Kalavantinicha Sulka) is a 500m high pinnacle on the northern edge of the Prabal plateau. It is located near the Machi and Vajepur villages.
- Kala buruj
- Borichi sond
- Matheran(2516 feet),
- Mhasmal (म्हेसमाळ) (2339 feet),
- Malanggad (2595 feet),
- Nakhind (नाखिंड) (2311 feet),
- Navra-Navri (2011 feet),
- Tavli (2594 feet),
- Badlapur Hill (2420 feet),
- Peb fort (1554 feet).
Place to stay, camping, food & water
Namdev 9209461474 / Balu 8097089491 / Nilesh 8056186321 (food and stay)
Location
How to reach
- Own car – Drive down to Thakurwadi (from Shedung phata – Kalamboli-Mumbai bypass road meets the Mumbai-Pune highway)
- ST bus from Panvel to Thakurwadi
- 6 seater Minidor auto-rickshaws – Gandhi Hospital and Old Panvel to Thakurwadi
Fron Thakurwadi walk to base village Prbal Machi - By Air : The nearest airport is situated at Mumbai at a distance of about 50 km.
Pune to Prabalgad By Bus
- Pune to Panvel ST (State Transport) buses or local transports (Pune to Panvel distance 115 kilometers)
- Panvel to to base village of Prabalgad (Thakurwadi) ST (State Transport) bus available (15 kilometers)
Pune to Prabalgad By Train
- Pune to Panvel tains (Pune to Panvel 93 kilometers by train)
View Train Time Table - Panvel to to base village of Prabalgad (Thakurwadi) ST (State Transport) bus available (15 kilometers)
Pune to Prabalgad By Road
- Get on to Mumbai – Pune express highway NH 4 to reach Lonavla
- Lonavla – Khopoli – Khalapur – Shedung Phata via Thakurwadi (base village of Prabalgad)
- Shivajinagar – Chinchwad – Dehu Road – Lonavala – Khopoli – Khalapur – Thakurwadi – Prabalgad.
Way from Mumbai to Prabalgad Fort
Mumbai to Prabalgad By Bus
- Mumbai to Panvel by ST (State Transport) buses or local transport(36 kilometers)
- Panvel to to base village of Prabalgad (Thakurwadi) ST (State Transport) bus available (15 kilometers)
Mumbai to Prabalgad By Train
- Mumbai to Panvel train (36 kilometers)
- View Train Time Table
- Panvel to to base village of Prabalgad (Thakurwadi) ST (State Transport) bus available (15 kilometers)
Mumbai to Prabalgad By Road
- Mumbai via Pune-Mumbai express highway NH 4 reach Shedung Phata, then go to Thakurwadi (base village of Prabalgad)
Places to visit nearby the Prabalgad Fort
- Irshalgad (Read more about Irshalgad on Wiki)
Irshal gad is a pinnacle standing 3700 feet above the sea level and a very hard trek.
On January 23, 1972, climber Kumar Prakash Durve lost his life falling while climbing the pinnacle.
Many trekkers from Mumbai and Thane come to give a tribute to him on this day. - Other places nearby the Prabalgad are Gadeshwara Dam, Zenith Falls, Karnala Bird Sanctuary, Bhavani Temple
My Experience of Prabalgad trek
Read about FONA (Friends Of Nature Association)
Precautions
- Use proper trekking gears for this trek (Read my Guide on Best Trekking Shoes in India)
- Carry sufficient amount of water, I recommend at least 2.5 liter per person, being humid it sucks your energy.
- Fort top is having dense jungle so recommend to take local guide (charges 100 Rs) so as to see all the points mentioned in “what to see on Prabalgad”On the way to Village Prbal machi (started from Thakurwadi)
- Do read my guide on Things to carry during Trekking in India
First rest point, here we tried short cut, which was too steep to climb ! shortcut consumed more time than we thought 😛
Local Guide and Persons in village
Finally contact numbers for food and stay at base village … suggest to have a stay here to have homely food and jungle night ..
Namdev 9209461474 / Balu 8097089491 / Nilesh 8056186321 (food and stay)
Map to Prabalgad from Pune
And if you wish to know about my previous trek to Kalavantin Durg then Do Read it here
Dear Tourist,
Machi Prabal is an ancient and beautiful village. It is situated half-way up a mountain (such a plateau or ledge is called a “Machi” in Marathi) at the base of the fort Prabalgad. Because of the two forts Prabalgad and Kalavantin and the natural beauty of the surrounding regions, many visitors and fort-enthusiasts are attracted to this place.
To fully explore this area, you will need at least two days. However, many visitors have had some difficulty in finding food and lodging near this village. Some visitors would return home after one day tour and others would spend the night sleeping outdoors on the grass and eating whatever they could bring or manage to obtain. It is also hard for ladies and children to stay here comfortably.
My name is Nilesh Bhutambara (I am called “Bhau” by those close to me, especially by everyone in my village). I’m the only “Adivasi” boy to graduate from my village. One day, while i was searching for information about my village and the fort of Kalavantin Durg and Prabalgad, i saw that there are lot of tourists who visit this fort and report on their blog or website. Some of these tourists motioned that there is no facility available for food or accommodation. That is when I decided to provide these facilities to Prabalgad and Kalavantin Durg tourists. My Graduation and Diploma in Programming Language helped me make web page to spread the word about my idea and services.
Suggestions and feedback about the services provided by this venture are most welcome. Your suggestions will help us improve the service experience that we provide to other tourists like you.
Please e-mail your suggestions to: [email protected] You can contact me through my mobile-phone at 08056186321 (Please remember to add the “0” at the beginning.)
The site is good and knowledgeable. But what is more difficult kalavantin or prabalgad.?
Both forts are of similar difficulties, but Prabalgad is slightly more difficult.
Is it advisable to visit prabalgad fort during month of may?
You can do Prabalgad trek in Summer (April-May), Suggest you to reach Prabal Machi village Saturday evening, stay there and then get to the fort top early morning 4~5 am so as to get back before sunburn begins ….
Prabalgad trek is one of the famous and popular trek for Mumbai trekkers. You can also do camping in the base village and do Prabalgad trek early morning. Locals serve veg as well as non veg food which is delicious home made food. TrekBook India provides an excellent information on treks near Mumbai and Pune, all minute details are given such as phone numbers, does and don’ts. Thank you for that.