Lohagad Fort: 4 things to know about this trekking haven with ancient roots

Lohagad, literally meaning an Iron Fort in Marathi, is often confused with Rajasthan’s mud-walled Lohagarh Fort. The massive hilltop fortress, Lohagad Fort, is perched at an elevation of 3,389 feet in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, very close to Lonavala.

Lohagad's naturally steep cliffs and height made it one of the most secure strongholds in Maharashtra, until Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj captured the fort in 1648. Though he temporarily lost it to the Mughals under the Treaty of Purandar in 1665, he recaptured it soon, in 1670. Shivaji Maharaj later chose Lohagad as the primary treasury vault to house the immense wealth and loot acquired from his successful campaigns in Surat, securely.

One of the fort's most distinctive architectural features would be the long, narrow, and heavily fortified spur of rock which extends from the main body of the fort out into the valley. Because its naturally curved shape strongly resembles a scorpion's stinger, it is called the Vinchukada. This served as an incredible lookout point for soldiers to monitor the trade routes and enemy movements below, making the fort nearly impossible to surprise.

To reach the top, attackers had to clear a steep, serpentine staircase guarded by not one but four grand, sequential gates that are still remarkably intact today: Ganesh Darwaja, Narayan Darwaja, Hanuman Darwaja, and Maha Darwaja, which are heavily reinforced with sharp iron spikes designed to prevent enemy war elephants from ramming them down.

There is a grim legend behind the Ganesh Darwaja when it was getting reconstructed overseen by the Maratha statesman Nana Phadnavis. The foundations repeatedly collapsed until a local villager voluntarily sacrificed his family members to appease the hill deity, after which the walls stood firm, miraculously.

Though heavily associated with the Maratha and Peshwa histories, the site's history stretches back over 2,000 years and is said to have been originally used by the ancient dynasties like the Satavahanas, Chalukyas, and Yadavas. In fact, a Jain Brahmi script inscription dating back to the 1st or 2nd Century BCE was discovered in the rock-cut caves on the fort’s south face, confirming its ancient spiritual and military legacy.

Today, Lohagad is heavily protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and is one of the most popular monsoon trekking destinations in Maharashtra, famously turning lush green and cloaked in dense mist during the rainy season.

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