Torna Bike Trek 13th November 2011

Torna is a fort situated about 60 kms from Pune. This fort is historically important as it was the first to be conquered by Shivaji Maharaj in his quest for Swarajya. Torna also known as Prachandagad is the highest for in the Pune district at an elevation of 1400 metres above sea level. It is said that when Shivaji Maharaj first captured this for in 1643, the soldiers tasked with rebuilding the fort found around 20 pots filled with gold, which was used by Shivaji to build Rajgad on the mountain which was situated opposite Torna.

Me and my college friends (Ankit, Nikhil & Sourabh) were planning to do a trek for quite a long time, but something always came up and the trek used to get cancelled. This was not our first trek together, we had done some treks to Lohgad, Visapur, etc. but this time we wanted to do a tougher trek and due to time constraints it had to be done in one day. After racking our brains, we finally came to the conclusion that Torna would be ideal. Everything was decided, and at the last moment, Sourabh cancelled. It was extremely irritating!! Since we had decided to go on bikes it was critical to have at least 4 people, luckily one of Ankit's friends (Pranao) joined up and the trek was on again! 

We decide to leave for Torna on 13th November at around 7 am, and as per plan me and Nikhil left from my home and waited for Ankit & Pranao to join us on the highway. They arrived by 8 pm and we left for Velhe immediately. We reached Nasrapur Phata in around one and half hours. Velhe is about 30 kms from this point. After we reached Velhe, we found out that Ankit's bike had a puncture, so we left his bike at a garage in Velhe and started our climb towards Torna. 

The route to Torna starts from the Velhe Police Station, after 3-5 minutes, there is a fork in the route. The route on the left goes towards he fort. There are 2 parts to this route;First, is the climb up to the ridge;Second, the climb from the ridge to the First Darwaja. The whole route has very little forest cover, and therefore its advised to carry sufficient water! 

A small Rest!

Nikhil sitting in Topli Karvi

It was due to this heat that by 11:30 am, all four of us were at 4 different places! I had reached the ridge and couldn't see the others. I found a small shrub of Topli Karvi which provided just enough shade allowing me to take a small nap until Ankit and Nikhil showed up. From this point onwards, we kept walking towards the fort.

About 20 minutes from the top we have to traverse the fort from the right side & in about 10 minutes we reach the steps. These steps lead to the main door or Mahadarwaja. We Reached this location at around 1 pm.
Immediately after crossing the Maha Darwaja, we are greeted by a huge buruj (bastion). Further along the route, we come to another Darwaja. After going through this gate we finally reach the top.

First Darwaja

First Buruj

Second Darwaja

Zunjar Machi

The fort is quite vast. After we enter the fort by the above route,there are two ways you can take. The one in the front goes towards the Temple of Mengai Devi and Budhala Machi; while the route to the east leads to the Zunjar Machi. In this direction there is a bastion which overlooks Zunjar machi. One can get a good view of the machi and Rajgad from this point. About 10 metres before the buruj, there is a iron ladder attached to the fortifications using which one can descend to the machi. It is recomended to be extremely careful while descending to the machi since it can be dangerous IF WE ARE NOT CAREFUL!!!

Returning by the same route, we reached the Mengai Devi Temple, and took a small nap. Due to the high heat of the day we could not find the energy to fully explore the fort and the time constraints ensured that we could not stay overnight at the fort.

We started to descend the fort at around 4 pm and reached Velhe at around 5:30. We had some snacks at a hotel in Velhe (also named Torna) and left immediately. We had tea at one of Nikhil's relatives in Vinzar (about 8 kms from Velhe). We had started to leave when Ankit's bike once again almost ditched us again when the key of the petrol knob broke! Luckily we were able to turn it and switch the petrol knob ON. 
We returned to Pune by 9 pm.