Tandulwadi – a trek

Tandulwadi village, accessible by ST bus from Safale station on Mumbai’s western line, is the base village for the trek to Tandulwadi Fort.

And what a trek it was! Harder that anticipated! And the weather was hot!

Tandulwadi Fort trek is not very popular like the other known forts and is among the very few ones that lie on the western line of Mumbai local trains (the others being Takmak and Asherigad that we intend to explore in the days to come). We did this trek on 23rd Nov 2018 – hot and sunny!

How to reach:

Take a local or shuttle train to Saphale and take an ST to Tandulwadi base village. In case of any doubts ask the conductor for the ‘trek’ start point.

The trek itself:

The trail is not well marked but you can find some white arrows in some rocks pointing you to the right direction.

There are 2-3 routes to reach the top, which is marked by a bunch of water-filled cisterns, and we chose the shorter but tougher one. This involved about 40 mins of rock climbing on all 4 limbs. This is harder than the one encountered at Harishchandragadh since the Rick patch goes on and on and could be risky in monsoons.

The other route is simpler but longer.

In case of doubt take a local to guide you on the right path.

If you are heading to the peak in monsoon, worry not. You should have enough groups climbing with you that you aren’t likely to lose the way.

What’s on the top:

There’s nothing available on the top or on the route. Not even water. Carry all you will need especially water. And barring the first 30 percent you won’t have foliage cover to save you from the sun.

At the top of the fort you will find some cisterns, generally filled with water, but hardly any fortifications.

The water in the cisterns, though not suitable for drinking, seemed clear barring the algae.

Picture Credit: Nagesh Gawde. https://nageshgawadeblog.wordpress.com/

Have you been to Tandulwadi? What was your experience?

Have you explored any other trekking destinations on the Mumbai Western line?