Torna Fort

A year back, when I came to Pune I had a long list of forts that I wanted to climb. One of them was Torna, the tallest pinnacle in the south region of Pune and the first hill fort to be captured by the great warrior Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at age of 16! The elevation of this fort is 1403 meters / 4603 ft – making it the highest hill fort in the Pune district.

Many people plan Raigad-Torna together as two days trek. Due to time constraints, we decided to explore only Torna. Since it was a one-day plan so we decided to start early morning at 7:00 am from Pune. We boarded a bus for Velhe village from the Swargate bus stand. The reason was just monsoon or public holiday on weekdays, the bus was not crowded and we easily got the seats. It took around 2 hours to reach the base village, Velhe. After getting down, we went straight to a Dhaba to eat Vada pavs. It was quite fresh so we packed some Vada paavs to eat later.

We were all set to walk uphill. The first half of the trek is easy. The rain and sun decided to be playful which added little thrill to the trek and nature unfolded different perspectives of the same view. At the same time, it was getting difficult to freeze the views in photos.

We were talking about books, life, and relationships. For some time we heard some continuous undistinguished noise and we paused for a while. We kept taking baby steps and realized its burbling sound made by a waterfall!! In excitement, we walked briskly, and then we saw a heavenly waterfall, half-covered in fog. The view was breathtaking! We spent around 40 mins at this spot, playing with water and capturing some moments. I enjoyed eating Vada paav and sitting in nature’s lap with this beautiful view.

In the second half trek, there are some rough and slippery patches. With rains, one might find it a little difficult so go slow and take a good amount of time at such patches.

At Shiva Temple, locals were serving tea and snacks. We had a cup of tea with foggy views 🙂 We spent some time exploring the fort but nothing was visible after 3-4 meters so we started descending down. Walking downhill is easy, one could reach the plateau in very less time and enjoy the view of Gunjvane Dam.

After reaching the base village, we boarded a 5:00 PM bus for Pune 🙂

How to reach Torna

Places to see at the Torna fort?

Zunjar Machi, Budhla Machi, Kokan darwaja, Kothi Darwaja, Bini Darwaja, Menghai Goddess temple, Toranjai Goddess temple,Sadar.

Where to stay at Torna?

There are no hotels, huts, houses, or other places to stay at Torna or its nearby areas. One could carry tents and sleeping bags on their own. Torna is best done as a day-climb, where the descent is completed before the last state transport bus leaves for Pune.

Best weather to visit Torna?

Due to fog, the fort was partially visible so if your priority is watching the top view of the fort then visit during winters. Monsoon offers some heavenly views.

Overall expenses

S.No	Activities	Expenses
1.	Travel	150
2.	Food	100
	Total :	250 INR

Thanks for reading 🙂