Sahyadri Mountain Range of Maharashtra
Earlier, differential erosion of lava has resulted in characteristic steppe-like slopes, uniform crest lines, and a tabletop the appearance of many pinnacles, which formed the Sahyadri Mountain range across Maharashtra.
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Index of the blog
Note: Click on any below topic to reach it directly.
- Sahyadri Ranges
- Kalsubai Mountain Range
- Ratangad Mountain Range
- Harishchandragad Mountain Range
- Harishchandragad-Ratangad Mountain Range
- Malshej Mountain Range
- Baglan Mountain Range
- Mountain Peaks in Maharashtra
- Final Thoughts
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In 1860 Archdeacon Gell wrote the following account of a visit to Kalsubai, the highest peak in the Sahyadri
“To the northward, lay a ruck of hills, sinking into the wide Godavari plain, the great rocks of Trimbak, Anjani at its source being distinctly observable.
A shade of green in the far plain showed where lay the city of Nasik, over which rose the Dhair(Bhorgad), Ramshej, and their range of hills.
Above and beyond, the great Chandor range stretched across the horizon; Achla, Ahivant, Saptashring, Markinda, Ravlya-Javlya, Doramb or Dhodap, Rajdhair, and Indrai lifting their sunlit heads against the morning sky.
To the west on the Kalsubai range itself, were Alang and Kulang, and to the east.
And north-east the giant heads of Bitangad, Pattah, and Aundha.
To the south the eye ranged over-dense forests, rising amid which, along the line of the Sahyadris, were several more forts, the chief of them Harishchandragad;
And beyond, to the south and west, lay the Konkan, and resting on it the great fort of Mahuli.
Further to the south, the Matheran range was dimly visible, like islands.”
These majestic mountain ranges of Sahyadri make some jaw-dropping sights in Maharashtra.
Let’s get lost into some of the renowned mountain range in the Sahyadri.
KALSUBAI – HARISHCHANDRAGAD WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
Located at about 5400 ft. on the Sahyadri ranges, Kalsubai – Harishchandragad Wildlife Sanctuary is nature’s heaven, which is the home to varieties of flora and fauna. The name came from the strategic location it possesses as it spreads its land right from Kalsubai peak, ‘the highest peak of Maharashtra’ to Harishchandragad, one of the favorite adventure destinations in Maharashtra.
The sanctuary contains challenging and many highest peaks of Maharashtra standing in series forming many mountain ranges of Sahyadri.
One can see the vast expanse of Harishchandragad Mountain range to the south, Ratangad Mountain range to the west, and Kalsubai Mountain range to the north spread in the sanctuary area.
1)Kalsubai Mountain Range
Located exactly on the border of Nashik and Ahmednagar District, Kalsubai peak is standing at a staggering height of 5400 ft. Therefore, this “Everest of Maharashtra” offers stunning views of other Sahyadri ranges in the wildlife sanctuary.
Along with the highest peak of Maharashtra, the Kalsubai Mountain range having some offbeat pinnacles standing in series such as Gidhada, Kirida, Sindola, Sakira, and Alang fort, Madan pinnacle & Kulang fort which are known as the “toughest trio of Sahyadri.”
Alang Madan Kulang (AMK)
All of these three pinnacles standing at the height of 4000-5000 ft. at the end of the Kalsubai range, together appear as ‘Crown of Sahyadri’.
Not just the views from the top, the combination of dense forests, thrilling rock patches in the Kalsubai range offers trekking, climbing, rappelling, traversing, jungle walk, walking on the edge, steep stairs with gorge at one end that makes it one of the most challenging peaks in the Sahyadri ranges, which is a dream for every adventure lover to explore once in their lifetime.
Looking forward to planning a visit to Kalsubai? check it out the detailed Kalsubai trek guide here.
2)Ratangad Mountain Range
Because of its geological structure, Ratangad, a 400 years old fort truly appears as a Jewel of this Mountain range, overlooking the locale of the Bhandardara dam region.
There is a natural hole in the mountain top probably caused by wind erosion. This Wonder of Sahyadri is 10 feet high and 60 feet wide. Due to its shape, it is called Nedhe or Needle.
Ratangad Mountain range is the Highest Mountain range in Sahyadri extended between Kalsubai and Harishchandragad mountain ranges.
This range is also called the ‘Ajoba Mountain range’ as it started from Ajoba mountain since it is largest among all and standing south-west of Kalsubai peak, then the range continues with Panchghar or Karanda peak and then it joined Ratangad fort with Khutta and Baan pinnacles through mighty Katrabai pinnacle.
Further, the range stretches to other highest peaks of Maharashtra such as Muda (4th highest), Gavaldev (5th highest), Ghanchakkar (3rd highest), and end at Bhairavgad fort of Shirpunje village.
Located to the north of Ratangad, Sandhan Valley, the depth of the number two in the continent is in Asia, is a one-and-a-half-kilometer distance from Samrad village which is the base village to many of the peaks in this range.
Katrabai Pass
It is the most important pass on this Trans Sahyadri exploration since it is a passage between the Ratangad and Harishchandragad Mountain ranges.
One can descend through this pass towards Kamshet village which is the base of Ajoba mountain and also a narrow valley that descends from Katrabai into the Konkan region; this should be the deepest valley (1200 ft) in the Sahyadri.
Looking forward to planning a visit to Ratangad? check it out the detailed Ratangad trek guide here.
3)Harishchandragad Mountain Range
Harishchandragad, one of the important hills fort Standing at 4691 ft. in front of Malshej Ghat, playing a major role in guarding and controlling the surrounding region in the sanctuary.
Harishchandragad itself the largest mountain range because of its large area, geology, and surrounding peaks.
There are several individual peaks are connected to Harishchandragad through Nal or passage through a gorge such as Rohidas peak, Sitecha Dongar (hill) or Nagfana, Nhapta twin peak through Nalichi Wat, Makad Nal, and Rohidas Nal.
Kokankada
Between Rohidas and Sitecha Dongar, there is a natural wide concave structure wide cliff faces to the west and looks down upon the Konkan region, hence it named “Konkan Kada”.
The cliff has an overhang but has been climbed many times. Because of this wonder in Sahyadri, Harishchandragad has become the most visited place in Maharashtra.
Like Ratangad, Harishchandragad also has big Nedhe formed on the ridge towards Malshej Ghat. One can get a glimpse of it while trekking through Khireshwar which is the major base village of Harishchandragad. To see a clear view of Nedhe, one has to climb the top points of Harishchandragad, which are Balekilla and Taramati.
Being on one of the highest peaks (14th) in Maharashtra, one can experience one of the best views in Sahyadri as several mountains of both Kalsubai and Ratangad Mountain ranges can see from Taramati peak.
Plus, if the weather is clear then one can witness the mind-blowing sceneries of the Junnar region that includes its major forts such as Shivneri fort, Hadsar fort, Nimgiri fort, Hanumantgad, Chavand fort & Hatakeshwar Mountain range which lies to the north beyond the Malshej Ghat.
While there is the 6th highest peak, Karkai along with its twin peak, Ambedara, and Kunjagad fort lies on the east of Harishchandragad.
Looking forward to planning a visit to Harishchandragad? check out the detailed Harishchandragad trek guide here
Harishchandragad-ratangad mountain range
Some unique mountains in this sanctuary spread in the north-west of Harishchandragad such as Judi peak, Kumshetcha Kombada pinnacle, Kumshetcha Konkankada (cliff) formed its own mountain range through Sadhale ghat, Umbardar ghat, Ghodishop ridge, and Pathara ghat which connects Harishchandragad range to Ratangad range through the hill of Sitamaicha Palna.
Similarly, further several unknown mountains in the Ghatghar region of Ahmednagar and Sandhan Valley connect the Ratangad range to the Kalsubai range through the Kulang fort.
Being sprawled at such a height and connected with each other’s, all three mountain ranges in the Kalsubai – Harishchandragad Wildlife Sanctuary region are an ideal place for trekking and other adventurous activities.
Malshej MOUNTAIN RANGE
As the name suggests, Malshet ghat is a mountain pass situated 2250 ft. between Pune and Ahmednagar region.
A motorable road built on the ghat connects Mumbai and Konkan to Ahmednagar hence it called “Ahmednagar-Kalyan road”.
While traveling through this road on Malshej Ghat, one can see gigantic mountains of the Malshej Mountain range.
It starts between Naneghat Mountain Pass and Varhadi Pinnacles, where Bhimashankar Mountain range of Lonavala joined to Junnar through Sidhhagad mountain, Ahupe Ghat & Durg-Dhakoba mountains and finally at Jivdhan fort on the Naneghat along with Vanarlingi and Avlyachi Lingi.
OFFBEAT PINNACLES IN RANGE
In the Malshej range, a series of pinnacles of Varhadi further joined to mighty twin peaks of Daundya through Bhairavgad of Moroshi, another adventurous pinnacle in Maharashtra that faces on the northern side towards Harishchandragad.
Also, Daundya peaks connected to Bhojgiri mountains through the wide hill of Mhashedi in the southern direction that already connected to the twin pinnacles such as Nimgiri fort – Hanumantgad on the eastern side along with Hadsar fort and Hatkeshwar Mountain range of Junnar.
Although these mountains are connected by various spurs of mighty hills which got named from temples of its local goddess such as Magnimata, Dhanubai & Mhashedi.
Finally, the Malshej range continues from the Bhojgiri to the Ghunya pinnacle along with Tiwai(three) peaks and Uthalya mountain, then ends at the base of Sindola fort where the road goes southern direction towards Junnar region through Vel Khind between Sindola and Shrikhoba pinnacle. Further, the road split into two; one becomes National Highway 46 to goes to Ahmednagar region and the other one goes to Junnar city.
Therefore, each of the mountains in the Malshej range is connected to many other Mountain ranges of different regions in Sahyadri, which’s why the Malshej Mountain range became an important mountain pass in Sahyadri to keep watch on four main regions of Maharashtra such as Konkan, Mumbai, Ahmednagar, and Pune.
BAGLAN MOUNTAIN RANGE
Located in the ranges of the Sahyadri, Baglan is a Taluka (tehsil) in the Nashik District of Maharashtra. Sometimes Baglan Taluka is unofficially referred to as Satana, because of that city’s dominance within the taluka.
The fiercest and the largest open battle between Mughals and Marathas was fought here in the year 1671 and conquered by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Since Baglan region has many temples, caves, historical forts, and natural sights that are tourist attractions.
Forts on these mountains are located on the border of the dense forest of the Daang region of West Gujarat and Baglan. All these forts were maintained to keep watch on the Burhanpur-Surat ancient commercial road.
There are two main hill ranges in the Baglan area the Selbari range is south of the Dolbari range. These two ranges run parallel to each other in the east-west direction. The road passes between the two hill ranges. Selbari ranges are said to be the entry to the Sahyadris from the North. Salher, the highest fort in Maharashtra (5141 ft) stands adjacent to Salota fort along with Dhamanya fort, Sonarya fort, and Panch Pandava peaks with Hargad, Mulher, and Mora forts are located on the Selbari range. Mangi –Tungi, two prominent west-to-east pinnacles along with Nhavigad, Morgad, Tambolya hill, Pisol fort, and Dermal fort is located on the Dolbari range.
The entire panorama of 360º is beautifully seen from the top any mountain of the region.
One can combine your visit with “Salher-Salota-Mulher-Mora-Hargad” also known as ‘Baglan range trek’. Enthral in this gleeful trek that provides you with appealing beauty of the regions and age-old forts that have lost their charm in the current modern scenario.
mountain peaks in Maharashtra:
Rankings of Mountains in Sahyadris
This list gives you more than a dozen mountain range in Maharashtra where you can explore and experience the beauty of mighty Sahyadri. Check out these wonderful adventurous destinations and plan a heart-warming and refreshing visit to these mountains of Maharashtra.
“Open your eyes… Widen your vision…
There is a big mountain world out here that you do not even imagine…!!!”
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