12 Long Traverses in the Sahyadri

Find below 12 beautiful long traverses across 1000km of trails connecting 150+ forts, peaks, ghats and lakes spanning the entire Sahyadri range. Total distance and elevation gain (climb) for each traverse is given below. Major benefit of multi-day long traverses is that one can cover many forts and peaks in a single journey with beautiful overnight camps avoiding significant onward/return travel overhead part of multiple one-day single fort visits. Click on each traverse below for a detailed write-up. Happy exploring! More details over here

Part 1 – Pune to Pratapgad. 200km / 7400m+ a linear traverse starting from Pune proceeding West to Raigad and turning South towards Pratapgad in the Mabaleshwar region.

Part 2 – Bhandardhara Traverse. 79km / 4800m+ a circuit (loop) around the old Bandardhara reservoir (Artur lake) connecting 15 surrounding forts and peaks through beautiful forest and ridgeline trails.

Part 3 – Lonavala to Naneghat. 112km / 3100m+ – a linear South-North traverse along the Deccan ridge from Lonavala to Bhimashankar ending at Naneghat crossing 15 forts, ghat sections offering mesmerizing views on the Konkan plains below

Part 4 – Matheran Range. 79km / 4300m+ – a circuit East of Mumbai connecting 10 forts around the Matheran range

Part 5 – Mahabaleshwar Traverse. 91km / 4900m+ – a beautiful circuit in one of my favorite regions in the Southern Sahyadri through dense forests of the Mahabaleshwar region

Part 6 – Satmala Range. 110km / 7000m+ – a linear traverse through the Satmala range North of Nasik connecting 14 forts and peaks along a prolonged ridgeline from Chandwad to Saptashrungi

Part 7 – Harishchandragad – Bhandardhara Circuit. 71km / 3650m+ a circuit starting from Harishchandragad proceeding across the Deccan plateau to the Bhandardhara reservoir and then returning back while hopping on/off the Deccan ridgeline and Konkan plains

Part 8 – Sudhagad to Raigad. 114km / 5700m+ – a North-South traverse hopping numerous ghat sections between the Konkan plains and Deccan plateau between Sudhagad and Raigad.

Part 9 – Ahupe to Wadeshwar. 112km / 6200m+ – a parallel linear traverse with the Lovala – Naneghat traverse hopping on and off the Deccan ridge going North-South from Ahupe to Wadeshwar

Part 10 – Pavana – Mulshi lakes. 83km / 4700m+ hike to 17 historical forts, peaks, lakes and ghats around the Pavana and Mulshi lakes South of Lonavala. Requires in-between commute to the base of each fort.

Part 11 – Manikdoh – Pimpalgaon lakes. 83km / 8000m+ hike to 21 21 beautiful forts, peaks, lakes and ghat sections around both reservoirs near Junnar.

Part 12 – Selbari – Dolbari range. a natural boundary between Nashik and Dhule district, there are 14 forts and peaks located in this range (disconnected by road) with a total elevation gain of 4500 meters.