Trekking to the Fort

This morning I went for a trek to a fort that was used to protect the state of Maharashtra during the Mongol invasions from 1221 to 1327.  The site also served as a British Army post, but has long since been abandoned.  


The trek was really amazing and intense at parts, but certainly worth the effort once reaching the fort.  Along the way I met some locals that invited me for a picnic lunch. I broke my rule of not eating food from places I do not know in India and I'm happy to report that 4 hours later my stomach and I are still agreeing!  I felt like a celebrity along the trek as people were very excited to take photos of the American in a Toronto Bluejays cap trekking to the fort in a rather rural part of India.

The diversity of foliage in India is very impressive; from the palm trees outside my flat, to tropical fruit and fig trees, to these cactus that lined much of the mountain.

This was a small cathedral that must have last been in use during the forts time as a British Army post.  While completely neglected for many years, the cathedral remained very much structurally in tact.

While I was complaining about not having North Face hiking boots, these people were climbing up the mountain in sandals, dress shoes and some were even barefoot!

The view from this height was amazing as well as the air quality.  It's crazy, but when I first moved to Pune my sinuses were very messed up from all the pollution and now when I visit mountains like these and the clean air my nose runs just as bad as it first did in the city!  I guess my body has adjusted to the sweet, sweet toxins of Pune air.

This was the defender of India that constructed the fort.  The name plaque was in Hindi so I was unable to tell who he was.

There were many small wells like this one along the trek.  Unfortunately, water of this quality was also being used to make tea at the bottom of the mountain as well...

One last update...  If any one would like to send donations to help me cover the cost of my 180INR electric bill it would certainly be appreciated!  I'm going to have to start cutting back on using electricity if it is going to cost me $4 / month!