Qualla: Lohagad

Lohagad: Introduction

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Vijaytormale, CC BY-SA 3.0. In September 2019, a team of trekkers from Pune found something on a cliff face of Lohagad that had nothing to do with the Maratha empire. Carved into the outer wall of a rock-cut cave on the fort's eastern side, an inscription in Jain Brahmi script and Prakrit-influenced Sanskrit began with the words "Namo Arihantanam" -- the opening of the Jain Navakar Mantra. It dated to the 1st or 2nd century BCE, more than a thousand years before Shivaji ever set foot on the ramparts. Lohagad's visible history is dramatic enough, but the fort sits on layers of time far deeper than its most famous chapter.

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Image: Vijaytormale | CC BY-SA 3.0

Lohagad: The Scorpion's Tail

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Meghavbafana, CC BY-SA 3.0. Lohagad rises to 1,033 meters above sea level in the Western Ghats, 52 kilometers northwest of Pune and close to the hill station of Lonavala. The fort is connected by a small range to the neighboring Visapur Fort, and together they divide the basins of the Indrayani River and th...

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Image: Meghavbafana | CC BY-SA 3.0

Lohagad: Every Dynasty's Fort

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit shripophali, CC BY 2.0. The roster of Lohagad's occupiers reads like a syllabus of medieval Indian power: Satavahanas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Yadavas, Bahmanis, Nizams, Mughals, and Marathas. The initial construction is attributed to the Lohtamia dynasty, who ruled the region during the 10th century C...

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Image: shripophali | CC BY 2.0

Lohagad: Written in Stone Before the Forts

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Elroy Serrao, CC BY-SA 2.0. The Jain inscription discovered in 2019 was studied by Dr. Shreekant Pradhan of Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute. Written in six lines across a surface 50 centimeters wide and 40 centimeters long, it mentions a donor named "Ida Rakhita" -- Indra Rakshita -- who...

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Image: Elroy Serrao | CC BY-SA 2.0

Lohagad: The Trek That Draws a City

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rangan Datta Wiki, CC BY-SA 4.0. From the train station at Malavli on the Mumbai-Pune suburban line, the walk to Lohagad takes about two hours. A paved road reaches the summit, but most visitors prefer the trail, especially during monsoon season when the Sahyadri Hills turn an almost aggressive green. The nearby...

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Image: Rangan Datta Wiki | CC BY-SA 4.0