KARNALA BIRD SANCTUARY | PANVEL | India
 

I visited the Karnala fort at the Karnala Bird Sanctuary. A place of monkeys, birds and Butterflies. Its located on Mumbai Goa highway and from Panvel it is only about 16 km. Total distance from mumbai is 62 km and 104KM from Pune.

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Every forest has its own distinct aroma which you can smell upon entering. Monsoon has arrived in konkan and you can see the route is dense with foliage, all splashed in vivid hues of green & burgundy. With this sight I started my hike. Karnal fort is about 445m high from sea level. In ancient times it was used for keeping an eye on panvel-borghat trade route to mumbai. Karnala

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View while trekking

fort is famous for its pillar like pinnacle called “LINGOBA”. Keeping this unique pinnacle in my sight I started marching towards it. I was captivated by the view of the fort the chirping birds made for the music to my ears. The fort is set amidst a dense forest which makes it an attraction point for tourists, trekkers and Birdwatchers alike. In karnala bird sanctuary you will find different varieties of trees along with birds.

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While roaming in the forest you have to immerse yourself with the surrounding and only then you will see the secret wonders of it. I’m slinking as quietly as possible. There are over 140 resident and 40 migrating birds species around this forest along with barking deer, wild hog and axis deer. 4.8sq km is the overall area of this sanctuary. There are 3 routes that lead to the top – bhor-mal, sarda-mal and mohor-mal. I am taking one of them now.

Going about this Beaten Path in forest is really a thing to experience. This fort was occupied by Yadavas of devagiri between 1248 to 1318. Eventually Khilji, Tughlaq, Nizam Shah, Adil Shah ruled this fort but in 1657 Shivaji maharaj ceased it. For quite some time it was also under Mughal rule and then in 1753 the Peshwa’s united it with Martha Empire.

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Main door

Harvester or portres ant hills are found here. The local tribes dig into these nests to get Provisions when they don’t get anything else to eat. Each of these nests can store up to 7 to 8 kg of Provision like Rice,wheat and other grains.

There is a temple of Karnai Devi at the base. It was named after Goddess Karani as the Marathas had seeked her blessings after they had conquered this fort. So before marching towards it I also took blessings from karnai devi.



After entering through maha darvaja or the main door. One can see famous pinnacle called “LINGOBA” and fort structures. There is only one Standing building in the fort no one knows about Its main use was; but it might have been used as a Storehouse for supplies. Water tanks are carved at the base of the lingoba. Taking these tank into account historians have declare that this fort was constructed during yadav era. Beyond water tanks there are a few caves but they are off limits to general public. Water from these tanks was once used for drinking by inhabitants of this fort. Now that water is contaminated hence it’s not drinkable. Many treker groups have climbed lingomba in past years. Now climbing is prohibited on lingoba due to Honeybees Hive and Birds nests.

View from Karnala top is breathtaking. One can see entire “BORGHAT” from here. hard blowing winds and occasional drizzle refreshed Me. I rested their on a rock and remembered how Shivaji Maharaj Won this fort.

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Water tanks



Shivaji maharaj won kalyan and bhiwandi during 1657 and along with that region fort came under rule of maratha empire. According to 1666 Treaty of Purandar between Mirza Raje Jaisingh and Chhatrapati Shivaji maharaj this fort went in Mughal captivity. Soon After returning from Agra, Shivaji maharaj Concentrated on this fort and started winning forts around karnala but karnala was giving them check each time. Martha’s tightened their clutches around the fort and thinned enemy supplies.

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A british officer of that time had written that “marathas have surrounded this fort near our province. using wooden planks and mud they have made their differences and reached at the base. soon they will have this fort.” and that’s exactly what happened on 22nd june 1670 – Chhatrapati Shivaji maharaj won this fort.”



The following is a video I made with some of the small snippets I made on my Action Cam.