7/12 - Singahad Fort

First day of relaxation!!! We woke up at 5:00 AM in order to get ready for some much needed exercise.

Quick history lesson.

The Fort of Singahad (AKA "The Lion's Fort") is located around 30 km from Pune. Built upon a cliff for natural defense, it was the site of multiple conflicts throughout history. The most famous one was a recapture offensive in 1670, pitting defender Udaybhan Rathod against Tanaji Malusare. Tanaji was a commander under Shivaji Maharaj of the Maratha Empire. Despite being outnumbered 500 to 5000, Tanaji led the Maratha troops to victory and lost his life in the process.

The name Maratha sound familiar? Yep. Marathi is the name of the language spoken in Pune, and Maharashtra is the name of the state in which Pune resides. Both of these terms are widely speculated to hold origins in the Maratha Empire.

We got to hike this fort today.

There was at least 200 other people hiking alongside us. At first the path was easy; just a broad rocky road. However, the farther up we went, the steeper, slipperier, rockier, and smaller the path became. But at the end.....man. Cannot deny that view.

The hike.

1,312 m above sea level.

Started from the bottom now we're here.

At the summit of the fort, stands with drinks, a temple and even a hotel was present. We snacked on some delicious onion bhaji (Indian onion fritters) before heading back down the path.

When we got back to the guest house we all collapsed from exhaustion. Spent the rest of the day sleeping and relaxing. Took a moped with my caretaker to pick up some custom wear I bought a few days prior. Gotta wake up early tomorrow.....for Mumbai.