Torna Fort - Maharashtra - India

Torna was the first fort captured by Shivaji Maharaj. He captured this fort and started his journey to build the Maratha empire when he was just sixteen years old (in 1643). This shows his valor and determination to construct a new empire.

Torna Fort is also known as Prachandgad. The Marathi word prachand means ‘huge’ in English. The name Prachandgad itself suggests the spread of the fort. This huge fort is perched in the great Sahyadri Ranges in the district of Pune in Maharashtra state of India and boasts to be the tallest in the district with an altitude of 1405 meters from the sea level.

The fort has two temples on it. The first one is of goddess Toranjai and the second one is of goddess Menghai. You can stay in the temple of goddess Menghai if necessary. The fort has two major wings (in Marathi Machi) the Zunzar Machi and the Budhala Machi. On the Budhala Machi, there is big vertical rock. When seen from distance it seems to be a thumb held up. The fort also has two gates: the Binicha Darwaja (Bini Gate) and Konkan Darwaja (Konkan Gate). The Binich Darwaja takes you inside the fort, while the Konkan Darwaja takes you to the Budhala Machi.

Torna was an extremely important fort of Maratha kingdom because of its strategically important position. James Douglas a famous British traveler described this fort as "If Sinhagad is lions cave then Torna is Eagles nest"       

Though most parts of the Torna fort is in ruins the panoramic view the fort offers is well worth the climb up.

A number of monuments like Bini darwaza, Kothi darwaza, Hanuman Bastion around the fort make the visit more interesting for history lovers as well as picnickers. Trekking along the steep hillside of the tallest fort makes it more challenging and inviting for adventure seekers.

How To Reach
To get to the Torna, one has to first reach the base village called Velhe.  From Swargate bus station in Pune, take a state transport bus with route 'Swargate - Velhe - Ghisar'. This bus will drop you at Velhe in around 1hr 45mins. It will be good to start in early morning for the fort. 6.30am bus will be very good option to reach early to the fort.
 Velhe is the base village of the fort and the trek up to the fort will approximately take 3-4 At Velhe you can park your vehicles Near the police station and start trekking. and Fort could be seen within 2 hours.
By Railway 
Pune Railway Station
By Air
Pune International Airport