Type                          Ramhshej fort is hill fort.     

Difficulty level          Ramshej fort is medium to trek. 

Height                        Ramshej fort is 3200 ft (976 Meter) above sea level.     

Base village / District / Taluka -  Ashewadi / Nashik / Sinnar, Maharashtra,India.

Ramshej means the base of Lord Ram. This place was the residence or shelter for some time that is why it got its name as Ramshej. When the Marathas were in the control of Sambhaji Maharaj, Aurangzeb decided to terminate the Hindavi Swarajya completely hence he came to Maharashtra.

In those days Nashik was in the hands Mughals hence they decided to capture Ramshej Fort. But this proved very hard to capture the Ramshej fort. Aurangzeb sent an army of 40000 soldiers and canons under the leadership of Shahbuddin Gaziudin Firoze Jung.

The fort had 600 Mavalas when the Mughals sieged the fort. The Mavalas countered by throwing stones at them this attack made the Mughals move back. The siege was tightened more by Shahbuddin he blasted the area and made wooden stages to hold his canons and made more camps in this area.
The commander of the fort or killedar was more skilled for this type of war hence he made an end to their plans. Shahbuddin made bastions of wood which could easily hold around 500 soldiers and 50 canons. The forest was eventually cleared by them to build the whole bastion.

The attempt to attack from the bastion failed. An army of 7000 Manaji More and Rupaji Bhosale were sent by the Sambhaji Maharaj in May 1662 to break the siege. The place near Ganeshgaon is where Shahbuddin checked Marathas. Mughals lost 500 horses to the Marathas and proved victory to the Marathas.

Again Shahbuddin tensed the siege and continued the attack on the Ramshej fort, and again the Mavals attacked by throwing stones at them. In this attack, Raja Dalapat Rai was injured and hence they retreated. A number of failures made Shahbuddin retreat and left Junnar.

Bahadur Khan was appointed for the siege. He revised the plan of siege and attacked the fort. The section of the Mughal army with canons and instruments was made to stand at one side of the fort by which Marathas would attack this side and Mughals would attack from the other side.

The Marathas were aware and they divided the army into two parts. A tantrik was called to make a new strategy but the tantrik asked for a golden snake of about 100 tola in weight. With the help of this snake, he told he would lead the army to the main gate of the fort.

He led the army to the main gate keeping an eye on the fort. When the army came in the target of the Marathas they started their stone due to which the Tantrik got injured and the snake fell on the ground. The Mughals retreated when Aurangzeb said to retreat to the Bahdur Khan.

For 65 months the Marathas fought for the fort, the Aurangzeb sent Kasimkhan Kirmani to attack the Ramshej but he also failed. This proves the bravery of the Marathas.

We can see Ram mandir fort inside a huge cave. The cave is taken care of by the devotees where one can stay. There are inscriptions on the walls of the caves, and cisterns nearby in which potable water is available.

There is a tunnel which is inaccessible. The route near this cave takes us to the Machi. Mukhya Darwaja is the main entrance of the fort it is constructed under the cliff. This darwaja is in bad condition now. From here you go to a couple of water cisterns and a huge pond.

Devi Mandir is praised mostly during the Navratratras. We can see secret darwaja on the fort and two more cisterns, a few remnants of the house. It takes around 1 hour from the base village to reach the top of the fort. In all, it takes hours to see the fort. We can see the Bhorgad and Chambar Caves from the top.

Time to reach the top

It takes 1 hrs from the base village of Ramshej Fort. (Ashewadi)

Minimum Duration 

1-2 days as there are many other spots nearby to Ramshej fort.

Best time to visit the fort

Any time you can visit the Ramshej fort.

Water Availability 

Yes, water is available on Ramshej Fort, there are cisterns available in all year around.

Accommodation Availability

Yes, there is accommodation available on the Ramshej Fort in temple which can accommodate 9-10 peoples.

Temple of goddess bhairi, a structure called “Veergal” or “Vetal” can be seen on the fort, a cave which is closed now.

way from Pune to Ramshej Fort

Pune to Ramshej By Bus

From Pune there are ST (State Transport) buses available to Nashik, distance between Pune to Nashik are 220 kms. From Nashik CBS station there are ST (State Transport) buses and local transport is available to Peth and alight at Ashewadi Phata, then walk some minutes take us to Ashewadi. (Base village of the Fort)

Pune to Ramshej By Train

From Pune junction there are trains available to Nashik station, Pune junction to Nashik is around 220 kms, From Nashik CBS station there are ST (State Transport) buses and local transport is available to Peth and alight at Ashewadi Phata, then walk some minutes take us to Ashewadi. (Base village of the Fort) View Train Time Table

Pune to Ramshej By Road

Route of Pune to Ramshej Fort 

From Pune reach Nahik via Pune-Nashik Highway, from Pune to Nashik is around 220 km, from Nashik to Ramshej fort is 14 kms. Pune - Chakan - Manchar - Narangaon - Nashik - Ashewadi Phata - Ashewadi - Ramshej fort.

Way from Mumbai to Ramshej Fort

Mumbai to Ramshej By Bus

From Mumbai there are ST (State Transport) buses and local transport available to Nashik, distance between Mumbai to Nashik is 167 kms, From Nashik CBS station there are ST (State Transport) buses and local transport is available to Peth and alight at Ashewadi Phata,then walk some minutes take us to Ashewadi. (Base village of the Fort)

Mumbai to Ramshej By Train

From Mumbai there are trains available to Nashik, from Mumbai to Nashik is around 167 kms, From Nashik CBS station there are ST (State Transport) buses and local transport is available to Peth and alight at Ashewadi Phata, then walk some minutes take us to Ashewadi. (Base village of the Fort) View Train Time Table

Mumbai to Ramshej By Road 

Route of Mumbai to Ramshej Fort 

From Pune reach Nahik via Mumbai-Nashik Highway, from Mumbai to Nashik is around 167 km, from Nashik to Ramshej Fort (Base village of Ramshej fort), which is 14 km from Nashik. Mumbai - Kalyan - Asangaon - Nashik - Ashewadi Phata - Ashewadi - Ramshej fort.

Chambar caves, Sunni Shai Masjid, Jain Mandir, Wagjai Mandir, Bhakti Dham, Someshwar Waterfalls, Balaji Mandir, Topavan Lokmandir, Nawsha Ganpati, Vardhavinayak Ganpati Mandir etc