Vasota Fort

A very famous Vasota fort which is also known by his another name as Vyaghragad is located in Jaoli tehsil of Satara District. In very famous book Dnyaneshwari, the fort is called as Ashraygad. In recent years the fort has become very famous among the trekkers. The fort is situated in very dense forest of Koyna valley. The surrounding area of the fort comes under sahyadri tiger reserve and koyna wildlife sanctuary reserves forest. Because of its dense forest area the fort is famous for its forest trails. The trek difficulty level is moderate. It takes around 3-4 hours to reach at the peak of the fort if you are not new in the trekking field. the fort is open till 4 pm in the evening due to security concerns, so it is very strict to be on time, otherwise legal actions are taken against the tourist.

Nageshwar Temple from Vasota Fort


History:

Vasota has very old history. One of the student of Vasistha Rushi, Agasthi rushi passed the Vindhya Mountains and reached the sahyadri western ghat area. They stayed at the banks of the koyna and he lived on the fort. That is why, he gave the name of his teacher to the fort and in many years the pronunciation became as Vasota.

It is attributed to the times of shilahar raja Bhoj second of panhala Kolhapur. For much longer period Vasota fort was the center of the jaoli region and was under the rule of shirke of konkan or mores of jaoli. After the battle of jaoli, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj captured the whole area but the fort remained un-conquered due to its unreachability. After much time, after the battle of pratapgad and Afzal khan’s death, when Shivray was on the panhala fort, he sent his army to capture the fort. This time was before the battle of pawankhind. And the army reached the fort and conquered it on 6 June 1660.  

Shivsagar backwater and Koyna Valley

The fort was used as the jail of Empire. Due to its very hard position in the dense forest it was impossible for anyone to run from the jail or to leave the fort. Many Britishers also were kept here in prison. The British prisoners like faren and Samuel were prisoners on this fort in 1661. 26000 rupees were found on the fort in the year 2679. In the Peshwa era, tai telin, one of the wife of pant pratinidhi captured the fort, again in coming year bapu gokhale had a war with tai telin and it was conquered by bapu gokhale.

Mahadev temple on the fort

There is another fort which is old Vasota (Marathi: Juna Vasota) very near to this vasota fort. Is you stand on Babu kada and look straight. But old Vasota comes under the core section of the forest reserve. So it is not allowed to visit old Vasota fort and trail is also not clear.

Old Vasota seen from Babu Kada

How to Reach:

You have to get to Bamnoli village in Jaoli tehsil first. After a boat ride of 2 hours will take you to the forest station where you start your actual trek through the forest. The Bamnoli village is around 35 km away from the Satara city, 150 km away from pune city, 294 km away from the Mumbai city and 160 km away from the Kolhapur city.

From Pune: Pune- Satara- Kaas Platue- Bamnoli- Met indavali- Vasota trek start.

From Mumbai: Mumbai- Pune- Satara- Kaas Platue- Bamnoli- Met indavali- Vasota trek start.

From Kolhapur: Kolhapur- Karad- Satara- Kaas Platue- Bamnoli- Met indavali- Vasota trek start.


The best time of visit the Vasota fort is in summers and winters. The region receives very high rainfall across the rainy season. The fort is closed in the rainy seasons. The stay can be done at the Bamnoli village or near Tapola hill station.

Nearest Tourist Places:

Mahabaleshwar: Mahabaleshwar hill station is located at 44 km from Bamnoli Village which is very famous hill station in Western Ghats during all seasons.

https://maharashtratourists.blogspot.com/2023/04/mahabaleshwar-history-gallery-how-to.html

Panchgani Hill Station: Panchgani is a very famous hill station in satara district is only 56 km away from the base village Bamnoli.

https://maharashtratourists.blogspot.com/2023/04/panchgani-panchani-toruist-points-and.html

Satara: Satara city is around 35 km away from the bamnoli and can be reached by road transport.

Vajrai Waterfall: Vajrai fall is nearly 15 km away from the Bamnoli village which is one of the highest waterfall in India which fall in 3 stages total.

Tapola Hill station: Tapola is located 38km away from the Bamnoli Village which is very scenic destination to visit.

https://maharashtratourists.blogspot.com/2023/03/maharashtras-mini-kashmir-tapola.html

Bamnoli: Bamnoli is a scenic and beautiful village on the banks of the shivsagar backwater of koyna dam located 10 km away from the Kaas Lake.

Sahyadri tiger reserve: Sahyadri tiger reserve is a forest reserve on the bank of shivsagar backwater very near to the kaas platue or Vasota Fort.

https://maharashtratourists.blogspot.com/2023/03/sahyadri-tiger-reserve.html

Pratapgad Fort: Pratapgad fort is a historical monument located on the side of ambenali ghat section around 63 km away from the Bamnoli Village.

https://maharashtratourists.blogspot.com/2023/03/pratapgad-fort.html

Further, Forts lik, ajinkyatara, sajjangad fort and madhu makarand fort can be visited for trekking experience which are in near radius of the platue.


It is advised for tourist to respect the local flora and fauna and not to disturb the nature with plastic garbage and loud talking or shouting,

"Leave nothing but footprints, Take nothing but memories."

"Do Not Disturb the Local Wildlife in the Place, It is suggested not to play music as it disturbs the local wildlife forms."