A quick trek to Korlai Fort

It was noon time. I was caught in an extremely complex traffic jam. Two 4 wheelers facing each other were blocking each other from going forward. I was driving one of those two. The other was driven by an equally 'competent' driver :-). There was no room left for both of us to navigate. It was matter of few inches. It was a classic dead lock.

How would you respond to this situation ?  I chose to be happy :-)

I was on a 6 ft. wide mud track. On the left side there was a cliff and on the right side there was an excellent white sand beach just 10 ft. below.  It was a narrow 2 km long mud track along the Arabian sea. There was no way any one of us could have taken our vehicle to our left sides.  The only option was to make way inch by inch with extreme care. Driving skills, patience, judgment and extremely good command over the accelerator as well as the steering wheel were put to test. It was a close encounter. I mean even the right hand side mirror had to be retracted.

Hope you got it  ;-)

After an interesting manoeuvre, the exercise was over. We both exchanged smile and waved hands. I might have crossed thousands of car drivers in my driving career. But not many had the privilege of getting a smile filled with admiration for the driving skills.

My fellow passengers were impressed by the driving skills of the ... other driver. For me it was one of the many moments to cherish in future.

It all started at 5:30 AM. Yet another Saturday morning. Yet another trek. Fort Korlai. On the Arabian Sea. Covered by the sea through 350 degrees. And a narrow land strip connecting the mainland to the fort.

Fellow trekkers included Smita, Ganesh and Ashwini.

We took the Mulshi - Tamhini Ghat route. Early morning drive through Mulshi and Tamhini Ghat is refreshing throughout the year. Plus Valley crossed at 7 AM. We were making good progress. By 8:00 AM we reached Kolad on the Pune Roha state highway. At Kolad this road crosses the Mumbai Goa highway. Ironically, the state highway and the national highway have no qualitative difference. Both are two lane roads without dividers. We continued on the Pune Roha road and reached Roha by 8:30. We continued on this road that lead us to Salav village followed by the Rewadanda creek bridge.

At this point, taking a right turn takes you to Alibaug, while continuing on the road takes you to Kaashid & Murud. We continued on the Murud road. Within 3 KMs there was (an extremely tricky, almost non existing) right turn for Korlai village.

From here, the road is single lane. I mean one vehicle at a time, in any direction, through the small Korlai village. Fishing is the primary business here. Most locals have Portuguese roots. Almost five centuries back the Portuguese people arrived here, built the amazing fort, stayed here with pride and managed to maintain their culture. Even today most of the houses are typical Portuguese style.

We reached the end of the village and reached a T junction. In front of us was the graceful Korlai fort. On the left was a narrow mud track along the sea coast. On the right was a narrow mud track along the sea coast. The view was beyond imagination. As if I had known this place for ages I took the correct turn.

Readers, if you are reading this carefully, you will know which way was the turn. Right or left ???

The road was heavenly. Imagine yourself driving your car through a lonely narrow track. On one side you see the Arabian sea and a white sand beach. On other side you see a grand mountain.

This is an ideal gateway for all kinds of groups. Trekkers, nature lovers, bikers, people looking out for romantic destinations.

The road suddenly came to an and end. Only a government agency can think of putting a metallic gate and a impregnable compound  at the end of such a lovely drive. That was our encounter with the Light house, at the base of the fort. The enclosed premises is under the control of the Ministry of Shipping.

I parked the car and went to the gate to see what can be done. Luckily the caretaker was around. He was happy to receive us. He took us inside the campus. The lighthouse campus was maintained well. The campus included a neatly done garden, some cannons, small houses for the people staying there, the lighthouse and huge radar dish.

The caretaker offered us a package that included visit to the lighthouse with running commentary at Rs.10/- per head and Rs.20/- for the camera. Best deals are signed off verbally with a handshake. This was not an exception.

We proceeded towards the lighthouse. We entered the building, climbed up 2floors via a normal staircase. Then we had a tricky, almost vertical climb for 10 ft. But that was not the end. The final climb was a real vertical climb. This was turning out to be one of the most interesting vertical climbs in my trekking experiences. Finally we wee at the top of the light house. The view from here was amazing.

The caretaker was a seasoned guide. For the first 10 minutes he gave our own time to see the breath taking views of he sea, the fort, the narrow road that we had taken to reach here. After the euphoria was over he took over and explained us the way the light house functions.

All four us being engineers, it was interesting to know the functioning of the light house. Each light house has a unique signature, I mean a unique pattern of light signals. In this light house there were four levels of backups to deal with power outage as well as any other unforeseen failures. They were broadcasting GPS information for the ships that needed it. There was a radar very close to the light house which keeps on sending images to the central control system managed by the Shipping Ministry.

It was interesting to know how the entire lighthouse functioned. Ganesh almost claimed that he could run it for few days if needed.

Thanking (& of course paying the dues to) the caretaker, we started our journey to explore the fort. Carved (and huge) steps from the lighthouse compound took us to the fort. The actual climb is only 15 minutes, but is steep and tiring.

Korlai Fort is a Portuguese fortification in the town of Korlai, built in 1521, on the Alibaug - Murud road. It was built on an island which guards the way to the Revdanda Creek. It was meant as a companion to the fort at Chaul. At this strategic position the Portuguese could use it to defend their territory which stretched from Korlai to Vasai. Korlai fort was strategically very important as it guarded the mouth of the bay.

Sambhaji Maharaj tried to take it over but failed and had to withdraw his forces. The fort was later taken by the Marathas who held it between 1739-1818.

The fort is 2828 feet long, and its average breadth is eighty-nine feet. The enclosing wall is 5' 3" high and has 305 battlements for guns. It is entered by eleven gates - four are outer and seven are inner. At the north point, within pistol-shot of main battery is the water cistern named Santa Cruz - major source of water. The area within the fort walls is divided into three enclosures by two lines of bastioned fortifications. Each of the seven bastions bears the name of a saint. The two westward bastions are named São Diego(after Didacus of Alcalá) and São Francisco (after Francis of Assisi). The others are São Pedro, São Inácio, and São Filipe.

The top of the hill is bastioned as well and is and surrounded by a parapet. It has a large rain-water cistern with three mouths, each one foot wide, and the ruins a church. The church was built in 1630 for the use of the army and was functional until 1728.

There are three Portuguese inscriptions. One, over a doorway in the centre and highest part of the fort, reads as follows:

No entry without fight

This is the height of bravery and self confidence. Can you imagine someone coming thousands of kilometres away from home, building a fort at such a location and having the guts to say "No entry without fight". Hats off to these people. I mean I am proud of Maratha history, but that does not stop me from acknowledging the 'attitude' of these people.

We saw the entire fort. Took rest for 15 minutes. Had some snacks and decided to start the return journey.

We reached the parking place. From there we had an easy access to the sea shore. It was a bright and sunny day. And we were on the shore at noon time. Sea shore is a great place for photography, but at sunrise and sunset. Noon time is not worth attempting photography.

The beach was secluded. We had almost private access to the beach. We spent some time there and then started our journey back.

What happened after that is well known, I mean at least to those who are reading this blog. If you still don't get that, it was a classic traffic jam :-)

While coming back we visited the Birla Temple at Salav. It is a well maintained temple. Somehow it has a corporate feel, not a great thing for a temple. But it is architected and maintained well. Worth visiting once.

Our next stop was Roha. We had lunch at Hotel Roha Pride. They offered a good vegetarian Thali. Post lunch Ganesh had the privilege to drive. He did a great job. And we were back home by 5:00 PM. That was the end of a memorable drive and trek.

Elevation	Sea level
Difficulty Level	Low
Endurance Level	Low
Adventure Level	Medium
Fun Level	Great, especially the drive along the sea shore is amazzzzzzzning
Ideal for	Trekkers, nature lovers, bikers, people looking out for romantic destinations (especially the beach).
Notes	1. Do visit the light house. 2. Do visit the Birla Temple.