via Hadsar › Mangnaimata Mandir › Hathkeshwar Natural Bridge › Khuntichi Waat › Hadsar Fort
A loop out to the far eastern edge of the ridge and back — a rock bridge you cannot see from the ground, a fort reached on six-inch iron rods, and a village that lives behind grilles because of leopards.
We don't assign difficulty ratings to routes. A single word like “moderate” hides what actually matters: which hazards, which skills, which season. One hiker's easy is another's accident. Instead, terrain, hazards and skills are spelled out for every leg of a route.
No closures, access changes, or incidents currently reported on this stage.
Most of this circuit runs on trails kept alive by villagers, shepherds, and cattle, and the Khandichiwadi Khind is used by almost nobody else. Hadsar Fort is the exception, with a broad Rajmarg and iron railings that bring regular fort traffic.
Trail Pressure is a HikeX signal that helps distribute hikers across the trail network, reducing pressure on overcrowded routes and helping prevent places from being loved to death.
The full route walkthrough video for this stage is being produced and will appear here once published.
Two sections on this circuit turn from difficult into dangerous in the rain, and both of them are unavoidable if you walk the full loop.
The rain stops, the grass browns off, and the ground and rock give reliable grip.
Outside the EST walking window. Heat exposure on the open plateau and no reliable water on the ghatvaats.
Khandichiwadi›Khadakwadi›Khandivhiwadi Khind›Pethchiwadi›Hadsar›Hadsar Godre Khind›Mangnaimaata Mandir›Godre›Hatkeshwar Mandir›Hatkeshwar Natural Bridge›Ganesh Khind›Hadsar Khind›Khuntichi Vaat›Hadsar Fort›Mashedicha Dongar›Khandichiwadi
A flat kilometre to the hamlet of Khadakwadi, then a mix of farmlands and open forest to the Khandichiwadi Khind — a small saddle connecting Khandichiwadi with Pethchiwadi, and a crossing used by almost nobody but the locals. The trail drops to the roadhead at Pethchiwadi.
The trail contours the Hadsar fort complex from below, running along the south face at around 800 m and on to Hadsar village. You stay low deliberately here — the aim on this half of the circuit is to hold the base of the ridgeline all the way to its eastern end.
A good trail through farmlands leads to the low saddle between Hadsar and Godre, at around 950 m. The climb to it runs through an open forest patch. From the saddle, a trail follows the nose of the ridgeline north to Mangnaimata Mandir.
From the mandir, the trail descends to Ganesh Khind, a road pass. Three hundred metres of road walking brings you to the base village of Mangniwadi. From there the trail runs east through a series of farmlands and joins a 2–3 km road section to the village of Godre.
You will notice something unusual about Godre — almost every house has a steel grille outside it. The reason is leopards, which move through this area frequently.
If you are settling down for the night in Godre, sleep inside the house, not in the veranda. This is the single most important piece of advice on this stage.
From Godre the trail heads north, flat at first through open scrub, then climbing steadily up to the east–west ridgeline. It settles onto roughly the 1300 m contour and brings you to Hathkeshwar Mandir.
A short distance beyond the mandir is the Hathkeshwar Natural Bridge. Two small hills are joined above a vertical shaft in the rock — a nede, or needle hole — and the connection above it reads as a natural bridge. It is one of the strangest topographical formations on the whole EST, and it is visible from far away: from Ranjana Dongar in the Harishchandragad section, several stages back, you can pick out the hole.
The trail here is slippery. Take care, and do not come in monsoon.
Every photograph of this place that circulates online is a drone shot, including the ones posted by HikeX. Standing on the bridge, you cannot see yourself in relation to the hole, and you cannot see the hole at all with the naked eye. The only alternatives are to climb the hill east of the bridge and work south along it, which carries a steep drop on the far side and is genuinely risky. Come for the place, not for the photograph.
The trail returns from the bridge as far as the junction where the descent to Godre began. Instead of dropping, hold the same contour and it carries you west to Ganesh Khind. From Ganesh Khind you climb back up to Mangnaimata Mandir — the second time on this circuit, this time from the other side.
There is an old shepherd colony up here, still in use. Beyond it, the big flat tabletop of Mangnaimata leads to the saddle between the mandir hill and Hadsar Fort. And this is where the circuit turns serious.
The rock-cut steps are set at an angle, and the wall above them is an overhang, so you cannot lean into it for support — it pushes your body outward instead. Face the rock and climb down. Do not sit down and shuffle facing outward towards the saddle. Give this section as much time as it asks for.
Downclimbing sounds like the same skill as climbing up, and it isn't. Knowing when to turn and face the rock, where to put your weight when the wall is pushing you off, and how a loaded pack changes your balance on angled steps — that is technique, and it is one of the 16 skills taught in the HikeX Hiking Field Course.
From the saddle, the way up is the Khuntichi Waat. You will see the rock face, and small iron rods — about six inches — set into the wall. You climb by holding them.
Hadsar Fort on top is a broad flat plateau, open enough that cattle graze up here. There are old cannons, a large temple, and granaries the size of rooms. It is worth the time to explore properly.
At Khuntichi Waat, a fall from this section could easily be fatal. Climb it with complete focus and one person at a time. Look up before you commit: the fort wall above is broken, and there is a real chance of collapse from above at any time. Do not attempt this in monsoon.
You leave the fort by the Rajmarg. Most forts in Maharashtra can be entered from several sides and each route carries its own name; the Rajmarg is the main one — the easiest, broadest, most-used way in. Hadsar's is exactly that: a series of wide rock-cut steps dropping to a lower contour.
Do not follow it all the way down to Pethchiwadi. At the 970 m contour, leave the Rajmarg, cross the iron railing, and contour along the west face of the fort complex wall. This traverse is about 700 m long. There is no defined trail — hold the contour and it will bring you to the saddle between Mashedicha Dongar and Hadsar.
Expect Indian macaques along here. These ones will leave you alone; no monkey tax on this stage. The trail is thin, and there is one rock patch to traverse that needs a little care. You do not need ropes for it.
From the saddle, a trail climbs to the top of Mashedicha Dongar, another broad flat plateau. There is a shepherd hut up there, still in use — which is exactly why these trails still exist.
The trail runs along the north face of Mashedicha Dongar, then drops towards the hamlet of Kauthechiwadi.
You do not go all the way down to Kauthechiwadi. At around the 900 m contour the trail turns west and heads for the highway. On the map it runs directly beneath a power line — follow the line and it takes you to the road. A final kilometre of road walking closes the circuit at Khandichiwadi.
Finding where the trail leaves the Kauthechiwadi descent and turns west is the navigational crux of this stage. The power line is your confirmation, not your guide — pick the turn off the contour first, then check it against the line.
The Kauthechiwadi descent is steep, exposed, and on loose soil. Trekking poles are mandatory here, not optional.
No side trails or alternative routes on this stage.
| Exit to | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hadsar | Mapped | South from the saddle between Hadsar Fort and Mangnaimata Mandir hill. |
| Kotamwadi | Unmapped | North from the same saddle. Exists on the ground; not yet digitised. |
Details to reach from nearest town and village is being compiled and will be published soon.
No car. No expensive taxi. No complicated planning.
It works across most of the EST because almost every village has a daily ST bus. Where the timing fails, hitchhiking is common along the route.
| Dayhike | Route | Distance | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hadsar Fort via Khuntichi Waat | Pethchiwadi → Hadsar Khind → Khuntichi Waat → fort → Rajmarg → return | — | Iron rods on a rock face, cannons and granaries on top, broad rock-cut steps down. Avoid in monsoon. |
| Hathkeshwar Natural Bridge | Godre → Hathkeshwar Mandir → natural bridge → return | — | Ridgeline contour, the needle hole, and the bat cave below the temple. |
| Mashedicha Dongar | Khandichiwadi → powerline trail → Mashedicha Dongar → return | — | Short, steep, loose. A flat plateau top with a working shepherd hut. |
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A mapped trail is part of a digital trail network on an open platform. An unmapped trail exists on the ground but hasn't been digitised yet — someone needs to hike it, record it, verify it and put it up so it becomes available for everyone.
| Route | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Main circuit line: Khandichiwadi → Khandichiwadi | EST main route | Mapped |
| Hathkeshwar Mandir · Natural Bridge extension | EST main route | Mapped |
| Khuntichi Waat | EST main route | Mapped |
| Hadsar Rajmarg | EST main route | Mapped |
| 970 m contour traverse (Rajmarg → Mashedicha saddle) | EST main route | Mapped |
| Hadsar exit (south from Hadsar Khind) | Exit | Mapped |
| Kotamwadi exit (north from Hadsar Khind) | Exit | Unmapped |
Some routes here are still unmapped or under-documented. If you're an experienced hiker who wants to record them — or you already hold a GPX or trail intel for any route here — help us document them.
Every stage was walked, verified, recorded, and documented by HikeX. Support the work to help keep it free & open.
India's first continuous, fully mapped long-distance hiking trail — 1,724 km and 40 stages across the Sahyadri.
Learn more about EST →Disclaimer. Hiking involves inherent risk, including serious injury and death. This page documents conditions as recorded on specific dates; trails, water sources, access, and hazards change without notice. You are responsible for your own decisions, skills, and safety. HikeX provides this documentation as-is and accepts no liability for its use. Verify conditions locally before you walk, and turn back when conditions exceed your skills.