Following up on my earlier post on Nashik, we headed out on Saturday morning to visit Anjaneri Fort, a historic and religious place on the road to Trimbakeshwar. Anjaneri Fort is said to be the birthplace of the Hindu god Hanuman. Hanuman is a major figure in the Hindu epic Ramayana. Anjaneri was Hanuman’s mother and gives her name to his birthplace.

It was about a 45-minute drive from our hotel to the turn off the main road. We headed up sharply, through a small village, and into the area managed by the Forest Department. There was a small entry fee. We arrived at the parking lot below the impressive cliffs of the Trimbakeshwar Range. This is the view from the parking lot.

At this point we confirmed what I had read on-line: Cameras are not allowed. My new Sony RX-100 M5 had to stay in the car. All the pictures in this post were taken with my Google Pixel 2, most using Adobe Lightroom Mobile.

It was somewhat warm and humid as we made our way up the stairs clinging to the side of the steep cliff of the ghat. I’d brought Gatorade this time to be sure I didn’t overheat like I did a week earlier in Thane. The stairs are in decent shape and you ascend quickly, passing others who are coming down.

Having driven up a fair amount to reach the parking lot, the view of the countryside is quite impressive. This year had a very generous and long-lasting monsoon and the countryside was brilliantly green. This is a view of Anjaneri Lake from the path.

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Monkeys were everywhere. Here is a family looking at us as we walk up the stairs.

As we got closer to the top, there was a nice breeze, making the temperature very pleasant. Here you can see water running down off of the top of the mountain. The cliffs are quite steep.

The steep stairs near the top provide a great photo opportunity.

We hired a guide as we passed through the village. He made it from the village to the parking area in about the same time it took us to drive it. I imagine those living at Anjaneri are in good cardiovascular condition. He carried extra water and made sure we saw the sights. This picture gives you a good idea of the steepness of the incline.

We finally reach the top of the stairs to find — we are not at the top. This meadow leads up to the temples at the foot of the very top of Anjaneri Fort. The top of the far mountain (I suppose I should say ghat) is 4,200 feet (1,280 meters). We did not go all the way to the top.

This is one of the streams feeding the small waterfalls off the edge of the plateau. It really was that green.

This tree with the Sun behind it looked very nice.

This two-shot panorama captures the grand view we had. Click on the picture to see a full sized version. There is an orange flag at the peak on the left, marking the way to a temple further on.

If you follow the pathway in the picture above, you will see that it reaches a crest just to the left center of the picture. As you cross that crest, you see this beautiful lake, just at eye level. It is a marvelous sight.

Our guide, doing his job, took us a short walk beyond the lake. We were shown this marvelous temple cave cut in the side of the ghat.

This is the interior of the temple cave. It is a panorama of two shots. The Pixel was doing a fine job.

There is enough foot traffic to the fort and lake to support several small businesses. This particular one is located at the lake.

The proprietor served us fresh cucumber and chai. It was a friendly place to enjoy the lake, the nice breeze, and some tasty chai.

A small crab wandered at my feet while my colleagues took a walk in the lake and others enjoyed the quiet, cool air.

I mentioned that there were monkeys everywhere. The proprietor of the food stand had a slingshot handy to chase away any monkey trying to steal food. And try they did.

It was a pleasant walk back down to the staircase that would take us back to the cars. Back to civilization and traffic.

On the way down, you get a better perspective on the steepness of the stairs, the sharp drop, and the farmland beyond.

The green created by this monsoon was remarkable. On our drive back to Mumbai, a thunderstorm came through. There were great flashes and booms. And about a two-hour delay in our return. We made it safely and it added to the adventure.