Greetings from TrekGuru Private Limited!!!

”We are thrilled to extend an invitation to you for an incredible adventure Range Trek in the Baglan Range Trek."

When Akbar conquered Khandesh, Pratapshaha Bahirji, the then King of Baglan, surrendered to Mughals. He established friendly relations with Shahajahan. In 1636, Aurangazeb was appointed as the Governor of Western region. In 1638 Mughals invaded Baglan and conquered it, after which the fort was named as Aurangagad. This attack ended the prosperous Hindu rule in Baglan. Mulher had been the Capital of Baglan for all the times. Mohammed Tahir was appointed as the first Killedar on the fort. He established Tahirabad, a village near Mulher, which was initially known as Tahir. In 1662, a strike was called off by soldiers on the fort for scarce salary. After the second loot over Surat, Shivaji Maharaj commenced the Baglan campaign. In 1671, Marathas first attacked the Mulher fort, but the Killedar could repulse the attack. Then in February 1672, Marathas first captured Salher fort and then attacked the Mulher fort too. In this campaign, Shivaji Maharaj could assimilate the forts like Salher, Mulher, etc. in the Maratha Kingdom. Afterwards, the fort of Mulher was again conquered by Mughals.

According to the treaty of Bhalki in 1752, the whole region of Khandesh, alongwith Mulher, was handed over to Marathas. Some hidden treasure is supposedly found in 1765, according to the citations in the accounts-books of Peshwe. In 1818, the fort was brought under the rule of British. Just as Kalsubai boasts to be the highest peak in the Sahyadris in Maharashtra, Salher has the distinction of being the highest fort in the Sahyadris.

Baglan is the fertile region being fed by the rivers Mokshaganga and Akshaganga. This is one of the areas rich in agricultural productivity, forests and wealth and the villagers here are quite well to do. Still, there are tribes like the Kokan and Bhils living on these hills. The perimeter of the Salher fort is around 11 Kms encompassing an area of around 600 hectares.

History :

The Salher fort is famous and known as the main place where Parashuram did his penance. After winning the earth and giving it as donation, he made land for himself to live in, by pushing the sea back with his arrows, right from this place. An ancient and historically significant place like this is also famous for its battles during the reign of Shivaji.

The fort of Salher was captured by Shivaji in 1671, during his campaign of the Baglan region. This news reached the Mogul emperor in Delhi. He got incensed with this news and said “I have sent lakhs of cavalry but they have come back shamefully, now whom do I send?” The emperor then decided “As long as Shivaji is alive, we are not leaving Delhi”. He then called Ikhlaas Khan and Bahlol Khan and sent them with a cavalry of 20,000 horses to attack Salher. Ikhlaas Khan then laid siege of Salher Fort. When this news reached the Maharaj, he sent message to his Commander in Chief Prataprao through his secret agents “Go to Salher with your troops and drive off Bahlol Khan”. He also sent a parallel letter to Moropant Peshwa to go from Varghati Konkan along with his troops and meet Prataprao near Salher. As planned, both Prataprao and Moropant rode to Salher from both sides and a fierce battle ensued. Writings of Sabhasad Bakhar describes it as follows:“There was a fierce battle throughout the day and night, Mughals, Pathans, and Rajput, Cannons, Elephants, Horses and Camel troops fought alongside each other. The battle was so fierce that the dust which was raised by the troops rose up in an area of 3 kms and the troops could not recognize who was fighting on which side. The Elephant troops arrived and both sides saw 10,000 troops perish and blood flow like rivers”.The Marathas defeated Ikhlaas Khan and Bahlol Khan in this bloody battle, which saw tremendous destruction all over. There were 1,20,000 troops of Raja Shivaji and it returned 10,000 less, lost in battle.

Shivaji’s troops captured 6,000 horses, 6,000 camels, 150 elephants, heavy gold ornaments, gold coins and expensive cloth from the enemy troops. The maratha soldiers showed extreme courage during this battle. Moropant Peshwa and Prataprao Sarnaubat exchanged pleasantries. Suryarao Kakde became a martyr during this battle. He fell after being hit by a cannon ball. He was no mere soldier. A soldier who was as brave as “Karna of the Mahabharata” lay dead on the battlefield.

Of all the face to face battles between the Mughals and Shivaji’s troops, the battle of Salher takes first place. Such a big battle was not won before. The bravery and strategy used by the Maratha troops in the battle spread far and wide and increased Shivaji’s fame much higher. After winning Salher, the Marathas also captured Mulher and established their reign over the Baglan region. Thus they became a nightmare for the Shah of Surat.

The North-South stretch of Sahyadri originates in the Baglan region of Nashik. The North of Sahyadri, in the Baglan region, has got dual ranges, Selbari – Dolbari. Forts like Tambolya, Nhavigad, Pinnacles of Mangi and Tungi lie on Selbari range while Mulher, Moragad, Salher, Hargad, Salota lie in Dolbari range. These forts lie on the border of Dang region, a dense forest, in the West of Gujarat and Baglan region in Maharashtra.

The other name of Baglan is ‘Bagulged’. There is a mixed impact of Gujarat and Maharashtra on the living-style of residents, as the region is on the border of these States. The land of this region is very fertile, making people to adopt farming as their occupation. Plenty of water makes this region fully flourished and rich.

In the Satana Taluka of Nashik district, lies the fort of Mulher. There is a Mulher village at the foot-hills of this fort.

History :

In ancient times, the village was located on the Mulher fort. In due course of period the villagers descended and Mulher village is now situated at foothills 2 kms. away from the fort. The village belongs to the period of Mahabharata, when it was known as Ratnapur. The King, Mayurdhwaj ruled this region, and the village was then named as Mayurpur. When Aurangazeb conquered this fort, the fort came into existence with the name as Aurangagad.

The citations of Mulher can be found in the first decade of fourteenth century, while ‘Puranas’ are believed to have few mentions of it. The fort was built by Bagul dynasty, who ruled the region from 1308 A.D. to 1619 A.D. The region was named Bagulged because of the rule of Bagul dynasty, which afterwards came to be known as Baglan. Basically, Bagul dynasty belonged to Kanoj. Eleven Kings of this dynasty ruled the Baglan region. These Kings were awarded the Degree of Bahirji. It was during the rule of this dynasty, the world-famous ‘Mulheri Muth’, the sword-handle, was made. Hinduism was established in this region much before than that in Vijaynagar.