Why this ride
A 696 km round trip from Harnai - roughly 11 h 53 in the saddle. On the way it passes Pratapgad, Rajgad, Lohagad and back through Rajgad. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Suvarnadurg and Lohagad
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 696 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 11 h 53
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Suvarnadurg
The Konkan coast of Maharashtra is a long green strip between the Sahyadri hills and the Arabian Sea, and every few kilometres a fort stands on a headland or an island. Suvarnadurg, the golden fort, rises from a rocky islet just off Harnai, a fishing port with a morning market that is one of the sights of the coast. The fort was strengthened in the seventeenth century by Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha state, as part of his drive to build a navy, and later it became the base of the admiral Kanhoji Angre, who ruled the sea here for decades and clashed with the British, Portuguese and Dutch. The walls are of black basalt, thick enough to withstand cannon fire, and they stand out against the green water.
Read the complete Suvarnadurg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Suvarnadurg is where the day begins. Next is Pratapgad.
2. Pratapgad
Pratapgad stands on a spur of the Sahyadri, the Western Ghats, about twenty kilometres from the hill station of Mahabaleshwar, guarding the old route between the Deccan plateau and the Konkan coast. Shivaji, founder of the Maratha state, had the fort built in the 1650s, and in 1659 it was the scene of the most famous episode of his life. Afzal Khan, a general of the Bijapur Sultanate, came with a large army to crush him, and the two met for a parley below the fort. Accounts differ on who struck first, but Shivaji, wearing armour under his clothes and the wagh nakh, a claw-shaped weapon, on his hand, killed Afzal Khan, and his troops hidden in the forest routed the Bijapuri army. The story is told across Maharashtra with immense pride, and Afzal Khan's tomb lies below the fort.
Read the complete Pratapgad write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pratapgad comes up about 102 km into the recorded legs. Next is Rajgad.
3. Rajgad
In the folded hills of the Sahyadri, south-west of Pune, a great flat-topped mountain rises above the valleys with sheer cliffs on all sides and walls running along its crest. This is Rajgad, the king's fort, and for about twenty-five years in the seventeenth century it was the capital of Shivaji, the Maratha warrior king who carved out an independent kingdom against the Mughal Empire and the sultanates of the Deccan. It is one of the most revered places in Maharashtra, and climbing it is something of a pilgrimage.
Read the complete Rajgad write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 233 km into the recorded legs you reach Rajgad. Next is Lohagad.
4. Lohagad
In the monsoon, Lohagad disappears into the clouds and reappears, drenched and green, with waterfalls pouring off every ledge. This hill fort stands on a ridge of the Western Ghats a short distance from Lonavla, between Mumbai and Pune, and its walls and gateways crown a basalt plateau a few hundred metres above the surrounding valleys. Its name means iron fort, and it is one of the forts associated with the Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji, which in 2025 were grouped together on the UNESCO list as the Maratha Military Landscapes.
Read the complete Lohagad write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lohagad, about halfway. Next is back through Rajgad.
5. back through Rajgad
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Rajgad write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Rajgad sits at 263 km, about halfway. Next is back through Pratapgad.
6. back through Pratapgad
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pratapgad write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Pratapgad comes up about 593 km into the recorded legs. Next is Suvarnadurg.
7. Suvarnadurg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Suvarnadurg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Suvarnadurg closes the day.
Leg by leg
Suvarnadurg to Pratapgad
Suvarnadurg → Pratapgad is 102 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Pratapgad to Rajgad
Pratapgad → Rajgad is 131 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Rajgad to Lohagad
Rajgad → Lohagad is 117 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Lohagad to back through Rajgad
Lohagad → back through Rajgad is 109 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Rajgad to back through Pratapgad
back through Rajgad → back through Pratapgad is 134 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pratapgad to Suvarnadurg
back through Pratapgad → Suvarnadurg is 103 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Raigad and Suvarnadurg · 311 km
- Pratapgad and Raigad · 166 km