Haji Malang Gad is a fort in Maharashtra, in the district of Raigad. It is also known as Shree Malang Gad or Malanggad. It is best known for trekking and viewing an astonishing and remarkable sight from the top of the fort. The fort has a history of the Maratha-British war, which took place in 1780, the control over Malanggad.
The fort has a dargah named Haji Malang Dargah, which is a holy shrine named after the Sufi Saint Malang Baba from the Middle East. There are many Hindu temples on the way, while you keep moving up the fort. The fort is closest to Kalyan city. It is approximately 17km from Kalyan.
Haji Malang Gad is around 1.5 to 2 hours of climbing stone steps. There are more than 1500 steps from the base village to the Haji Malang Dargah.
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| Haji Malang Gad |
How to Reach Haji Malang Dargah from Mumbai
Haji Malang Gad is 49km from Mumbai. If an individual or group of individuals are traveling from Mumbai to Haji Malang Gad, they can come in two ways, roadways and railways. If one comes from the road they have to come via the Eastern Express highway/Mumbai – Agra National Highway, which is about 1 hour 40 minutes of distance.
If one chooses to come via Railways, they can board any local train till Kalyan. Get down at Kalyan Station and can board an S.T Bus or auto-rickshaws which are easily available once you come out from the Kalyan station. A government bus no. 45 also travels from Kalyan station to the base of Malanggad directly, which costs around Rs. 20/- per person.
How to Reach Haji Malang Dargah from Kalyan
Haji Malang Dargah is just 17km from Kalyan, which is around 15 minutes of distance to the base village. One can travel by S.T buses or auto-rickshaws. A bus number 45 is the one which directly drops you are the base village of Malanggad. This bus does not charge you more than Rs. 20/- per person. You may also choose your vehicles to reach the base village of Malanggad. There is a huge area to park your vehicles at the base village itself.
How to Reach Haji Malang Dargah from Pune
There are 5 different ways through which you can reach Malanggad from Pune. One can come through both railways and roadways. From Railways, one can board a train from Pune till Badlapur, which takes around 1 hour 29 minutes. And then from Baldpaur, you can either take a taxi directly to Malanggad which takes another 25-30 minutes, or from Badlapur one can travel to Kalyan station via train and then take auto-rickshaw or bus as mentioned above till the base village of the fort.
One can take government AC buses from Pune till Kalyan, and then follow the same process of bus or auto-rickshaw. Now, there are two ways while you travel by bus, one way is via Kalyan, and the other is getting down at Badlapur and taking a taxi to the base village of the fort.
The Fourth way is you can rent a taxi from Pune directly to Haji Malang gad, which is 134. 5km that takes approximately 2 hours to reach the destination.
Fifth and the last way is your private car or any other vehicle. It takes the same time that a taxi takes to reach the base village of the fort.
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| Top View from Haji Malang Gad |
Malang Gad is the best trek destination in the Raigad district. It is an adventure and a touch of the religious side due to the Haji Malang Dargah and a few Hindu temples. It is suggested not to visit the fort during the summer season, as the stony steps make the trek more exhausting and tiring. One should not miss the experience of the Malang gad trek and the beautiful view from the top of the fort.
