Mangi-Tungi Fort
“Baglan” is one of the areas rich in agricultural productivity, forests and wealth. The North – South range of the Sahyadris makes it appearance in this region of Bagulged (Baglan). Here the second range running from East to West is known as the Selbari – Dolbari range. Anyone reaching Taharabad can see the imposing pinnacles of Mangi and Tungi from afar which beckons them. These are pilgrimage places of the Jain people.
Type : Hill forts
Fort Range : Selbari-Dolbari
District : Nashik
Ways To Reach :
To reach these peaks of Mangi and Tungi one has to reach Taharabad via Satana from Nasik. The route to Taharabad from Gujarat is from the Neelmora Railway Station through Ahuaa. There are S.T. and bus services to reach Bhilwadi from Taharabad. Bhilwadi is the base village of Mangi – Tungi.
There is a Jain temple of Adinath and Parshvanath at Bhilwadi. Pilgrims also call these as Mangi – Tungi. The route to the peaks originates right from the base village. You reach the steps leading to the top after a walk of around 20 minutes on the road from Bhilwadi. We reach an archway after climbing about 2000 steps. From here, the route to the left leads to Mangi and the one to the right to Tungi.
Mangi :
The route from the archway, leading to the left, takes us towards the Mangi Pinnacle. We reach the caves at the base of the Mangi Pinnacle within around 20 minutes from the archway. The Mangi Pinnacle is not very tall but needs technical expertise and rock climbing equipment to climb it. Along the base of the pinnacle are 356 carvings of Mahavir, Adinath, Parshvanath, Hanuman, Vali, Sugreeva, etc. There are some engravings too in some of the caves. There is also a temple of Mangigiri here. The water here is not potable. One can see all this and return back within a period of half hour to 45 minutes.
Tungi :
The route from the archway, going to the right, goes to the Tungi pinnacle. One can reach the pinnacle within half an hour from the archway. The Tungi Pinnacle is taller than Mangi. To climb the pinnacle, it is very essential to have a good knowledge of rock climbing. Like Mangi, one can also go round the Tungi pinnacle. There are 3 caves on the way. There is a temple of Tungigiri in one of these caves and there are 99 carvings of Buddha in these caves. One can finish seeing these in around 20 minutes and turn back towards the base.
One can complete seeing both Mangi and Tungi in four hours and return back to base. Mention should be made here that on the route to Tungi from the archway, there is a beautiful Krishna temple made of marble with intricate marble grills.
