Karnala Fort and Bird Sanctuary

The Map of the Karnala Bird Sanctuary at the entrance

General information about the Karnala Bird Sanctuary

The Karnala fort seen amidst green vegetation

The trek to Karnala is mesmerizing. Easy for starters and an awesome get together for family and also for school picnics. The area is well maintained by the Government of Maharashtra and the state forest department, offers some beautiful sights of green trees and few exotic species of birds residing there.

How to reach?

Karnala is well connected by the road as well as the railway. It is located on the Panvel-Pen highway, and the nearest railway station is Panvel (Harbour line). To travel Panvel one has to travel through the harbor line; trains going towards Panvel can be boarded from Thane / or Andheri / or Kurla. After reaching Panvel, walk towards the ST bus depot wherein buses are available at 25-40 mins interval to Karnala. Also, autorickshaws and tumtums drop you at the Karnala bird sanctuary, but the charges are high, Rs 300 for Auto and about 50 rs per seat for Jeeps / TumTums, whereas ST bus takes a mere Rs 14. So a good and cheap option is to board the ST bus. Time to reach Karnala is about 35 mins.

Difficulty Level

The trek to the Karnala fort is a very easy grade trek; a good trekking destination for beginners. Time to reach the top is 1.5 hr and a descend time of 45 mins to an hour.

What to see?

Lots! Yeahhh; Karnala is comprised of fort which is 1440 ft in height and the adjoining Bird Sanctuary. Just after entering Karnala, one can take a long walk towards the Hariyali Nature Trail, a variety of birds can be spotted here; submit yourselves to the nature to experiecnce the peace, calm and chirping birds. Peacocks, Kites, Parrots, Owl, etc are kept in enclosures.

That eyesight! Common kite at Karnala

The National Bird - Peacock

African Parrots at Karnala

Common Indian Parrots

The bird enclosure also houses few rabbits; thus the entire place is a fun place, especially for small kids.

After the bird enclosures, the trail for the Karnala fort starts. The route to the top is very well marked, and the trail is rocky till the top.

Karnai Mata Temple

Me - after completing the ascend, Behind you can see the entire path leading towards the top of the fort

From this point, Prabalgad (Kalavantin durg), Manikgad, etc can be seen, if weather is clear and non-foggy

Kalavantin durg and Prabalmachi as seen from Karnala fort

'Kothaar' - A room meant for storing grains or goods

Water Tanks at the top of the fort

Back side of the fort

The Pinnacle of the fort also called as Pandu's Tower

Main gate entrance of the fort

Fortification

Karnala is a beautiful destination to hang out with family; best time visit is just after rains (October-November). A great place to be in the company of nature and some prominent birds species. The fort is in ruins, not many structures remain but offers a good location to carry out photography and photo-shoots.

Nature trails and bird watching

A great place to enjoy the company of the birds; varied species of birds can be spotted.

List of differennt birds species found at Karnala

Birds found and their location in the premises of the Bird Sanctuary

History

The fort was under many rulers and dynasties like the Portuguese, Yadavas of Devgiri, Bhoj, Shilahar for around 1200 years. In 1656 Shivaji Maharaj conquered the fort from the Portuguese. But after the treaty of Purandar was signed, Shivaji Maharaj had to give away this fort but again in 1670, Maharaj captured the fort. But again in the year 1818, the fort was taken over by the British Raj.

Board depicting history of the fort

My Experience

A typical October weekend, getting lazy and boring; Narendra me and Krish decided to go on a trek, planning started place was fixed at the last moment. Finally, after much discussion, we decided to visit Karnala. The lazy weekend was about to become much crazy 😆. As the trek was easy we decided to meet little late, 9.15am at Panvel; hence I then boarded the 7.40 am Panvel local from Andheri. The journey was quite long but I met an elderly lady who was quite keen on knowing much about trekking and how today's younger generation is moving forward owing to the boom in technology. 

Time passed by; the local reached Panvel station at 9.10 am; our gang of three went on to have some breakfast at the local Anna, had idli and medu-vada😮. We went towards the ST depot and boarded a bus going towards Karnala at 9.30 am. After 30 mins of bus travel, there came our destination, the Karnala Bird Sanctuary. We visited the bird enclosure and then trekked our way to the top of Karnala fort. The trip was relaxing, refreshing, enchanting, energetic; and finally, at 4 pm our trek (or picnic😉) ended with sweet memories and a lot and lots of photographs.

Say no to plastic!

Summary of this trek

• Nearest Railway station - Panvel
• Base Village - Panvel
• Average Expenditure- 150 to 200 Rs
• Bus Ticket Charge from Panvel to Karnala - 14 Rs
• Auto/Tumtum charges - 250 Rs/40-50 Rs per seat
• Entry fees at Karnala - 30 Rs
• Food/Water is available at the restaurants, inside the Karnala Bird Sanctuary
• Difficulty Level - Very Easy, good for beginners
• Ascend Time - 1.5 hr
• Descend time - 45 mins to 1 hr

Tips and Suggestions

1. Karnala is surrounded by trees on all sides hence atmosphere is humid, carry a lot of water while trekking to the fort.
2. Do not throw plastic or garbage in the premises, nor feed the birds in the enclosures, it attracts huge fines from the local authorities.
3. If you want to observe the different bird species, try to reach as early as possible (6 am to 7.30 am). Carry binoculars if possible to view the birds.
4. Do not climb the Karnala fort pinnacle as it stands at an inclination of 90 degrees.

Public Notice

KEEP NATURE AND SURROUNDING ATMOSPHERE CLEAN