The Complete Guide To Songadh Fort Trek

The Songadh Fort is a lesser-known fort situated in the Songadh Town of South Gujarat. A 16th-century fort located near the Tapi River, Ukai Dam at an elevation of 112 meters above sea level.

This fort is really special for trekkers residing in South Gujarat’s Tapi district as there are not many forts in this region due to the relatively flat nature of the landscape.

The trek takes you to the historical ruins of the fort built by the founder of Gaekwad Dynasty, Pilaji Rao Gaekwad. It was built deliberately on top of a high hill as a vantage point to keep an eye on enemies. The fort has an influence on both the Mughal and the Maratha architecture.

This is a leisure trek as it is a short duration. Songadh Fort Trek is best suited for trekkers who wish to freshen up on weekends and meet Mother Nature. You can easily do this trek on your own and find your own way to the top. 

➤Table Of Contents

Just like you, we love trekking! And this is a trek we’ve documented in great detail to help you do it on your own. Drop-in comments at the end of the page if you need any help!  You will get all the information required to do the Songadh Fort Trek on your own.

To navigate through the documentation easily, use this section of the Table of Contents

• Highlights of Songadh Fort Trek
• Trail Information
• GPX File for the trek
• Best Season to do the trek
• How to Reach the base of the trek
• Frequently Asked Questions about the trek
• Things to Take for the trek
• Nearby Places to Visit after the trek
  

➤ Highlights of Songadh Fort Trek

1. The Two Distinct Views From The Top

The Songadh Fort offers two distinctive views from the top. This unique view offers one with nature and the other with cities and human intervention. 

One has a wide-angle view of the grasslands and small villages in the Songadh district.

The other view showcases the whole town of Songadh. The entire landscape is visible with the high rise buildings, factories, and bridges.

2. Beautiful Flora and Fauna On The Trek

The trek is filled with various kinds of beautiful flowers and butterflies. If you are trekking during the spring or the post-monsoon season, you will be mesmerised to see fallen flowers all over the ground. Also, many of the stretches in the forest section are filled with wild mushrooms.

You will also be able to spot a lot of millipedes on the way. Watch out for them so that you don’t step on them.

➤ Trail Information

The Songadh Fort trek is a very small and easy trek located near the Tapi River, Ukai Dam. The trek starts two kilometers from Songadh Town.

The entire trek can be divided into two major sections:

1. Start of the trek till the gate of the fort
2. Things to do after you reach the gate

Section I: Start of the Trek till the Entrance of the Fort

Trek distance: 850 m
Trek duration: 30 min to 45 min
GPS Coordinates of the Start of the trek: 21°10’29.8″N, 73°33’22.8″E
GPS Coordinates of the Entrance of the fort: 21°10’14.87″N, 73°33’10.64″E

The trek starts with much excitement of a fork, in having two trails to the fort. ‘Trail A’ is the one through the forest whereas ‘Trail B’ is a well-made motorable mud trail that takes you until the staircase.

Obviously, Trail A is a much more adventurous way to the entrance of the fort. You will get to see some nice views along with the forest trail filled with butterflies, flowers, and wild mushrooms. So this trail is what we naturally recommend to any trekkers going on this trek of Songadh Fort. 

Tip: You may use the ‘Trail B’ if you have a bike and reach till the start of the staircases. You then have to climb a few staircases from there.

Both these two trails lead you to a common space where the staircase starts to the entrance of the fort.

You now have to climb a smaller number of stairs which adds to the childish excitement of counting these steps along the way. There are around 25 small stepped stairs to the gate of the fort. 

Section 2: Exploration of the Fort

Time required: 1 hour to 1.5 hours

Once you enter the gate, you see a demolished wall towards the south side. This is where you get to see the expansive view of Songadh Town. Sit down at the wall and capture some photos. Ensure you are careful when you sit on the edge. 

On the right side of this wall, there are few more staircases to go up the fort. Go up to look down on the view of the grasslands and the villages.

Continue forward and you reach another entrance gate to see the ruins of the inside of the fort. There are small windows from the fort which you give you access to the best views of the entire region. 

Move further from here to find a dargah and a Mata Durga temple. This is a rare sight at the top to see the shrines of both Hindu and Muslim religion adjacent to each other. Then as you move further ahead, you will find a forest department office and a police station. And will also find the final ruins of the fort at the end where there is another small temple near a tree.

Exploring the fort takes about an hour. As you move back towards the gate you find a small entrance gate where the lighting is perfect and to capture a perfect last shot from the trek. 

The descent back to the road-head will take around half an hour if you are trekking through the motorable road. If you take the route back from the forest trail, add twenty minutes more to this.

➤ Best Season to do The Songadh Fort Trek

The best time to go on the Songadh Fort trek is from June to February.

If you are going during the post-monsoon season, you will witness a lot of greenery and life in this region.

The winter months will be a very delightful experience due to the breeze and the dry cold weather. You will need one fleece layer if you are trekking in the early morning on the trek. The temperatures can dip to 18 degrees, but feel like 15-16 because of the dry cold. 

The summer months are not a good time to trek the Songadh Fort. The weather is very humid in the area of South Gujarat. You won’t have a great experience of trekking. 

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➤ How To Reach Songadh Fort Trek

The Songadh Fort trek starts from the small town of Songadh. This is around 85 km from Surat, 20 km from Vyara, and 8 km from Ukai, the major towns of Gujarat. 

Reaching by your own vehicle: You can either go in your own car or even take a two-wheeler to reach the Songadh town.

| Tip: Do not use Google maps to reach the Songadh fort parking. The map takes you to the middle of nowhere.

If you still want to use google maps, put the destination as Songadh town. Once you enter the town you will have to go straight until you see this signboard on the left. You need to head towards the Songadh-Bedvan Khadka Road. Take a left turn to cross this railway crossing and follow the road until the end.

The parking spot for the fort is right ahead of the road. Use the GPX file marked to locate the exact spot where the trek starts. 

There is no public transport which takes you to the fort. You can take a government bus from Surat or Vyara till Songadh Town. You need to walk for about half an hour to the start point of the trek from the town.

Nearest International and Domestic Airport

Surat airport – 85 km

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➤ Things To Take for Songadh Fort Trek

• Basic First Aid kit*
• Identity Card
• Cap/ Scarf/ Bandana & Sunglasses
• Water (Minimum two litres)
• Lemon and salt OR Electrolyte Powder/Drink (Electral/Gatorade/Glucon D, etc.)
• High-calorie snacks (Nuts & dry fruits, home-baked cake, etc.)
• Safety Pins, Rubber bands & Whistle (Useful in emergencies.)
• Quick Dry Full Sleeve T-shirts are preferable over cotton tees.
• Poncho, only during monsoons
• Plastic sheet to wrap electronic devices, only during monsoons
• Sunscreen (SPF 50+)
• Optional: Trekking poles

*First aid kit:

• Scissor
• Band aids (Regular & Waterproof)
• Analgesic spray (Relispray, Volini, etc.)
• Antiseptic Liquid (Savlon, Dettol etc.)
• Antiseptic powder (Povidone-Iodine based powders like Cipladine, Savlon, etc.)
• Cotton roll & Bandage
• Crepe Bandage
• 1 inch wide medical tape (paper or cloth.)
• Micropore tape
• Tablet for motion sickness (Avomine), Acidity (Gelusil, Digene, etc.).
• Mild pain relief tablet (Crocin)

Note: Always consult a doctor before taking any medicine.

➤ Frequently Asked Questions about the Songadh Fort Trek

1. What about permissions for the trek? Is it possible to camp on the trek?

Permission is not required to do this trek. Since the trek is very short, camping is not advised 

2. What are the food and water sources on the trek? 

There are no restaurants near the start of the trek. So the best suggestion is to carry your own food and water from your home. Ensure you carry at least 2 liters of water. 

3. Timings to follow on the Songadh trek? 

The best time to start the trek is to go early in the morning. Target starting your trek before 9 am so that you can have a great experience before the sun comes above our head.

4. Emergency Contacts for the Songadh Fort Trek

Hospital: Sarthak Hospital (contact number: 09099523666) it is 1.2km    from the fort.

Police Station: Songadh Police Station (contact number: 02624222033) it is 1.1km from the fort.

5. Nearby ATMs and Network on the trek:

There are many ATMs available in Songadh town. There is a full network available throughout the trek. But Jio has rather good and better connectivity compared to others.

➤ Nearby Places to visit after the Songadh Fort Trek

• Thuti: Located at a distance of 12 km from the Songadh fort, the drive to this place is very beautiful with amazing views and smooth roads.

Thuti is a lake which is a part of the Ukai dam and is a serene place. It literally has a road that has water on both sides. Sit there and enjoy nature’s beauty at its best.

• Medha waterfall: A waterfall that is 17.5 km away from the Songadh fort. The access to this waterfall takes you through a small moderate difficulty trek of 15 to 20 minutes through the forest. 

• Gaumukh waterfall: It is a waterfall that is 13.3 km from the Songadh fort towards the southeast and on the borders of Gujarat, Maharashtra. A very small waterfall that has a 10-minute walk to reach this waterfall.

| Tip: You can witness this waterfall only during the monsoon months.

• Ukai Dam: It is the second-largest reservoir in Gujarat constructed across the Tapi River. It is around 8.5 km from the Songadh fort. I will suggest to visit this dam during monsoon or just post monsoon then only you will be able to see a lot of water there.

| Protip: Do not plan all the places in one single day as it will not be possible. So choose the places according to the season you are going in.

➤ Trek Contribution

Trek documented by Khushbu Savla, Surbhi Sharma, Fenil Gosar, Krina Gosar

Special thanks to Khushbu Savla, Surbhi Sharma, Fenil Gosar for the pictures of the trek
Banner Image by Surbhi Sharma

The trek was written by Khushbu Savla