Ulysses 360 Degrees

Range: Matheran
Height: 2100 ft
Grade: Easy
Base Village: Neral

Fort Peb is situated on northeast side of Panvel, on Mumbai-Pune road, at a distance of 3-4 km on west side of Neral. To avoid crowd at hill stations like Matheran, nature lovers must visit the nearby fort Peb. This is a beautiful one-day trek. The fort is also named as VikateshGad or VikadGad.

History :
There is not much know about its history. It is assumed that this fort derived its name Peb from the ‘Goddess Pebi’ at the base of the fort and Vikateshgad after lord Ganesha. Historical references clearly indicate that Shivaji Maharaj used the caves on the fort as silos for grain storage.

Mythology
This location is know to be the place where lord Ganesha fell down from his mouse and the moon laughed at him. Lord Ganesha is very fond of Laddoo (Modaka - a sweet delicacy). Once upon a day of Ganesha Puja (Ganesh Chatruthi), Ganesha went from house to house and accepted the offerings of laddoo. He stuffed himself to the capacity and decided to take a ride on his mouse at night. Along the moonlit road they got to see a large snake and the troubled rat stumbled, with the consequence Ganpati fell down .He hit the ground hard and as a result his stomach burst open. All the laddoos came out but Ganesha again stuffed them into his stomach. He caught the snake and tied it round his belly.
Moon witnessed the whole event and laughed heartily. Lord Ganesha lost his temper and furiously looked about for something to throw at his tormentor. Getting nothing, he pulled out one of his tusks and hurled it at the moon. He cursed the moon that no one should look at the moon on the day of Ganesha Puja .If anyone would look at it , he will get a bad name ,criticism or ill reputation. If anyone gets to see the moon by chance, he would be free from that bad name or blame, after hearing the story of Lord Krishna's clearing, his personality in respect of the Syamantaka jewel. Thus, Ganesha was happy to proclaim this.
The place were lord ganesha fell is know and Vikateshgad also know and Peb (Viktesh is another name for lord Ganesha), the place were the snake's hood was seen is Nakhind and from where the moon laughed is Chanderi. All these are 3 mountains sharing a common valley and one can view Peb and Nakhind from Chanderi.

Sightseeing :
The cave on the fort is occupied by disciples of Swami Samarth, a great saint. They have contributed a lot to development on this fort from last ten years. They have managed successfully to keep the cave and the fort clean, and maintained the dignity of the fort.
Near to this cave is a meditation cavern, which is underground. There are three caverns moving from the caves towards Matheran all in good condition. The first cavern is used for meditation. One has to crawl into it till one reched the end after which there is a 5 ft drop. There is a ladder which is used to get down and then you rech the place where meditation is done. The floor is tiled. Note the caver is completely dark and one can only enter with tourches. Also if the cavern is not been used for meditation for a few months, there may be bats and scorpians inside. It is advisable to ask the swami before entering the cavern.
On the top we can go by climbing the wall of the fort. There is a ladder fixed on the wall to climb. On the top we can see some remnants. From here one can climb to the top of the fort where there a pakukas of a great saint at the peak of the mountain.
There is a shelter made by the disciples on the other side of the mountain towards Matheran.It could be reached by walking rached my walking down from the peak towards Matheran in 15 min. Or traversing the mountain and not going to the peak after climbing the fort wall.
The main attraction of the fort is the bastion. This faces the mountain of Matheran. Here we can clearly see the ridge connecting mountains of Matheran and Peb. When we stand here we feel to be at the top of the world. Here we find many crystals. This can be recahed in a 5 min walk from the shelter.
Below the shelter a foot way leads to temple of goddes Pebi and Shiva. Here there are 3 big water cisterns. The first 2 have been recently cleanded. The last one holds good drinking water all round the year.
The beautiful waterfall on the way is the main attraction here. Surrounding scenery looks marvelous from the cave in the monsoon. From here we also see the pinnacles of Navara-Navari, Bhatoba and Irshaal, along with forts of Chanderi, Prabalgad and Malanggad and also Nakhind. This trekking is pleasant in all seasons.

Ways To Reach :
From Neral station :
Alight at Neral station on the central railway route and take right, the way on the left takes us to Matheran. Walk through the viallage till the main road. Cross the road and walk besides on the road besides the river. A ground, a poultry farm and some houses under construction could be remembered as landmarks on the way via the fields. Then proceed towards the huge electric towers on the way. After we arrive at a tower with a big cement base, we see a big waterfall. There are three ways near this waterfall.

The way along the waterfall goes through forests and it’s not possible to proceed along this way. Whereas the way along the towers is very very lengthy and there is a diversion on this route, which go towards Panvel. One might get lost on this way. So the best way is the central one, which takes us to the cave on the fort. On this way we see a rock with carving of Lord Ganesh. Ascend from the right side of this rock. Though this is the way of a small waterfall, proceed along the same way. This way takes us at the ridge. From the ridge turn at left and go further. Here we see a big rock. Climbing this small patch and walking for 10 minutes we reach at the cave. It is advisable to go with a guide. 2 to 3 hours are required to climb the fort.
From Panorama point at Matheran :
Another way to Peb is from Panorama point at Matheran. From here we reach at the cave within 4 hours. One has to reach the railway tracks of the toy train below panorama point. Walking along the tracks one comes across a metal acrch with a bell hanging on it. There are steps from here to take you to down in the valley with a Ganesh temple just a the begening of the steps. Follow the foot way it leads to the ridge joining the mountains of Peb and Matheran. Contineuing from the ridge one reaches the Shiv temple. There are 2 metalic fight of stairs made on the way.

Accommodation :
30-40 people can stay in Swami Samartha caves. A group of 4-5 people could also stay at the shelter on the other side.

Food :
One should arrange for the foodstuffs.

Drinking Water :
Water reservoirs are available

Time To Reach :
3 - 4 hours from Neral