Forts in Raigad District

• Raigad Fort :

  Raigad is a hill fort situated at about 25 Km from Mahad in the Raigad district. Chhatrapati Shivaji renovated this fort and made it his capital in 1674 AD. The rope-way facility is available at Raigad Fort, to reach at the fort from ground in few minutes.

  The fort also overlooks an artificial lake known as the ‘Ganga Sagar Lake’. The only main pathway to the fort passes through the “Maha Darwaja” (Huge Door). The King’s durbar inside the Raigad Fort has a replica of the original throne that faces the main doorway called the Nagarkhana Darwaja. This enclosure had been acoustically designed to aid hearing from the doorway to the throne. The fort has a famous bastion called “Hirakani Buruj” (Hirkani Bastion) constructed over a huge steep cliff.

• Murud-Janjira Fort :

  Murud-Janjira Fort is situated at Arabian Sea coast near the port town of Murud. Janjira is considered one of the strongest marine forts in India. The fort is approached by sailboats from Rajapuri jetty. The main gate of the fort faces Rajapuri on the shore. It has a small postern gate towards the open sea for escape. There are many cannons of native and European make on the bastions of the fort. Now in ruins, the fort in its heyday was a full-fledged living fort with all the necessary facilities, e.g., palaces, quarters for officers, mosque, two small natural fresh water lakes, etc. The palace of the Nawabs of Janjira at Murud is still in good shape.

  A special attraction of this fort are 3 gigantic cannons named Kalalbangdi, Chavri and Landa Kasam. These cannons were said to be feared for their shooting range. Another gate to the west is sea-facing, called ‘Darya Darwaza’.

• Kolaba Fort: 

  Kolaba Fort was one of the chief naval stations of Maratha empire.  Kolaba Fort has two main entrances, one on the sea side and the other towards Alibag. An interesting feature of this fort is that it has freshwater wells in its premises even though it is a seaside fort. In 1713, under a treaty with Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, Kolaba along with several other forts was given over to Kanhoji Angre. He used it as his main base from which to launch raids on British ships. 

• Sudhagad Fort :

  Sudhagad / Bhorapgad is a hill fort situated in Maharashtra, India. It lies about 50 kilometres west of Pune, 25 kilometres south of Lonavla and 10 kilometres east of Pali in Raigad District. Sudhagad Fort is also known as Bhorapgad Fort. Shivaji Maharaj changed the name of Bhorapgad to Sudhagad. Near Sudhagad there are Thaanale and Khadsambale caves.
  Sudhagad Fort’s plateau has three parts. First part is western plateau in front of old palace. Ruins of buildings can be seen here as the terrain is flat and there is also a pond and a big tank. Second part consists of temple of Bhorai Devi and area upto Takmak Tok point. There are ruins of four big warehouses. And the third part is eastern area. Here, there is big bastion and one can find the ruins in nearby sprawling jungle.

Karnala Fort :

Apart from bird watching, the main attraction of this sanctuary is the Karnala Fort. The nature trail leading to the fort is through difficult and rocky terrain, making this fort a big attraction for trekkers and mountaineers. The nature trails of Hariyal and Mortaka, located in the eastern part of the national highway, are important routes for bird watching. Another nature trail, Garmal, located in the western part of the national highway of the sanctuary, has many diverse plants on this path.

Karnala Fort is located at an altitude of 445 meters above sea level. While climbing the mountain ranges, following the shade of dense forests and the honey of birds, one comes across a rampart. Once inside, the grandeur of the cones that look like thumbs from below is felt. The dug water tanks in the stomachs of the cones are astonishing. Prabalgad, Matheran, Rajmachi, Malanggad, Manikgad are all within easy reach. Even today, Karnala Fort is a center of attraction not only for birds but also for tourists.
The area around Karnala Fort near Panvel city is famous for its diversity of birds. This area is protected as Karnala Sanctuary.
Around 125-150 species of birds are found in Karnala in a year. A bird sanctuary has been set up in an area of ​​about 12 square km. This sanctuary is located 12 kilometers from Panvel, in the valley of Patalgange, between the villages of Apte-Kalhaya and Ransai-Chinchwan. No matter when you go to this place, you can see fifty-five different birds. Many birds like Malabar, Whistling Thrush, Cuckoo, Falai Catcher, Bhordaya, Tambat, Kotwal, White-backed Vulture, Dayal Shahinasasana, Titwi, Harale are found in the sanctuary. There are three layers of forest in the lower part. There are shrubs like Dinda, Vavding, Karvi. In the middle part, Pangara, Bahawa, Taman, are more abundant while in the higher part, Jambhol, Teak, Mango, Ain trees are found. Apart from birds, Bhokare, Wild Cat, Monkeys, Rabbits etc. are also found.
This sanctuary is in Panvel taluka of Raigad district and is 62 km from Mumbai. It is the first bird sanctuary in Maharashtra.Karnala has various types of trees and 150 species of birds are found here. Birds of various species such as peacock, bulbul, dayal, bhardwaj, partridge, eagle, ghar, parrot, carpenter bird, kotwal, deaf falcon, shah hawk etc. are found in it.

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