Sindhudurg Fort happens to hold spectator to some of
the most grisly battles that have taken place on the Indian soil. The state of
Maharashtra has been a silent witness to uncountable accounts of bloodshed, and
some of the most gruesome ragging battles. The Sindhudurg Fort is one of the
most historical buildings of time that has borne witness to the rise and fall
of various rulers who had been invading the Indian soil. The Sindhudurg Fort is
present in the Sindhudurg district, located in the Konkan coastal region of the
Maharashtra state in India. The Sindhudurg Fort had gained its name
after two separate words, Sindhu that denotes the sea and Durg which denotes
the Fort.
The fort offers a beautiful view of the sea, green waters a
few rocky patches and a breath taking view of the Malvan Beach.
This Kokan region of Maharashtra has picturesque stretch of
land on the west cost of India, endowed with the beautiful seashore,
picturesque mountains and scenic natural beauty.
The fort happens to be one of the Great Shivaji’s master
pieces, with the use of illusionary architecture; it expresses the absolute
brilliancy of Shivaji
.
The very entrance to the fort is constructed in a manner
that the door cannot be identified unless one knows where it is situated
through close observation.
It was built in such a way that from here one could fend off
the invasions caused through land and through sea, the strategic planning of
the Sindhudurg Fort, was such that from the fort one could keep a watch on the
Sindhis of Murud Island, the Janjiras etc. It was a surprising fact
that amongst the 6000 skillful workers who helped to
build this enormous splendor on the coast, Chattrapathi Shivaji was also one of
them.
Standing nautical miles away from Malvan Jetty on
the Malvan Beach, this fort looks so massive, Imagine if I was near it how
massive it would be. The walls of this fort are made of stone.
It takes around 20 minutes to reach to the fort. The
boat is small but can accommodate 20 people along with two crew members. The
boat has got a side car placed; it helps in turning the boat so that the boat
does not capsize.
There is no jetty near the fort so have to alight on the
rocky patches and from there we need to proceed to view the fort.
At the entrance of the fort there is a broken cannon placed.
Near the door is placed the Hanuman Mandir painted bright orange.
There are many temples on this fort, what caught my eye is
the temple dedicated to Shivaji Maharaj. Even at Panhala there is a
temple dedicated to Shivaji Maharaj. The temples though old are still in
use.
Sindhudurg Fort is built on Kurte Island. In 1664 – 67 AD
Shivaji Maharaj had constructed this fort on the 48 acre island. The fort has
42 bastions.
Temple of Shivaji
Maharaj
The walls made of stone were cold in the hot weather. Like
the heat has no effect on the stone. Felt cooler when we entered the fort
premises. The stone used to build the walls were big and huge, wondering how
they might have put them together as no adhesive is used to join them and the
stones were places in such a peculiar way that they interlocked each other.
Sindhudurg fort stands on a rocky island, known as Kurte,
barely a km, from the Malavan is 510kms south of Mumbai and 130kms north of
Goa. Sindhudurg was built in 1664-67 AD by shivaji when all his attempts
to take the island fort of Janjira proved futile. The construction was
done under the supervision of Hiroji Indulkar, an able architect. Shivaji
had invited 100 Portuguese experts from Goa for the construction of the
fort. It is also recorded that 3000 workers were employed round the clock
for three years to build Sindhudurg. It was the body from the Sack of
Surat that went into the building of Sindhudurg.
One of the best preserved forts of the Marathas, the 48 acre
Sindhudurg fort has a four kms long zigzag line of 9 metres high and 3 metres
wide rampart with 42 bastions. Apart from the huge stones, the building
material involved 2000 khandis (72,576kgs)of iron erecting the massive curtain
wall and bastions. A notable feature is that the foundation stones were laid
down firmly in molten lead.
Beautiful sunset
at Sindhudurg fort
It was believed that during the building of
the Sindhudurg Fort, absolutely no compromises were made either on the
construction side or the equipment side of it.
One of the best
preserved forts of the Marathas, Sindhudurg fort
The expanse of the
fort area alone is about 48 acres and the outer parapet is about 2 miles long.
This Kokan region of Maharashtra has picturesque stretch of
land on the west cost of India, endowed with the beautiful seashore,
picturesque mountains and scenic natural beauty.
Sunset at
Sindhudurg fort
Panorama View -
Sindhudurg Fort
Visiting Hour
You can visit the fort everyday during day time from 10 a.m
to 5.30 p.m.
How to Reach
By Air:
Nearest airports are Goa and Mumbai..
By Rail:
Nearest railhead is Kudal, (45 k.m. on Konkan Railway.)
By Road:
Mumbai–Malvan, 546 k.m. Kolhapur–Malvan, 160 k.m.
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