Ankai Fort is a historic site found in the

Satmala Range Satmala (pronunciation: ɐtmaːla is a mountain range which runs across Nashik District, Maharashtra. They are an integral part of the Sahyadris range within Nashik. These peaks are visible from a greater part of the district and form promine ...

hills in western

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is located in Yeola Taluka of

Nashik district Nashik district,(Marathi: Help:IPA/Marathi, ̪ɑɕɪk formerly known as Nasik district, is a district in Maharashtra, India. The city of Nashik is the administrative headquarters of the district. Nashik is well known for the production of win ...

in the state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. The fort was built by Yadava of Devgiri. Geographically, it is near

Manmad Manmad ( ənmaːɖ is a town in Nashik district in Maharashtra, India. It is the third largest city in Nashik district, with a population of approximately 80,000. Geographically, the town lies within Nandgaon Tehsil in Nashik District. Though ...

. The

Ankai Anhui Ankai Automobile Co., Ltd., is a Chinese automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Hefei, Anhui, which specialises in the production of buses and coaches. Ankai's products include urban buses, regular coaches, sleeping berth coache ...

fort and Tankai fort are two different forts on adjacent hills. A common fortification is constructed to secure both. The Ankai fort is located on a hill with perpendicular scarps on all the sides, except for a narrow nose on the eastern side.

History

The Jain caves located at the foothills of the fort, spanning two levels. On the lower level there are two caves, neither of which has idols. On the upper level, there are five caves which feature

Mahavir Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...

idols in good condition. They are secured by lock and key at night to avoid vandalism. There are carvings of

Yaksha The Yakshas (, , ) in Mythology are a broad class of nature spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Bud ...

Indrani Indrani (Sanskrit: इन्द्राणी, IAST: ''Indrāṇī''), also known as Shachi (Sanskrit: शची, IAST: ''Śacī''), is the queen of the Deva (Hinduism), devas in Hinduism. Described as tantalisingly beautiful, proud and kind, ...

, lotus and Lord Mahavir in the main cave. the fort at the base of the fort depict that Ankai was constructed around 1000 years ago. The fort was built by

Yadava The Yadava (), not to be confused with Yadav, were an ancient Indian people who believed to have descended from Yadu (legendary king), Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the #T ...

Devgiri Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at its s ...

. Mughals led by

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

's General Khan Khanan captured this fort in 1635 by bribing the fort commander. In 1665, Thévenot mentions these forts as a stage on the journey between the cities of

Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...

and

Aurangabad Aurangabad (), officially renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in 2023, is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a ...

. Ankai was ultimately captured by the Moghals. In 1752, the fort came under control of the

Maratha empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

after the Treaty of Bhalki. It was subsequently captured by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

in 1818.

How to reach

The nearest town is

which is 97 kilometers from

Nashik Nashik, formerly Nasik, is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra situated on the banks of the river Godavari, about northeast of the state capital Mumbai. Nashik is one of the Hindu pilgrimage sites of the Kumbh ...

. The base village of the fort is Ankai which is 10 kilometers from Manmad. There are three routes to reach Ankai from Nashik. The shortest and safest is via

, the other two are via Vinchur-Lasalgaon-Patoda (85 km) and via

Yeola Yeola (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, eːʋlaː () is a town, a municipal council, and a taluka headquarters in Nashik District in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Yeola is a city located in the ...

(108 km). There are hotels in Manmad, and tea and snacks are also available in small eateries on the highway. The Ankai railway station is quite close to the village. Local passenger trains passing on the Manmad-Nizamabad route stop at the railway station. The trekking path starts from the hillock north of the Ankai village. The route is free from obstruction and is safe and wide with regular steps to the fort. It takes about half an hour to reach the entrance gate of the fort. It takes about 3 hours to see both the forts. It is advisable to first visit the Ankai fort in the early hours of the morning and complete the Tankai fort before evening. Ankai Fort from Train

Places to see

There are a lot of places to be seen around the fort, including: The Jain caves located at the foothills of the fort, spanning two levels. On the lower level there are two caves, neither of which has idols. On the upper level, there are five caves which feature

idols in good condition. They are secured by lock and key at night to avoid vandalism. There are carvings of

, lotus and Lord Mahavir in the main cave. The Main Gate is located south of the hill, featuring well preserved woodwork. The Manmad Gate is on the Northern side of the col facing Manmad city. The Brahmani (Hindu) Caves are near the entrance gate to the upper plateau of Ankai fort. They are in ruins, but the idols of Jai and Vijay carved out of rock and the Shivinga can still be seen. The Palace and Kashi Pond On the western edge of the plateau is a large palace in a dilapidated condition. Only the walls of the palace remain. Among the rock cut cisterns on the way to the palace is the Kashi pond, with a holy

Tulsi ''Ocimum tenuiflorum'', commonly known as holy basil, ''tulasi'' or ''tulsi'' (), is an aromatic perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is widely cultivated throughout the Southeast Asian tropics. It is native to tropical and subtropical r ...

pot engraved in rock placed in the center of the pond. There is a series of rock-cut water cisterns on the southern side of the fort. It takes about two hours to visit all the attractions on the fort.

Gallery

File:Ankai 1.jpg, Main gate of the Fort File:Ankai4.jpg, Jain caves File:Ankai2.jpg, Kashi Pond File:Ankai7.jpg, Entrance gate File:Ankai9.jpg, The Hindu cave with jai-Vijay File:Ankai10.jpg, The Jain Cave File:Ankai13.jpg, Wada or Palace File:Ankai Fort.jpg, Ankai fort from Tankai

References

{{MarathaEmpire Buildings and structures of the Maratha Empire Forts in Nashik district 16th-century forts in India Caves of Maharashtra Tourist attractions in Nashik district Former populated places in India *

History

How to reach

Places to see

Gallery

See also

References