Hatgad Fort is a fort located 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 ...

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 ...

, 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 base village is Hatgad on the Nashik-Saputara Road. The nearest town is

Saputara Saputara town in the Dang district of Gujarat, India, is a hill station A hill station is a touristic town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in Western imperialism i ...

, which is 6 km from Hatgad village. It is a historic monument located in

, India, south of the hill station of

and near the border with

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. It was built by the

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

king

Shivaji Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...

and is located at an elevation of about 3,600 feet. The way to reach the fort is through a trekking route via a narrow rocky path and car also go up to the stairs of fort. A statue of Lord

Shivling A lingam ( , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Upanishads and epic literature, wher ...

is placed on the top of the fort.

History

In 1547 King Bhairavsen, son of King Mahadevsen of the Bagul dynasty, defeated the Burhan Nizam shah of

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar, officially Ahilyanagar, is a city in, and the headquarters of, the Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. Ahmednagar has several dozen buildings and sites from the Nizam Shahi period. Ahmednagar Fort, once considered almost impre ...

and captured the fort. The Rangarav Aundhekar was the last

Peshwa The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...

officer who held the fort. The fort was captured by Captain Briggs of

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

in 1818.

Places to see

There are four gates in a row on the main entrance path of the fort. The main entrance gate has an idol of lord hanuman carved in rock. There is a two rock cut water cisterns called Ganga and Jamuna on the fort plateau. The water is available round the year. There is an inscription in Sanskrit carved on the rock near the cistern. There are few building structures on the fort which are now in ruined state except got the ammunition store building which is in good condition.

References

Gujrat State Book
Buildings and structures of the Maratha Empire Forts in Nashik district 16th-century forts in India Tourist attractions in Nashik district Rock-cut architecture of India Former populated places in India {{Maharashtra-geo-stub

History

Places to see

See also

References