Rajdeher Fort is a fort located from

chandwad Chandwad ( IPA:Cāndavaḍa) is a town located in Nashik district of Maharashtra, India. It is 250 km from Mumbai. The 11th-century Jain Caves, Renuka devi mandir, Chandreshwar temple and Rangmahal are in Chandwad. Chandwad is a tehsil ...

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 ...

. This fort is an important fort in Nashik district.

History

This fort was built earlier than

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 ...

period. This fort was under the control of Yadavas in 1216-17. This fort was under control of

Alauddin Khalji Alauddin Khalji (; ), born Ali Gurshasp, was a ruler from the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative changes in the Delhi Sultanate, related to revenue ...

and later under the Faruki. In 1601 the Khandesh Suba was in the hands of Moghuls, this fort was handed over to Ramajipant of Bhadgaon in return of the victory over Ashirigad. The Bakhar records depict this fort to be under the control of

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 ...

Maharaj. In 1752 under the Treaty of Bhalki, this fort was surrendered by Nizam to

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 ...

. In 1762

Madhavrao Peshwa Madhavrao I (formerly known as Madhavrao Ballal Bhat) was the second son of Peshwa Balaji Bajirao and grandson of Peshwa Bajirao I, who served as the 9th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. During his tenure, the Maratha Empire recovered from losses ...

handed over this fort to Vitthal Shivdev for yearly revenue of Rupees ten thousand for the fort. In 1764 the Pawar brothers of

Chalisgaon Chalisgaon (चाळीसगाव) is second largest city and municipal council in Jalgaon district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Khandesh division of the state. and is located about from Jalgaon and about fro ...

revolted against Peshwa, which was crushed by Bajirao-II by sending Vittalrao Vinchurkar to capture

, the Rajdeher fort was also brought under the control of Peshwas. On 15 April 1818 this fort was won by Col. Prother of

British forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping ef ...

, after a fierce battle with Nikam Deshmukh.

How to reach

The nearest town is

Chandwad Chandwad ( IPA:Cāndavaḍa) is a town located in Nashik district of Maharashtra, India. It is 250 km from Mumbai. The 11th-century Jain Caves, Renuka devi mandir, Chandreshwar temple and Rangmahal are in Chandwad. Chandwad is a tehsil ...

which is 66 km 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 Rajdeherwadi which is 11 km from Chandwad. There are good hotels at Chandwad. The trekking path starts from the hillock west of the Rajdeherwadi. The route is very safe and wide. There are no trees on the trekking route. It takes about two hours to reach the entrance gate of the fort. The path is marked with limestone markings. The trek path is very clearly seen from the base village. The night stay on the fort can be made in the caves on the fort, however, the stay at the temple in the base village is a routine night stay halt for the trekkers. The villagers from the local village make night stay and food arrangements at a reasonable cost.

Places to see

There is a single gate on the main entrance path of the fort. The main entrance gate has an inscription in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. There is a rock cut water cistern on the fort. The water is available round the year for drinking purpose. It takes about one hour to visit the fort top.

Gallery

File:Rajdher 1.jpg, Climb to the entrance of fort File:Rajdher2.jpg, Rockcut underground Water cistern File:Rajdher3.jpg, Top of the fort File:Rajdher4.jpg, The rock cut steps File:Rajdher5.jpg, The trek path File:Rajdher6.jpg, water cistern File:Rajdher7.jpg, Inscription in Persian Nearest Villages Rajdher wadi Kapshi

References

{{Coord, 20, 23, 11.9, N, 74, 11, 40, E, display=title Buildings and structures of the Maratha Empire Forts in Nashik district 16th-century forts in India Hiking trails in India

History

How to reach

Places to see

Gallery

See also

References