Raigarh
Fort-
“Gada cha Raja, Raja cha Gadh”, this
Marathi line is enough to describe the grandeur and beauty of this fort situated
near Mahad in Raigarh district of Maharashtra. This line in english literally
means “King of forts, fort of King”.
This fort was the capital of Shivaji
Maharaj. He was anointed as a king here in 1674, also died and cremated here after
6 years of his coronation in 1680.This fort is situated at a height of 2700 ft
above sea level and perched on a high cliff of Sahyadri Mountains. Shivaji has
captured this fort then known as Rairi from Chandanrao mores in 1656 and
renamed it as Raigarh. It was finally destroyed and looted by East India
Company in 1818.Now this fort is under administration of ASI and it charges
Rs.5 as an entry fee to the fort.
We have started our journey from Pune at
7:30 AM in the morning and reach the base of the fort at 1 PM. The road was not
that good but the outside scenic environment made our day. The way from Pune
passes through Chandni chowk, Bhugaon Lake, Paud, Mulshi Dam, Tamhini ghat, Mangaon,
Mahad and Pachad. The base of fort is 2 KMs from village Pachad. There were
numerous waterfalls on the way especially on Tamhini Ghat section in the rainy
season.
There are two ways to reach the fort from
the base village, one way is through 1450 stairs and other is by Ropeway. We
have used the latter one as the stairs were quite slippery due to heavy rains.
The return ropeway ride costs Rs.175 for an adult and it is full value for
money. Ropeway takes around 5 Minutes to reach the top but remember if you
chose to visit on Sunday / Public holiday, there could be a huge waiting period
to board the ropeway. We had to wait for 2 and half hour for our turn. Ropeway
drops you at Mena Darwaza ( an exclusive gate for royal ladies) , from here a
flight of 25 stairs take you to the Palkhi Darwaza. The climate here was very
soothing with clouds all over and nothing was visible.
After entering from Palkhi darwaza, at your
left you can see entrances to 6 identical palaces. These are the palaces of
Shivaji’s queens, all these palaces were self contained with separate kitchen, bedroom
and bathrooms. Shivaji had eight queens out of those, six queens stays at Raigarh
fort, one at Rajgarh(near Pune) and one with his mother Jijabai at base village
of Pachad.
Just in front of these palaces, lies the
chambers of Shivaji’s eight ministers, three granaries and Shivaji’s Palace
known as Raj Bhavan. Shivaji’s palace was used to be a 2 storied wooden
structure that was destructed by British in 1818.You can see 2 watch towers at
your left and couple of windows of palace. A big artificial lake known as Ganga
sagar is situated just below these windows. The next spot after Rajwada is
Shivaji’s throne/royal seat known as “Megh Dambari”. A life size replica of
Shivaji is installed here, it is said that the real throne was built from 1400
kg solid gold that was looted by Britisher’s.
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| NagarKhana |
Just in front of royal seat, a mammoth gate
stands and is known as Nagarkhana. It is said that Mumbai’s Gateway of India got
inspired from this gate. It was used to play the musical instruments and an
entrance for general public to attend the Diwan-e-aam. During the Shivaji’s
coronation, several elephants were used to welcome the attending crowd at this
gate. Britisher’s & Mughals were not
able to resolve this mystery that how Shivaji had brought these elephant at
this fort as it was very difficult for even a human being to reach this fort.
The catch is, Shivaji brought these elephant at this fort in Palkhis when they
were babies and reared them at the fort itself.
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| Holi cha Maal |
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| Bazaar Peth |
After Nagarkhana , a flight of 15 steps
take you to the “Holi cha Maal”. This place was used to celebrate the holi
festival. A big statue of shivaji made of five metals is installed here. From
here you can see 3 ways going in different directions. First one take you to
the Bazaar peth,Jagadishwar temple,Shivaji and his dog Waghya’s Samadhi. Second
one takes you to the Takmak-tok and Daru kothar. Third one takes you to the
Maha-darwaza and Shirkai devi temple.
Take the routes in the order given above.
In the first route you first observed the two identical rows of structures; these
structures are of fort market known as Bazaar Peth. It was designed such that
even if someone comes on horseback, he did not need to climb down from horse to
purchase the items.
After Bazaar peth, a walk of 10-15 minutes
takes you to the courtyard of Jagadishwar temple.This is a shiva temple, spend
some time here as the surroundings are quite beautiful. The way of shivaji’s
Samadhi is passed from the temple courtyard. Shivaji’s Samadhi is the most
important part of this fort and you should never miss it. Shivaji was cremated
here in 1680 after a brief illness. It is said that when the Shivaji’s pyre was
lit his faithful dog “Waghya” couldn’t control his emotions and jumped into the
burning pyre. Hence, just behind the Shivaji’s Samadhi stood tall the Samadhi
of his dog Waghya. Follow the same route to come back to Holi cha maal and take
the second route, it will take you to the Daru Kothar (Ammunition depot) and
the Takmak-tok( a high cliff used to execute the prisoner’s by throwing him
down).
The third route will take you to the
magnificent Maha darwaza , the main entrance for this fort and Khoob Ladha Burj.
From here you can take the 1500 steps route to climb down the fort that ends at
Chit darwaza. Chit darwaza is connected to base village Pachad by a motor able
road.
The fort is of around 500 acres in area
with three main points Hirakani in the west, Takamak tok in the north and
Bhavani in the east. The main architects of this fort were Abaji sondeve and
Hiroji indulkar both were given the task by Shivaji to start the massive
construction work at fort. They took 14 years to build the massive structures
to house the administrative capital of Hindavi Swaraj. But alas britisher’s
bombarded this beautiful fort in 1818 and the massive fire that ensues
continued for 11 days on this fort. That ultimately brought this impregnable
fort to ashes.
Some other points atop the fort are Bara
Tanki, Rameshwar Temple, Wagh darwaza, Kushawarth tirth, Hirakani bastion,Kolimb
talab,hatti talab and many more. You can stay at the fort as MTDC cottages are
available there but make sure to have a prior reservation.
Nearby
Attractions-
Gandharpale-These are the Buddhist caves
situated at pale village. These are situated at 3 KMs from Mahad on the way to
Mangaon.
Mahad Ganpati- Mahad houses one of the
eight ashtavinayak temples.
What
to eat-
There are some local shops at base village
selling the home cooked food as well as a restaurant is run by Ropeway Company
just near to the ropeway waiting hall. Don’t forget to taste the Pithal-Bhakri
here. On the way to Mahad from Mangaon there is a shop at town Lonare, just at
the intersection to Harihareshwar known as corner bada pao. You can gulp couple
of bada pao’s here as I found them quite tasty but beware from his delicacy Teekhi
chatni.
Important Points-
1) Don’t forget to stop at Mulshi lake and
take some pics.
2) Don’t forget to stop at certain points
of Tamhini Ghat te get drenched in waterfalls and enjoy the season.
3) Don’t forget to carry your raincoats as
Sahyadri winds are known for their killer speeds that blow off your umbrellas
in shambles in seconds.
