Raigarh Fort or Kille Raigarh

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.

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.

Holi cha Maal

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.