Rajgad (literal meaning Ruling Fort) is a hill fort situated in the Pune district of Maharashtra, India. Formerly known as Murumdev, the fort was the capital of the Maratha Empire under the rule of Chhatrapati Shivaji for almost 26 years, after which the capital was moved to the Raigad Fort. source
Aptly called as King of forts and fort of a king.
To trek the fort during monsoons is an unforgettable experience. I did the trek almost two decades back, didn’t have a camera to capture the beauty of the fort or the surrounding valleys and cliffs.
Edit: This and this is how the view changes during monsoons
Edit2: The rectangular block carvings that you see in the lower right corner are the water tanks. The stones for the walls were excavated right there and water tanks were created as a result.
Though the Sahyadri mountain range gets good rain, as you can see at start of winter and summers it does get very dry, hence the tanks. Most of the forts in Maharashtra suffered at the hands of British after Anglo-Maratha war of 1818 and they "decommissioned" most of them by blowing away crucial stairs and pathways. Especially of the remote and highly inaccessible forts. Neglect of almost two centuries and what remains are the most solidly built parts of the fort.
There is an entire manual written on different types of forts and how they should be built by one of the master architects of Shivaji’s time. He considers four major types of forts – Land fort, jungle fort, hill fort and water fort.
plasbhemysays
This place looks completely different during monsoons. Everything is just lush green
jatadharius says
Rajgad (literal meaning Ruling Fort) is a hill fort situated in the Pune district of Maharashtra, India. Formerly known as Murumdev, the fort was the capital of the Maratha Empire under the rule of Chhatrapati Shivaji for almost 26 years, after which the capital was moved to the Raigad Fort. source
Aptly called as King of forts and fort of a king.
To trek the fort during monsoons is an unforgettable experience. I did the trek almost two decades back, didn’t have a camera to capture the beauty of the fort or the surrounding valleys and cliffs.
Edit: This and this is how the view changes during monsoons
Edit2: The rectangular block carvings that you see in the lower right corner are the water tanks. The stones for the walls were excavated right there and water tanks were created as a result.
Though the Sahyadri mountain range gets good rain, as you can see at start of winter and summers it does get very dry, hence the tanks. Most of the forts in Maharashtra suffered at the hands of British after Anglo-Maratha war of 1818 and they "decommissioned" most of them by blowing away crucial stairs and pathways. Especially of the remote and highly inaccessible forts. Neglect of almost two centuries and what remains are the most solidly built parts of the fort.
There is an entire manual written on different types of forts and how they should be built by one of the master architects of Shivaji’s time. He considers four major types of forts – Land fort, jungle fort, hill fort and water fort.
plasbhemy says
This place looks completely different during monsoons. Everything is just lush green