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Suvarnadurga & Kanakdurga Fort
Suvarnadurga fort is situated on a small island, being one of the many in the Arabian Sea, near Harnai in the Konkan region on India, Maharashtra. This fort in itself includes another small land fort called Kanakdurga at the base of the port of Harnai. Sultan Adil Shah of Bijapur is to be credited for the construction of this fort. The forts were fortified further by the Maratha Emperor, Shivaji and the Peshwas for defense purposes. Owing to this, the fort also had facilities for building ships. In the olden days, the sea fort and the land fort were connected by a tunnel, but now it has become redundant. The current approach to the fort is only by boats from Harnai port.
The Kanakdurga fort elaborates into the sea, adjoining the Harnai port and spreading over an area of around 0.62 acres. It is now a ruined fort, except for two decrepit bastions on end, a few water tanks and a lighthouse on a lofty ground. Also
being a military camp once, it has 9 ponds with profuse water supply.
Revdanda Fort
Revdanda is a small village located near Alibag, India. It is situated approximately at a distance of 17km from Alibag and 125km from Mumbai. This is a very charming little place where part of the town is inherited within the premises of an Old Portuguese fort. During the monsoons, especially at the time of high tides, the waves seem to crash onto the remnants of the fort, giving you a magnificent view, depicting the creek towards the south and the beach towards the north. Since there is little shade on the beach, with sand made up of black rock, the view of the beach from the fort depicts an unattractive shade of grey-undoubtedly pretty. The region’s beauty lies in its coconut plantations and the beetle-nut trees. An aromatic flower named ‘Bakuli’, with its wonderful aroma is also famous. Because Revdanda lies in the coastal region, the staple diet of the people includes fish curry and rice forms.
Last Updated on 25 September 2010Kulaba Fort
Kulaba fort is one of the old military constructions in India. It is located in
the sea at a distance of approximately 2 km from the shores of Alibag, 35km
in the southern part of Mumbai and in the Konkan region of Maharashtra,
India. It is proved to be a famous tourist spot. It was chosen by Shivaji
to be constructed after the whole of South Konkan was commanded by
him. Shivaji strengthened and built the fort making it one of his chief
naval stations. The fort’s command was then handed over to Darya Sagar
and Manik Bhandari, under whom the fort became a centre of Maratha
attacks over British ships. The average wall height of the fort is 25feet.
One of the beautiful features of this fort is that it has two entrances,
one towards Alibag and the other facing the sea. Within the fort
premises, there are fresh water wells, although it is a seaside fort.
During monsoons, the fort can be reached by boats. A person named
Raghoji Angre built the Siddhivinayak temple inside the fort in 1759.
Janjira Fort
One of the strongest marine forts in India, Janjira fort is situated
on an oval shaped rock near the town of Murud. It is at a distance
of about 165km to the south of Mumbai. The fort can be reached
from Rajapuri jetty by sailboats. When one is close to the shore,
the main gate of the fort can be seen which is facing Rajapuri.
It has a posterior gate facing the open sea. It has 19 round bastions
that are intact till date. A sculpture, depicting elephants being
clasped by a tiger-like beast can be seen flanking on the outer
wall over the main gate. Initially, in its original condition, the fort
was a small structure made of wood, built by a Koli Chief in the
15th century. The Siddis overpowered the fort and strengthened it.
The Portuguese, the British and the Marathas failed to empower
the Siddis. The state of Janjira came to an end after the year 1947,
but the palace of the Nawabs of Janjira is still in good shape. The
fort has a sweet-water tank that is huge and the stone wall near the
water line has been scooped away by the sea water.
Khanderi and Undheri Fort
The fort of Khanderi is at a distance of about 3-4km from
Thal Beach. Fortification of this fort is done on a small island
with an additional beauty of a lighthouse which was built
a bit later. Built in the year 1678, this fort was under the
empowerment of the British for a long time. Despite this fact,
till the year 1750, the British attempts to captivate the island
fort of Khanderi did not prove to be fruitful. As for the current
situation, the fort of Khanderi is under the administration of
Mumbai Port Trust, by the permission of whom, the fort can
be visited in local boats.
Underi is another small island in the
vicinity of Khanderi, at the Mumbai harbour entrance. It is
infact a part of Khanderi in itself. Underi is little smaller than
Khanderi and is somewhat circular leaving a cove where
boarts harbour and surrounded with rocks.
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