Sinhagad Fort
Sinhagad is one of the nearest place to Pune city where fort is located. The fort is located at height of 1312mts from sea level. It has historical importance, mainly, battle of Sinhagad during 1671. The battle was fought between Mughals and Marathas. Sinhagad was not the original name of the fort. It was called Kondana. The name Sinhagad came after the battle of Sinhagad in which Tanaji Malusare of Maratha regime, showed very high level of bravery in recapturing the fort. The name Sinhagad came after this battle commemorating Tanajis brave heart fighting.
Sinhagad is 33Kms from Pune city. The fort is at the top of a steep hill which ensures the protection. The actual construction of the fort took place over 2000 years ago. The fort was with Mughals, Marathas and finally went to Britishers. For a very long time the fort was with Marathas who conquered many times battling for the same.
The location comes under Bhuleshwar range of Sahyadri mountains in western ghats. Several other forts can be seen from Sinhagad fort top. Sinhagad is one of the major weekend picnic spot for many in Pune. Several part of the road to the fort is not good. At the starting point of the ghat section, entry fee of INR 20 for two wheeler, INR 50 for four wheeler is to be paid. Road to Drive through the hill range to the fort is not good (as on December 2016).
Parking place for vehicles is available in front of the fort. INR 15 for parking. Not much of climbing is required to reach the top. There are two main entries (doors, also called darwajas) to the forts. Both are in opposite direction. Nearer parking place is called Pune Darwaja. Opposite one is called Kalyan Darwaja. There is a trekking route from the foot hill. It takes 2-3 hours for trekking. At the top there is a Samadhi of Rajaram maharaj (younger son of Chhatrapathi Shivaji).
The front part of the fort at the top is very dangerous to visit as there are damages to the fort. Both left (Pune side) and right side valley views can be seen. This area is declared as plastic free zone. There are many dish antennas over the top installed by Doordarshan. Over the top, towards Pune, there is a breath taking panorama view where there is also a Canon can be seen. The area is not guarded and visitors are to be very careful. There is a small house where Bal Gangadhar Tilak used to stay during Summer. Though some repair work is done at various visiting places, the damages are still there and safety is not good. People have to be very careful while visiting these places. Atleast one hour is required to visit all the places in this area.
Public transport (buses) run from all part of the city, frequency is also good. Taxi service is available, also sharing is possible. There are two roads to the ghat section, take the one where toll booth is present (left side). Local snacks and refreshments are available in the parking area.
This article is written by go2india.in team.
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