Rajgad Fort ( राजगड किल्ला )
Type : Hill Fort
Height : 1400M (4600 ft)
Significance : Birth place of chhatrapati Rajaram
Materias : Stone and lead
Open for Public : yes
Rajgad (literally meaning The king of all forts in Marathi or Royal Fort) is one of the most important forts in the Pune district of Maharashtra state in India. The fort is around 1400m (4600 ft) abpve sea lavel. The fort was the capital of Maratha empire for more than 25 years. This was one of the first few forts captured by Shivaji Maharaj. Shivaji Maharaj captured this rajgad fort in between 1646 to 1647 with another fort Torna.
The fort where equally important for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj but Shivaji Raje made Rajgad fort as capital of the forts because it was bigger than other forts in its size and was very hard to approach. Shivaji Maharaj reconstructed the fort with Three machis which are called as Sanjavani, Suvela and Padmavati machi.
History of Rajgad Fort:
In 1630 AD the Bijapur King Adil Sha got control over this area and this fort in his control. In 1646 AD Shivaji Maharaj fought with Adilsha and captured this rajgad fort. He later on reconstruct this fort from the treasure he got from the Torna fort.
Shivaji maharaj made this fort capital of Maratha empire and He commanded his Kingdom from here.
Rajgad fort has witnessed many wars and lot of prominent historic events from 1960 Mughal king Aurangzeb sent his commander Shahiste khan to capture Rajgad but he couldn't succeed. Shahistekhan captured many villages nearby Rajgad ,but on 6th April 1663 Shivaji Maharaj raided his troops came back to Rajgad.
In 1665 Rajgad was attacked by mughal sardars but they god a strong fight from the marathas and they couldn't succeed.
This fort was captured by the Mughals of the North Delhi in 1703. It was commanded by the Mughal Emperor Aurungzeb.
He has stayed here for a longer period of time, estimated to be a 25 years of his life time. This fortress was Shivaji Maharaj 1st Capital before shifting to Rajghad Fort. His queen named Saibai also lived here and gave birth to Rajaram Bhonsle, who was the younger son of the king. She stayed here in the queen’s palace until her death and buried in this fort area.
After all the tosses, Rajgadh came into the hands of Britishers in the year 1818.
Locally this fort is called here as Murumdevi Killa and Rajghar. Murum Devi is a hill goddess temple located here.
Important Places on Raigad Fort :
There are many important places to visit on the Rajgad fort :
- Padmavati Machi
- Suvela Machi
- Balekilla
- Sanjeevani Machi
- Nedhe (The big hole to the rock)
NearBy Attractions :
- Baneshwar Temple & Rock Garden :- There is a temple of Lord Mahadev and Beautiful rock Garden.
- Baneshwar water fall :- This is very beautiful waterfall near the temple.
- Prati Balaji temple:- Near Narayanpur village is the Balaji Temple which is also called as Prati Balaji. This is very spice full place and there is temple of lord balaji. Rajgad fort to Prati Balaji temple distance is 33 km.
- Torna Fort:
Best time to visit the fort :
Any time you can visit to Rajgad fort.
Water Availability :
There is a water source which is near the Padmavati Temple which has water available any time in year.
How to reach Rajgad Fort:
Tourists can take personal or rented vehicles from Pune to the Rajgad fort.
Via Air:
The Nearest airport to the Rajgad fort is located in Pune city.
Via Road:
Distance from Pune by road is 56 kms. Mumbai to Pune by Express way and then by NH4. Pune - (Pune - satara Highway) - Nasrapur – Rajgad. It takes around 1 hour 30 mint to reach rajgad fort by road.
Via Rail:
Pune railway station is the nearest railhead to reach the rajgad fort. Pune is well connected to all major cities in Maharashtra. Cabs & other vehicles are also easily available from Pune to the Rajgad fort.
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