Sinhagad fort – Pune – Complete Guide
Due to its proximity to Pune city, Tanaji Malusare’s sacred Sinhagad fort is often busy. On the Bhuleshwar ridge, which spanned the eastern branch of the Sahyadri mountain range, there existed an old fort called “Kondhana.” Later, Sinhagad became the name of that fort. You can see a sizable portion of Purandar, Rajgad, Torna, Lohgad, Visapur, and Tung from Sinhagad.
Check out our Sinahgad fort video:
About Sinhagad:
Previously, this fort was in Adilshahi. Later in AD After Dadoji Konddev, the fort’s officer, passed away in 1647, Shivaji Maharaj took control of the fort by paying off Siddi Amber, Kondani’s fort lord, and established it as his military base. One of the forts provided to the Mughals by the Treaty of Purandar was Sinhagad. Udaybhan Rathod, the officer of Kondha for the Mughals, was a Rajput by birth but converted to Islam.
When Shivaji Maharaj returned from his escape from Agra and began to retake the fort that had been handed to the Mughals, Sinhagad became famous mostly for the sacrifice of Tanaji Malusare.
Tanaji defeated the Rajputs, captured the fort. Shivaji Maharaj got the news that the fort had been conquered but Tanaji had fallen. Then He said, ‘A fort was taken, but the lion was lost’. This battle took place on the night of February 4, 1670.
After Tanaji’s sacrifice legend has it that Shivaji Maharaj named this fort “Singhgad”.
Places to visit on top of Sinhagad fort:
1) Pune Darwaza :-
This gate is on the north side of the fort, this gate was mainly used since before Shiva period. These are three gates one after the other on the Pune side. The third Darwaza is of Yadav period.
2) Shoulder Edge :-
After entering through the door, this shoulder edge is 30 to 35 feet high. From this you can see the area of Pune, Purandar in the east.
3) Ammunition rooms :-
The stone building seen on the right after entering through the door is the ammunition room. On September 11, 1751, lightning struck this warehouse. In this accident, the house of Fadnis at the fort was destroyed and all the people in the house died.
4) Tilak Bungalow :-
Bal Gangadhar Tilak used to stay in this bungalow on the land purchased from Ramlal Nandram Naik. Mahatma Gandhi and Lokmanya Tilak met in this bungalow in 1915.
5) Kondhaneshwar :-
This temple belongs to Shankara and he was the chief deity of Yadavas. This temple with a pindi and a samb inside belongs to the Yadav period.
6) Shri Amriteshwar Bhairav Temple :-
After going a little further from the temple of Kondhaneshwar, you will find the ancient temple of Amriteshwar on the left. After the Tanaji monument and going left along the left hand side small pond, one comes across this famous Devtake. This tank was and still is used for drinking water. When Mahatma Gandhi came to Pune, he used to ask for water from this tank.
8) Kalyan Door :-
This door is on the west side of the fort. If you come up from Kalyan village at the foothills from Kondhanpur, you can enter through this door. These are two back-to-back doors. Among these, the walls of the bastions on either side of the upper gate had stone sculptures of a half-emerged elephant and a mahout. At this place, there is an inscription
9) Udaybhan’s Monument:- On the hill above the back of the door. The square stone here is known as Udaybhan Rathod’s memorial. Udebhan was the officer of Sinhagad on behalf of the Mughals.
10) Zhunjar Tower:- Zunjar Buroj is the southern tip of Sinhagad. This tower can be reached by descending the opposite hill from Uday Bhanu’s memorial. From here, you can see the cap-like Rajgad in front, Torna fort to its right, Panshet valley below, Purandar in the far east.
11) Dongiri aka Tanaji Kada :- One can approach Tanaji Kada by following the trail along the bank wall from the Zunjar Tower. This edge is to the west of the fort. It was from here that Tanaji climbed up with the mawlas.
12) Rajaram Smarak :-
The dome which looks like a colorful temple in Rajasthani style is the mausoleum of Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj. Rajaram Maharaj, who fought the Mughal army continuously for 11 years, died on Saturday at the age of just 30. Died at Sinhagad on 2 March 1700 AD. The Peshwas used to maintain a good arrangement of this monument.
13) Memorial of Tanaji :-
After going up from the back side of Amriteshwar, the famous Tanaji monument is seen on the left side. It has been built on behalf of ‘Tanaji Smarak Samiti’. Magh Vadya Navami d. Tanaji was killed in the battle on 4 February 1670. Every year Tanaji’s memorial day is celebrated by the Mandal on Magh Vadya Navamis.
How to reach?
In the southwest of Pune, or roughly 39 kilometres away, is Sinhagad Fort. The fort is easily accessible by private vehicle. It is important to get to Hatkarwadi village at the base of the fort for those travelling on foot. Buses operated by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMT) run between Swargate and Hatkarwadi. We can reach the fort in 1.30 hours using a footpath from Hatkarwadi.
1) Pune to Kondhanpur: After getting off the Pune to Kondhanpur bus in Kondhanpur, we walked from Kalyan village to the fort via Kalyan Darwaza. In this manner, we pass through two gates and enter the fort.
2) Via Pune Darwaza: The Khadakwasa dam is on the way from Pune to Sinhagad by bus. We enter the fort after passing through three gates in this manner.
Accomodation:
You can unquestionably spend the night on Sinhgad if you book in advance. The bungalows of Tilak and Apte welcome overnight visitors.
Food and water:
There are numerous of stall and restaurants on Sinhagad fort. Please note, non-veg good and alcohol is strictly banned on the fort.
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