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Sindhudurg Fort

Sindhudurg Fort

heritage site · Maharashtra

State
Maharashtra
Type
Heritage Site

Sindhudurg Fort is a sea fort built on Khurte island off Malvan in Sindhudurg district, roughly 450 km south of Mumbai, spanning about 48 acres with a nearly two-mile-long rampart and walls up to 30 feet high.

Sindhudurg Fort is known for

island sea fort built by ShivajiKonkan Railway-accessibleconcealed main gatewaylong rampartsASI-protected monument

A short history

Commissioned by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the fort was constructed between 1664 and 1667, with the foundation stone laid on 25 November 1664. Construction was supervised by Hiroji Indulkar, reportedly with assistance from Portuguese engineers, involving 200 Vaddera labourers and more than 4,000 pounds of lead. The fort was built partly to counter growing European merchant influence on the Konkan coast and to check the rising power of the Siddis of Janjira. Its gateway is deliberately concealed from outside view as a defensive design feature. The fort is today a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India. [Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sindhudurg_Fort]

Why Sindhudurg Fort matters

As one of Shivaji Maharaj's key coastal strongholds designed to counter both European traders and the Siddis, Sindhudurg is regarded as a landmark of 17th-century Maratha maritime defence engineering.

When to go

October to March

Why visit

Shivaji's island masterpiece — hidden gates, sweet wells amid the sea, and Malvan's food and snorkelling next door.

How to reach

Kudal railway station on the Konkan Railway line is about 30 km from Malvan jetty, from where ferries (roughly 10-15 minutes) reach the fort; the nearest airport is Chipi-Sindhudurg Airport, about 35 km away.

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