- Type
- Fortress
- Location
- Maharashtra, India
- Coordinates
- 18.3657°, 73.7553°
History
The fort, formerly known as Kondhana, stands on a steep summit about 30 km south-west of Pune. According to tradition, the Delhi sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq took it after a long siege in 1328, and it later belonged to the sultanates of Ahmadnagar and Bijapur. In 1665 Shivaji had to hand it over to the Mughals under the Treaty of Purandar, but in a night assault in February 1670 his commander Tanaji Malusare won it back, dying in single combat with the Mughal commander Udaybhan. In his honour Shivaji named the fortress Sinhagad, the Lion Fort. Shivaji's son Rajaram died here in 1700, Aurangzeb captured the fort in 1703, and the British took it in 1818.
What to see
A winding road and popular footpaths lead up to the plateau at about 1,300 m, crowded above all in the monsoon season when the slopes turn green. Within the walls survive the Pune and Kalyan gates, stretches of fortification and rock-cut water tanks, along with a memorial to Tanaji, Rajaram's tomb and the summer house of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. The edge looks out over Khadakwasla lake and the ranges of the Ghats, and stalls near the top sell onion fritters and yoghurt in little clay pots.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q3078248
Popularity: articles about this site in 11 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).