Hatgadh Fort


Hatgad Fort is a fort located from Nashik, Nashik district, of Maharashtra. The base village is Hatgad on the Nashik-Saputara Road. The nearest town is Saputara, which is 6 km from Hatgad village.It is a historic monument located in Maharashtra, India, south of the hill station of Saputara and near the border with Gujarat. It was built by the Maratha king Chhtrapati Shivaji Maharaj and is located at an elevation of about 3,600 feet. The only way to reach the fort is through a trekking route via a narrow rocky path. A statue of Lord Ganesha is placed on the top of the fort.

History

In 1547 the King Bhairavsen son of King Mahadevsen from Bagul Dynasty defeated the Burhan Nizam shah of Ahmednagar and captured the fort.The Rangarav Aundhekar was the last Peshwa officer who held the fort. The fort was captured by Captain Briggs of East India Company in 1818.

How to reach

The base village of the fort is Hatgad. There are good hotels at Saputara, now tea and snacks are also available in small hotels at Hatgad. The trekking path starts from the hillock west of the village. The route is very safe and wide. There are trees on the trekking route. It takes about an hour to reach the entrance gate of the fort. The night stay on the fort is not allowed.

Places to see

There are four gates in a row on the main entrance path of the fort.The main entrance gate has a Hanuman idol carved in rock. There is a two rock cut water cisterns called Ganga and Jamuna on the fort plataeu. The water is available round the year. There is a inscription n Sanskrit carved on the rock near water cistern. There are few building structures on the fort which are now in ruined state except got the ammunition store building which is in good condition.