Sinhagad Fort Pune

Watch the video to know more about the Sihagad Fort.

Sinhagad is a hill fortress located at around 36 km southwest of the city of Pune, India. 

The Sinhagad Fort was initially known as "Kondhana" after the sage Kaundinya. The Kaundinyeshwar temple coupled with the caves and carvings indicate that the fort had probably been built around two thousand years ago

Perched on an isolated cliff of the Bhuleswar range in the Sahyadri Mountains, the fort is situated on a hill about 760 metres above ground and 1,312 metres above mean sea level.

The local municipal transport service runs buses every hour from Shaniwarwada and Swargate to the Sinhagad foothills at Donje village.

You can choose to walk from the base of the fort or there is one more way, you can go by your vehicle  till top of the fort. If you wish to go by vehicle you need to pay a small fee at the base of the fort. For two wheeler the fee is 20 Rs and for four wheeler 50 Rs. There is car parking and two wheeler parking facility available at the top of the fort.

The Sinhagad Fort is a popular weekend destination for many residents of Pune, including trekking enthusiasts with access to the top of the fort from the base of the Sinhgad village. The trek involves a one-way walk of 2.7 km (1.6 miles) over which the walker gains about 600 m (1950 feet) in elevation.

The fort had been the site of many battles. 

One of the most famous battles on Sinhagad was fought by Tanaji Malusare, a Koli general of Chhatrapati Shivaji of the Maratha Empire in order to recapture the fort on March 1670

A steep cliff leading to the fort was scaled in the dead of the night with the help of a tamed monitor lizard named "Yashwanti", colloquially known as a ghorpad. Thereafter, A fierce battle ensued between Tanaji and his men versus the Mughal army headed by Udaybhan Singh Rathod, a Rajput sardar who had control of the fort. Tanaji Malusare lost his life, but his brother Suryaji took over and captured the Kondhana fort, now known as Sinhagad.

There is an anecdote that upon hearing of Tanaji's death, Chhatrapati Shivaji expressed his remorse with the words, "Gad aala, pan Sinha gela" - "The Fort is conquered, but the Lion was lost".According to some, the name Sinhagad predates this event. A bust of Tanaji Malusare was established on the fort in the memory of his contribution to the battle

The Sinhagad fort was strategically built to provide natural protection due to its very steep slopes. The walls and bastions were constructed only at key places. There are two gates to enter the fort, the Kalyan Darwaza and Pune Darwaza which are positioned at the south east and north-east ends respectively

Parts of the once extensive fortification are in ruins. The fort houses a memorial to Tanaji as well as the tomb of Rajaram Chhatrapati. Visitors can see the military stables, a brewery and a temple of the goddess Kali (goddess) along with a Hanuman statue to the right side of the temple, as well as the historic gates. The original commemorative memorial of Tanaji Malusare have been unearthed by the restoration workers at Sinhagad Fort in Feb 2019. The stone structure was found buried under cement, concrete, and layers of oil paint and is believed to be around 350 years old.

Sinhagad Fort has played a vital role in India's freedom struggle. Bal Gangadhar Tilak also known as 'The Father of Indian Unrest', used the fort as a summer retreat. It is here where Mahatma Gandhi after his return from South Africa had an historic meeting with Tilak. The bungalow has his bust at the entrance.

You can see here ammunition store room. A military storeroom where all kinds of defense materials were kept.

You can also see Dev Taki, which is a tank famous with sweet and cold water in Sinhagad fort.

There are few local shops where you can enjoy eatables. 

From this Sinhagad fort, you can also see Panshet, Khadakwasla, and Varasgaon dams as well as the Torana fort. Sometimes this fort is also used for training purposes by the National Defence Academy.

The fort also houses a television tower for broadcasting local TV signals. Currently, Non-Vegetarian food, Partying including alcoholic beverages and smoking is banned on the fort.