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SINHAGAD (KONDHANA)

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     Situated in the Bhuleswar range of the great Sahyadris this is one of the most formidable fort of the Maratha Empire. Sinhagad is the pride of the southwestern region of Pune. Sinhagad has its own breakneck slopes to provide protection from all sides. This fort provided a high ground to the Marathas in the most significant battles like the ones fought in 1671.         Sinhagad has two entrances, the Pune Darwaza located at the north-eastern region and the Kalyan Darwaza located at the south-eastern region of the fort. The richness and the authenticity of the Sinhagad fort dates back to around 1000 years. The Kaundinya Eshwar temple present there provides the evidence to this , because of the carvings present on its walls. Sinhagad is a true sightseeing heritage.     This fort saw attacks by Mughals in 1662, 1663, and 1665. In 1664, Shaista Khan, a Mughal general, tried to bribe the people of the fort to hand it over to him but was unsuccessful.       Through the Treaty of Purandar
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RAJGAD

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     Rajgad literally meaning 'the ruling fort' was the capital of the Maratha Empire established by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj for 24 years. Rajgad is divided into two main parts as the lower fort and upper fort . The upper fort comprises the Balekilla where the royal residence was built .The lower fort is made of three arms of the hill. Rajgad is located on the triangular tabletop of the hill. These three arms are named Suvela Machi, Padmavati Machi and Sanjivni Machi. Padmavati Machi got its name from the temple of Goddess Padmavati and the small reservoir of the same name.       Numerous structural remains and plinths of the palaces and houses can be seen here. There are remains of the offices of the Maratha empire and the marketplace . This fort was the home of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It has witnessed different phases of his life , from young sixteen year old Shivaji constructing the fort to becoming a King.           The young sixteen year old Shivaji had captured t
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TORNA

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                                          TORNA. A well structured fort which gives hard time to trekkers even today. The fort is situated in the Sahyadri mountains near Pune ,Maharashtra .It is largely famous because of being the very first fort captured by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at a tender age of 16 years. The foundation of maratha empire was laid with torna, thus it gained great political and military significance .       There is no precise information available about the origin of this fort. Although it is believed that it was contructed by a devotee of Lord Shiva named Siva Panth ,somewhere near the 13th century. In mid 14th century Torna was under the control of a Bahmani king named Malik Ahmed. Later, its control went to Nizamshahi and then to Adilshahi. In 1646 AD Shivaji Maharaj brought the fort under his charge. He added more to this great structure. The gateways and semicircular walls are in a good condition even today! After Shivaji Maharaj's demise the fort saw
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