Raigad, seen in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India, is a hill fort located in the city of Mahad. It is one of the strongest fortresses on the Deccan Plateau and was historically referred to as Rairee or Rairy fort.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the Maratha ruler, along with his chief engineer Hiroji Indulkar, did the construction and development of various buildings and structures, including Raigad. In 1674, after being crowned the king of the Maratha Kingdom of the Konkan, Shivaji Maharaj chose Raigad as the capital of his Hindavi Swaraj.
Located at an elevation of 820 metres (2,700 ft) above its base and 1,356 m 4,449 ft above sea level within the Sahyadri mountain range, the fort offers views of the surrounding area. The fort was home to around 1,550 people having an average family size of 5 people. Accessing the fort requires ascending approximately 1,737 steps. Alternatively, visitors can opt for the Raigad Ropeway, an aerial tramway spanning 750 m 2,460 ft in length and reaching a height of 400 m 1,300 ft, which conveniently transports them from the ground to the fort in just four minutes.
Major features
The Maha Darwaja
The Samadhi of Rajmata Jijabai
The main palace was constructed using wood, of which only the base pillars remain. The main fort ruins consist of the queen's quarters, and six chambers, with each chamber having its private restroom. The chambers do not have any windows. In addition, ruins of three watch towers can be seen directly in front of the palace grounds out of which only two remain as the third one was destroyed during a bombardment. The fort also overlooks an artificial lake known as the Ganga Sagar Lake.
The only main pathway to the fort passes through the Maha Darwaja Great Door which was previously closed at sunset. The Maha Darwaja has two huge bastions on both sides of the door which are approximately 20–21 m 65–70 ft in height. The top of the fort is 180 m 600 ft above this door.
The king's court, inside the Raigad Fort, has a replica of the original throne that faces the main doorway called the Nagarkhana Darwaja. It faces the East Side. It was here where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's Rajabhishek took place. This enclosure had been acoustically designed to aid hearing from the doorway to the throne. A secondary entrance, called the Mena Darwaja on the south side, was supposedly the private entrance for the royal ladies of the fort that lead to the queen's quarters. The convoy of the king and the king himself used the Palkhi Darwaja. on the north side. To the right of Palkhi Darwaja, is a row of three dark and deep chambers. Historians believe that these were the granaries for the fort.
From the fort, one can view the execution point called Takmak Tok, a cliff from which sentenced prisoners were thrown to their death. This area has been fenced off.
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