Solapur in a day | Part 4 | Naldurg Fort

We were done with Siddeshwar Temple and Solapur Fort aka Bhuikot.( you can click on the links to read about our earlier journey) The next destination on our card was Naldurg Fort, which is situated around 50 kms away from Solapur.

We started to walk from Bhuikot Fort to Solapur Bus stand which is hardly 1-1.5 kms away from the fort.Walking through the local markets we reached the Solapur Bus stand. Finding the bus at Local bus stand is always a challenge however we were lucky we were guided by a local person and we boarded the bus going towards hyderabad. As the bus was starting from here so we had empty bus for ourselves, As usual I jumped to grab the window seat and for our time-pass we bought cucumber which felt so refreshing in this heat.  

Kakdi (Cucumber) khane ka apna hi majja hai...

My co-travellers Nikhil and Pooja took a cat nap while I was doing my videography, Boss window seat aise hi toh nahi li thi...The bus journey lasted close to one hour and  soon we reached Naldurg bus station.

At Naldurg Bus Stand

One can have glimpse of Naldurg fort from the Bus stand. Hence we started walking toward the fort, We had to  walk for 15 minutes on the highway and then thru the village to reach the fort. 

Glimpse of the Naldurg Fort from the Highway 

Finally we were at the gate of the Famous Naldurg Fort.

I feel it is mandatory that we should have some knowledge about the history of the fort. Toh chalo dosto now chota sa history lesson


History:
There are different version about the construction of Naldurg Fort. One belief is that it was built By Nalraja, Hence the fort and the place got the name Naldurg. Then there is another belief that the Chalukyas of Kalyani built this fort.This fort was also known by the name Yeral, when it was under the Bahamani Sultan from from 1351-1480, Later it was handed over to Mughal Empire. Later the Adilshahi rulers constructed the massive impregnable wall of the fort in the year 1558. In simple words what we see today of Naldurg fort the credit goes to Ibrahim Adilshah II (1556-12 Sept 1627).

Upon reaching the fort entrance we were informed that we had to buy entry tickets. As ASI is maintaining this fort so tickets are issued by them.We bought the tickets, here we also came to know that you are charged for carrying DSLR camera. Mobile phones are allowed for free. Another interesting thing is that there is a luggage room too near the entrance of the fort where by paying a nominal charge you can keep your bags.

The moment you enter the Main Gate of the Fort you can see that the efforts are been made to clean up the fort. The beautiful pots are lined up along the ramp  as you pass through two gates viz Hurmukh Darwaza and Hathi Darwaza to enter the fort. We come out of Nagarkhana to see huge view of the fort from inside.

We come from here...The Nagarkhana (Pic source Internet)

Once you reach inside the fort it opens up a huge view of the fort area with fountains.Lots of efforts has been made to beautify this fort.

View from inside the fort

Upon entering what I was surprised by the neatness of the place. Well kept gardens and then there was a structure on the right side after coming out of the Nagarkhana

Structure on the right side after entering the fort

Fort Adoption Scheme:
Few years back this fort was quite neglected however a initiative was undertaken to adopt forts and this fort was one of them. Where adoption of Red Fort by Dalmia group raked up controversy on other hand the initiative by Maharashtra govt to adopt 371 heritage sites proved to be a big flop show with only 2 forts been taken up for adoption. The reason been for the flop show was that there was not much incentives for the corporate in terms of gate money or the icon use and also many of the sites been fort and temples charging entry fees was little difficult.

Anyways as this fort is adopted so let us enjoy the views.

Structure on the left side and
our resting place for having lunch.

Green lawns and few ancient structures are the inviting sights for a traveler like me. It was almost 2 pm when we reached here so we decided to have our lunch sitting under the shade of the tree. We generally carry our lunch so in no time we were done and moved on our exploration.

We started from the right side because I had heard so much about the Nav Buruj. It is said to be  a nine petal lotus kind of Bastion. This bastion is unique because it has two floors within it.

View of NavBurj from outside

The view from this bastion was amazing. We explored a bit on the top and as usual stole a moment to click few of our pictures. After all the hard work of climbing up and down photo toh banta hai bhai.

Some playful time

Talking of Bastions you would be surprised to know that there are around 114 bastions on the fort and the fort wall is almost 3 kms long'

After climbing down from the bastion I captured few nearby structures which are scattered outside the fort wall

One of the structure outside the fort wall.

We were given to understand that Naldurg is a huge fort hence one requires lots of time to cover its each nook and corner. Personally I felt that if you are a serious fort lover then you need a full day to cover every square inch of this fort.

Another structure outside the fort wall

We started to walk along the path made and came across ancient structures but due to the paucity of time we gave them a casual looks and moved on from  this the point and....

Reached a location  from where would see a huge  lake!

Lake within the fort 

 Yes this Fort has a lake and that too is huge, I was left open mouth with OMG written all over my face. I have visited many forts in Maharashtra but never seen something as amazing as this. 

Breathtaking view of the lake

 One can take boat ride, Banana ride, Water scooter and many more water sports activity. This is perhaps one of those few forts which offers such delightful water sports.

Variety of water sports 

A little walk further we came across another interesting structure. This structure is perched as a watch tower kind of thing. In other words this structure is the highest portion of the fort and is called Upali Buruj.

Upali Buruj

 There are close to 70-75 steps to climb to the top and Pooja and me raced on these steps with Nikhil shooting us on the camera. These silly antics keeps us going and we find our fun in them.

Pooja and myself racing to the top

70 plus stair of upali buruj and fun time for us

Upon reaching the top we saw two cannons, quite a long one. This bastion was made for keeping watch and  to oversee everything, I can vouch for this, because I could see the highway from the fort with the vehicle movement on it.

View from the Upali Buruj of Highway

This bastion is at the centre of the fortification of the fort.Due to which one can have a bird eye view of the entire fort from the Bastion.

View of the fort from the top.

Upli Buruj has two cannons on it-- though historians believe that during the Adil Shahi period, there were three cannons. One of the cannon had a crocodile face kind of mouth, hence is called Magar Toph 

Magar Thop or cannon.

 For a history lover these cannons are something to be proud of and sacrosanct in a way, but its sad to note that for people who just come to spend an outing here, its a place of fun, and these canons are a resting place, a magical broom kind of thing to sit on. Parents without realising I feel are giving wrong indications to their children when they make them sit on the cannons just to enjoy. Please respect the historical past.

This 21 feet long canon is reduced to a garden bench..sic

We spent some time at the Upli Buruj enjoying the cool breeze and enjoying the mesmerizing 360 view of the fort. Clicking pictures from vantage point is always so delightful.

Talking selfie on the edge can be edgy 😅 

From here we moved on the one of the most unique structure on this fort and it is called Pani Mahal.

Actually in 1613 AD, Ibrahim Adilshah II built the weir or dam on the river Bori and constructed Pani Mahal. This dam itself is an engineering marvel of its time. This Dam is 90 feet tall, 275 metres long and approx 31 metres in width.

View of the Dam from the top

Pani Mahal is an interesting structure whereby when you come on the dam section there are stairs going down  and you come across a floor kind of thing. Not much is left today to see here though. One can catch the glimpse of the gushing water of the dam from the window of this section. This floor was made in such a manner that though this palace is on the wier yet the water never passes through it. Isn't it an amazing architectural marvels of yesteryear.

Me enjoying the view on the top of the Dam

The sun was coming down and the breeze was getting all the more cooler so we thought to chill out on the top of Pani Mahal. The river water was glittering in the evening sun and the view looked mesmerising.

Good Bye Solapur...and Naldurg

It was now time for us to say goodbye to this lovely Fort and begin our journey back to Solapur Station from where we were to take night train to Mumbai.

How to reach:
From Solapur: Naldurg is situated around 50 kms from Solapur. The fort is situated on the Solapur -Hyderabad highway in Naldurg Village. There are regular State transport buses plying from Solapur to Naldurg.

Click on the link to have video journey of our entire Solapur trip 

Weekend wanderer at Solapur Vist


Traveller Tip: 
If you are visiting on Sundays park your vehicle somewhere on highway and take a walk to fort. Sunday is market day and its too hard to drive four wheeler in narrow lanes with lots of roadside stalls and crowd.

If you wish to have drone tour of this place click on the link I have shared below.

naldurg fort from drone 


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Jodhpur Diaries | Toorji Ka Jhalra | Part 2

After finishing the Sardar Market (Click here to read part 1) we came out from the gate opposite to the Nai Sarak gate. Immediately after coming out we inquired from the local shopkeeper as to where is Toorji ka Jhalra,

Back gate of Sardar Market

Luckily for us he knew to the place and directed us.You must be wondering as what is this Toorji ka Jhalra, Well Chalo aaj aap ki class leta hu, Please bore mat hona Stepwells in most part of India are known as bavri or bawdi but here in Jodhpur it's called Jhalra. Toorji ka Jhalra is an ancient stepwell. One can easily reach this place by simply inquiring from the locals.

Narrow streets with Blue houses

 A little walk through the narrow alleys,local blue houses and in hardly 10 mins you are at Toorji ka Jhalra Stepwell. Standing at the road level one cannot gauge as to what is in store for him or her unless one climb few steps and reach the edge of the stepwell. That is the reason I didn't divulge any information to any of my co travelers, I wanted to surprise them. Hence just like a magician who is ready to unveil the secret magical object , I called all of them to the edge and  then called out to open their eyes. I  got the response that I was seeking  from them and yes it was simply   WOW.

I could see the sparkle in their eyes. Who could have thought that such beautiful historical treasures lies in the narrow alleys of this Blue city. 

Wow Moment

Let me inform you Jodhpur is full of such hidden stepwells,some are explored while some lies buried due to neglect. I'm told there are more than 100 such hidden stepwells. According to Rajyavallabh and Prasad Mandan, two traditional books on town planning in Rajasthan, an ideal city should have 40 stepwells. Ab dekhna yeh tha ki Jodhpur me kitni milti hai dekne ko So for a start Toorji ka Jhalra was the first one to be visited by us.

All over India, stepwells are on the verge of extinction, barring a few big ones that have survived  the test of time are being turned into local tourist wonders. Jodhpur, however, has the unique distinction of not only maintaining these structures well, but also using the water for domestic and recreational purposes. In fact, the city’s stepwell system is an example of what can be achieved through people’s participation.

\Why I said people participation, Actually due to neglect these stepwells were buried underneath the heap of debris, waste, mud etc but then the local volunteer through community efforts cleared and cleaned these hidden treasures.

View at the bottom 

Folklore.

While talking to the local guide,he gave me an interesting insight to these stepwells. According to him there is a folklore about Jodhpur having a curse. In the mid 15th century, the king of Mandore , Rao Jodha, was keen on moving his capital to an elevated spot from where he could defend the empire against frequent attacks by enemies. He found Chidia-tunk, a 125m-high rocky hill, ideal for this. However, inorder to build Mehrangarh Fort, he had to  encroach upon the hermitage of Saint Chiriya Nathji, who in anger cursed that the new city would face  constant famines.In response to  the curse the king realised  that they will have to safeguard themselves against this curse, Hence  town planners thought of this water conservation tool of stepwells.

Mehrangad fort is on the hilltop, the walled city of Jodhpur is located at the foot of Chidia-tunk. This made it possible to supply water through a gravity-led system. A vast network of lakes and canals were built in the hills around the city, while wells, stepwells (bawri), step ponds (jhalara) and tanks became a common feature in the plains.

Intricate carvings around Windows

Those maze of steps , the carvings on the stone , for me these stepwells are nothing but architectural delights to be relished.

Fact File of Toorji ka Jhalra

Toorji ka Jhalra was built in the 1740s by Maharaja Abhay Singh's queen consort which was in keeping with the age old tradition of ladies of the royal family building Public water works. The Jhalra was primarily used by women, as fetching and storing water was one of their principal household chores.The Jhalra is embellished with intricate carving of dancing elephants, Medieval Lion and cow shaped water sprouts.

Some more carvings

I think enough of Gyan for today. We were running like mad up and down the stone stairs of this step well enjoying every nook and corner of this well.

Running up and down, exploring every nook and corner

The water below have lots of fishes in it.The depth of the stepwells was nothing less than 200 feets.

Its Show time for the Gang

We took few photos to mark our presence. I had to drag everyone out because our next destination Mehrangad fort was beckoning us.

Our Team

Mirjan Fort

We had left early in the morning from Karwar and en-route just following the signboards we visited some amazing temples and beaches viz Gokarna Beach,Om beach etc.Coastal road journey was indeed proving to be amazing. Driving down this NH 17 I noticed many sign boards of Mirjan Fort so naturally I was keen to have a look at it too, but the only challenge was the race with the sun which was all set to go under so I knew I had to make it fast to reach this fort before its dark.So naturally you can understand my relief when I saw this Mirjan signboard.

Welcome sight of signboard of Mirjan Town.

If you are coming down from Karwar,this signboard appears on your left side and moving little ahead from here we took right turn,, leaving the NH17 towards the Mirjan Fort. Our car passed through the narrow village and in no time we were standing right in front of a majestic fort.
Indeed it was a sight to behold !!

A sight to behold !

This beautiful fort  lies amidst the idyllic surroundings of the banks of river Aghnashini. I am surprised to know that how come this elegant looking fort is so less visited spot. As it was evening time the atmosphere around the fort was very picturesque, However the overcast skies and the low light was making my job of capturing good pictures from my humble camera all the more very difficult.

History: 

Mirjan Fort has a long history behind it with innumerable versions.One version is that this fort was built by the queen Chennabhairadevi also fondly known as Pepper Queen or Raina da Pimenta. This title of Pepper Queen was bestowed upon her because in olden days Mirjan  of the longest was one of the coastal port which was serving as important trade centre for export pepper,cinnamon,turmeric ,musk etc. The reign of this queen was one of the longest of female domination in the annals Indian history (1552-1606).
Another version is that there existed a fort here but later it was rebuilt as it appears today by Sherif-ul-Mulkas as a first line of defence to protect Kumta town and Kumta Fort located in the south.


I was very eager to explore this legacy of the Pepper Queen as they say Agaaz aisa hai toh anjaam hoga Haseen...So along my daughter and my wife we entered the fort through this inviting stairs. 

Inviting stairs of the Mirjan Fort 

One of the most noticeable thing about this fort is how well kept it was,thanks to the ASI( Archaeological Survey of India) who are reconstructing and maintaining this Mirjan Fort.

I could feel the aroma of the Pepper queen as I walked through these  stone stairs and came to this door.

The fort is constructed with the Laterite stones, which are available. in plenty in the area. This black stone gives a distinct look to this Fort. 

Laterite stone wall of the fort

We entered through this door and came upon another doorway with the light filtering across giving the historical ambience to the atmosphere. 

Ray of light or History

Climbing through this stairs one realize that One is going to witness some amazing view or should I say a walk into the corridors of the history which will leave us all mesmerized.

Well and the rampants of the Fort.

There are two wells on the fort,this been one of them.And the other well is on the extreme left corner of the fort. 

Second well

These wells were constructed within the fort so as to conserve the water. There are steps which lead to these wells.( for a moment I had this crazy thought that may be the rulers in earlier days may be  having some secret path through these water wells.) 

Step well

Other than these wells the fort has escape routes too for quick gateway in case when enemies attack. Isn't it interesting. 

However these escape routes in current times are closed by the fort authorities.

Escape routes are closed 

There are actually four entrances to this fort and the entire fort is surrounded by a moat which during olden days must be filled with water and if my imagination is not going wild there must be crocodiles swimming in that moat.

Outer walls with the moat

The Fort has a beautiful Watchtower cum Flag hoisting tower. 

Watchtower cum Flag hoisting tower

Right opposite this watchtower one can have amazing view of the first deck of the fort.

Amazing views of the fort

Even after the renovation done by the ASI there are still many ruins within the fort 

Ruins of the fort

But then ruins too have their own beauty especially when the sun is setting , the whole thing gets this gleam of golden veil.

Ruins in golden setting sun

Some more ruins

and there is so much to see and time not being on our side my daughter and me was running like crazy to cover each nook and corner of the fort clicking away to glory. 

My daughter clicking away

While exploring the fort we came across a banyan tree with lots of  stone idols strewn all around the tree base. 

Excavated relics under the tree

I was given to understand that few of the relics were excavated and few were like local deity idols . Honestly I would prefer to find more satisfactory answer to these idols. As there was no one on the fort so I had no way of knowing the truth, Perhaps I'll visit once again someday.

Local Deity or something else

Actually this fort is divided into two parts one is top deck which we just explored and then there is one large courtyard on lower deck. 

Two levels of the fort.

Another picture of two levels

 The photograph above will give you a better idea of the two levels of the fort. I walked down from here and entered another gigantic courtyard.

Gigantic courtyard

This courtyard seems to have a viewing gallery as can be seen on the left of the picture and right across at the end is a platform structure. 

Prayer podium 

This Platform structure could be a prayer Podium or assembly stage( Guessing games never end.History always have many unanswered questions).

Searching for some unanswered question 

In fading light me and my daughter were running back to get out of the fort as we could hear caretaker blowing whistle to remind that its a closing time, but we been incorrigible brats wanted to ensure that we don't miss anything we took our time to check out the gates at the lower level and this is what we found.

Glimpse of the pillar from the door

This fort lies in an 11.8 acre land and my breathlessness was telling me its true because the place was like never ending kind. My daughter kept pulling me saying "Dad not let us retreat as it is getting late". I said "Sweety just one last pic, let me see what lies on the back side of the fort", so I climbed the rampant wall and took the picture.

View on the back side of Mirjan Fort

I was still feeling unsatisfied because I still wanted to see some more but then all good things must come to an end so both of us started to go back as my wife and our host was waiting in the car for us. As we reached the entrance door we were shocked to no end because the front door was locked !!

Me explaining to my host my situation as to
 how I am trapped !!

I called my wife to see if she can catch hold of the caretaker who has locked the door, In the meanwhile I ran up and luckily saw the caretaker walking away we both shouted and waved at him Good for us he heard our cries and turned back and opened the door. I must say close encounter.Phew !! My daughter had good time to play act her fear on finding that we were locked.The first thing she did was to ask the caretaker to take her photo as locked prisoner. I think this craziness is all in genes.

Trapped

It was finally time to say goodbye to Mirjan Fort with a promise that soon I will be revisiting this wonderful Fort again. 


Best time to visit is during Monsoon, as the place will explode in colour of green for you.

How to reach: 
Nearest rail station is Kumta Railway station.
From there one can take any bus which go to Gokarna beach and enroute get down at Mirjan village stop and from there a walkable distance of 1.5 kms to the fort.