Bankot Fort / Himmatgad Fort/ Fort Victoria is a fort located 47 km from Dapoli, in

Ratnagiri district Ratnagiri District (Marathi pronunciation: �ət̪n̪aːɡiɾiː is a district in the state of Maharashtra, India. The administrative headquarter of the district is located in the town of Ratnagiri. The district is 11.33% urban. The district ...

, of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. This fort is an important fort in Ratnagiri district. The Fort is located on a prominent and commanding point for guarding the trade route along the Savitri River, which runs till, Mahad which was a busy route in medieval times. It is a fort located on a hill near the sea.

History

First record evidence about this fort is found in the records of Greek geographer

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

in first century AD. It was then called as Mandargiri or Mandagora. The Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang is supposed to have embarked in Bankot in 640 AD. This fort was captured by the Portuguese from Mohammed Adil Shah of

Bijapur Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural ...

in 1548. It was won by maratha

Koli Koli may refer to: Places * Koli, Finland, a hill in Finland * Koli National Park, a national park in Finland * Koli, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Koli Airfield, a former airfield in the South Pacific Other uses * Koli people ...

Admiral Kanhoji Angre in 1700 and named as Himmatgad. Due to rivalry between Tulaji Angre and

Peshwas The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, ...

. Peshwas allied with British and waged a war with Tulaji. In 1755 this fort surrendered to Commodore James of British fleet after the fall of Suvarnadurg. British forces captured the fort and named it as Fort Victoria. Later it was revealed by the British that it was not an economically viable deal to maintain the fort and it was handed over to

. In 1837 the Mamlatdars office was moved from Bankot to

Mandangad Mandangad (or Mandangadh or Mandangarh) is the headquarters of Mandangad taluka the northmost taluka in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, India. Description Mandangad is the ''taluka'' (tehsil) headquarters in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtr ...

How to reach

The nearest town is

Harihareshwar Harihareshwar is a town in Raigad district, in Maharashtra, India. It is surrounded by three hills named Harihareshwar, Harshinachal and Pushpadri. The river Savitri enters the Arabian Sea from the town of Harihareshwar. Towards the north of the ...

which is 201 km from

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

and 194 km from

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

by road. The base village of the fort is Bankot which is 47 km from Dapoli and 21 km from Shrivardhan. To reach from Harihareshwar one has to avail the Bagmandala to Bankot base village ferry service to cross the Savitri river.There are good hotels at Dapoli and Shrivardhan. Now tea and snacks are also available in small hotels along the coastal road. The trekking path starts from the hillock west of the Bankot village. Now there is very safe and wide road up to the fort. It takes about half an hour to reach the entrance gate of the fort.

Places to see

The fort is built by Lateritic rocks. Surrounding the fort is a moat dug up in the lateritic rock. There are two gates to the fort. The northern Entrance gate facing the Bankot creek is the main gate. The western gate opens up on a plateau. The main entrance has vestibules for the gate keepers. Climbing ahead is Nagarkhana which can be reached by climbing steps to view the Savitri river. From the western doorway, the bastion over the ramparts can be reached. There is a secret entrance near the Bastion. This Bastion was built by the Siddis to strengthen Bankot Fort. At Velas, there are two temples dedicated to Shri Rameshwar and Kalbhairav gods constructed by Moroba Dada Phadnis and

Nana Phadnis Nana Fadnavis (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːna pʰəɖɳəʋiːs, fəɖ- also Phadnavis and Furnuwees and abbreviated as Phadnis) (February 12, 1742 – March 13, 1800), born Balaji Janardan Bhanu, was an influential minister and sta ...

respectively The government of Maharashtra has undertaken the renovation of Bankot Fort and the work is in full progress.

References

{{Portuguese overseas empire Buildings and structures of the Maratha Empire Forts in Ratnagiri district 16th-century forts in India Tourist attractions in Konkan Former populated places in India Hiking trails in India *

History

How to reach

Places to see

See also

References