Kamalgad (literally ''lotus fort''), also called Bhelanja or Kattalgad (literally ''death fort'') is a square

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

Wai Wai or WAI may refer to : Places * Wai, Maharashtra, a small town in India ** Wai (Vidhan Sabha constituency), a Maharashtra Legislative Assembly constituency centered around the town * Wao State (Vav, Wai, Way), a former princely state in Banas K ...

Taluka in Maharashtra,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Location

It is west of

and 32 km from Satara. Its coordinates are 18° 05' N, 74° 00' E. It has an elevation of above sea level.Satara District Gazette
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History

The builder of the fort is unknown. During

Maratha The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as ...

times, Kamalgad,

Pandavgad Pandavgad Fort) (also called Pandugad) (Wai T; 17° 55' N, 73° 50' E; RS. Wathar, 20 m. SE;), 4177 feet above sea level, lies four miles north-west of Wai. The fort is conspicuous over a low spur branching east from its southern angle. From a ...

and other forts in the area were administered by a mokasaddar (manager) from Bijapur. Early documents written in now defunct

Modi script Modi ( mr, मोडी, , ; also Mudiya) is a script used to write the Marathi language, which is the primary language spoken in the state of Maharashtra, India. There are multiple theories concerning its origin. The Modi script was used along ...

of the

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

language refer to the fort as 'Kattalgad'. A detailed study of these documents is underway. In April 1818, Kamalgad surrendered after resistance to a British detachment commanded by a Major Thatcher. Under the British, it was used to execute prisoners of war.Description of a Trek to Pandavgad
/ref>

Major Features

The fort covers a flat area, 3-4 acres in size. It is surrounded by steep rock and can only be reached by perilously scaling this rock. Earlier, the approach was by an artificial tunnel, which started at the base of the rock and emerged on the top. Now this tunnel is blocked by a big rock which fell into it and was never removed. There are no buildings on the top nor walls of any kind or even a gateway, which is unusual for a fort in this area. Likely, its height and steep rock around it provided it with enough protection.

Places to see

The only structure on the top is a hole which is the remains of a well sunk right through the rock, into the soil below which still has water. The hole is eighteen to twenty feet deep. The sides of the well which were formed of the natural rock were reported to have contained recesses in which criminals were placed. They had to choose between starvation and drowning. However, none of the recesses can be discerned today. Some reports indicate that this 'hole' might have been a quarry for red stone (geru) which is plentiful in this region (''see picture'').

How to reach

The nearest town is

Bhor Bhor () is a town and a municipal council in Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India. Geography Bhor is located at . It has an average elevation of 588 metres (1929 feet). Demographics India census, Bhor had a populati ...

which is easily reachable from

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( 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 As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

. The base village of the fort is Tupewadi which is 30 km from Wai and 46 km from

.There are good hotels at Bhor and Wai for stay and food. The trekking path starts from the hillock south of the Tupewadi. The route is very safe. It takes about 2 hours to reach the machi.The route is well covered with trees. The hill route ends upon an open land called Kamal machi.On the machi there is dense forest of Jambhul and Pisa trees. After reaching the machi the path takes a left turn to reach the lone villager's hut. The lone villager on the machi can make arrangements for night stay and food at very reasonable cost. The balekilla can be reached from Machi within 20mins.Balekilla is a scarp rising 30-40feet above the forest covered area.

Gallery

File:Kamalgad fort 1.jpg, Entrance to balekilla File:Kamalgad fort2.jpg, Red Ochre cave entrance File:Kamalgad fort3.jpg, Highest point File:Kamalgad fort4.jpg, View of machi from Balekilla File:Kamalgad fort5.jpg, Trekking path

View of mahabaleshwar Plateau