Songadh fort is a 16th-century fort in

Songadh Songadh is a taluka in Tapi district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Geography Fort Songadh is located at . It has an average elevation of 112 metres (367 feet). The town is located at the foot of a solitary hill, the surrounding ar ...

town of

Tapi district Tapi district is one of the 33 districts of Gujarat state in western India. It has seven talukas Vyara, Songadh, Nizar, Valod, Uchhal, Dolavan, Kukarmunda. Vyara town is the district headquarters. Tapi has 523 villages and two municipalities. ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

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 ...

. The fort gots its name from the

Gujarati language Gujarati (; gu, ગુજરાતી, Gujarātī, translit-std=ISO, label=Gujarati script, ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat and spoken predominantly by the Gujarati people. Gujarati is descended from Old Gu ...

terms ''son'' (gold) and ''gadh'' (fort). It is located near the Tapi River

Ukai Dam The Ukai Dam, constructed across the Tapi River, is the second largest reservoir in Gujarat after the Sardar Sarovar. It is also known as Vallabh Sagar. Constructed in 1972, the dam is meant for irrigation, power generation and flood control. Ha ...

at an elevation of 112 meters above sea level.

History

It was built by Pillaji Rao Gaekwad between 1721 to 1766. It is built on top of the high hill as a vantage point to keep an eye on enemies.

Architecture

Evidence of the influence of both

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

and

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 a M ...

s can be seen in the architecture of this fort.

Transport

It can be reached by approaching Songadh town on National Highway-6.

Tourist attraction

The fort is developed as a tourist attraction by the Songadh local authority and the district authorities. A lake was created and a dam was constructed as a part of developing the tourist spot.

References

Forts in Gujarat Tapi district {{Gujarat-struct-stub