Bhaskargad fort / Basgad Fort is a fort located 48 km from

Igatpuri Igatpuri (Pronunciation: ɡət̪puɾiː formerly known as Egutpoora) is a town and a Hill Station. It is also a municipal council in Nashik District in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Western Ghats. Igatpuri railway stati ...

Nashik district Nashik district, also known as Nasik district, is a district in Maharashtra, India. The city of Nashik is the administrative headquarters of the district. Nashik is well known for the production of wine. Nashik is also known as Mini Maharashtra, ...

, 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 one of the fort in Trimbak hill range. This fort is near to the

Harihar fort Harihar fort / Harshagad is a fort located 40 km from Nashik City, 48 km from Igatpuri, 40 km from Ghoti in Nashik district, of Maharashtra, India. It is an important fort in Nashik district, and was constructed to look upon th ...

History

This fort was built during the period of

Yadava The Yadava (literally, descended from Yadu) were an ancient Indian people who believed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and Sat ...

of Deogiri. It was under the control of Yadavas from 1279 to 1308. It was later under the control of

Bahamani Sultanate The Bahmani Sultanate, or Deccan, was a Persianate Sunni Muslim Indian Kingdom located in the Deccan region. It was the first independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan,

followed by Nizamshahi of

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1494 ...

. In 1629

Shahaji Shahaji Bhonsale (Pronunciation: �əɦad͡ʒiː c. 1594 – 1664) was a military leader of India in the 17th century, who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Bijapur Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire at various points in his career. As a membe ...

Raje revolted against the 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 ...

and the fort was captured by him. This fort was again captured by Adil Shah after the surrender of Shahaji at

Mahuli Mahuli is an area of the Indian state of Maharashtra, covering about 6km. It is approximately 75km north-east of Mumbai in the 421601 postcode. Features Mahuli Fort, located 2815 ft above sea level, is a popular trekking and rock clim ...

Fort. The fort was under

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 ...

in 1633. in 1670 the chieftain of King

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adils ...

, Moropant Pingale, won the fort from Moghuls. In 1688 the fort was again captured by Moghuls. The

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 peopl ...

tribal revolted in 1730 and captured the fort. The fort was under the control of

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, ...

till in 1818 when Captain Briggs of East India Company captured it.

How to reach

There are two routes to reach the base village of Dahalepada. One route is from Khodala and the other from Igatpuri. The nearest town is

which is 48 km from

Nashik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nashik ...

and 121 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- ...

. The base village of the fort is Dahalepada which is 48 km from Igatpuri. There are hotels at both Igatpuri and Ghoti. The trekking path starts from the hillock south of the Dahlepada. The route is very safe and wide. The trekking route passes through the scrub forest until it reaches an open ridge that is connected to the fort. It takes about an hour to reach the scarp of the hill on which the fort is situated. The route then take a long traverse behind the hillock. There are many overhangs on the scarp. The traverse is very safe and passes through Karvi shrubs till it reaches the rock-cut steps. The climb on the steps is very easy. The parent rock is cut in helical shape and the steps are carved out of it. Half of the path is now covered with boulders and stones. It takes about 15 minutes to reach the top of the fort. The night stay on the fort cannot be made since there is no water and no accommodation facility. It is advised to carry enough water for this trek since there is no water on the route and on the fort.

Places to see

There is one main gate on the main entrance path of the fort. The main entrance gate and the rock-cut steps are carved in the same rock. There is a rock-cut water cistern on the fort. There is a rough idol of Veer Maruti on the fort. It takes about half an hour to visit all places on the fort.

Gallery

File:Bhaskargad4.jpg, Main entrance gate File:Bhaskargad2.jpg, Rock cut steps File:Bhaskargad3.jpg, Veer maruti

References

{{MarathaEmpire Buildings and structures of the Maratha Empire Forts in Nashik district 16th-century forts in India

History

How to reach

Places to see

Gallery

See also

References