Vijaydurg – An Impregnable Maratha Fort

Vijaydurg is an important fort in the state of Maharashtra. It is the oldest fort on the coast of the Sindhudurg. At one time, Vijaydurg was also among the strongest marine forts, and obviously an important one. A trip to the fort is worth it, though it is quite far away from Mumbai (the city is about 500 kilometers from the Vijaydurg fort). You may want to see some palatial houses of Dhulap in the village with its stunning wall paintings. There is also the Rameshwar temple with its wooden engravings and wall paintings that you can visit. The Vijaydurg fort is quite close to Goa. So you could spend some time in the beaches of Goa as well and see the beautiful churches here too. It would be a good idea to combine the fort with some other tourist attractions of the region.

The original name of the fort was “Gheria”, as it was protected by water from three sides. Shivaji conquered the fort from Adil Shah of Bijapur in 1653. It has been known as Vijaydurg since then, probably in commemoration of Shivaji’s victory. It was this legendary Maratha leader who developed the fort into a strong naval base. He used it as a harbor for repairing the Maratha warships.

The Vijaydurg Fort Was Impregnable

During its heydays, the fort was virtually impregnable. It stands on a hill. A shallow creek covers it from three sides, and made it impossible for enemy ships to come real close. There was a ditch on the fourth side, which is now filled up. There have been many attempts though. You will even today see cannon ball marks on the walls of the Vijaydurg fort. The wall is 10 meter high and used to serve as a second line of defense. There were cannons on top of the wall to fire at approaching invaders. The defensive setup was so watertight that Vijaydurg was often referred to as “Eastern Gibraltar”.

Some ships still managed to come close, but they all collided with the wall and sank. There was a 200 meter long tunnel below the fort to allow the residents to escape in an emergency. You can see the tunnel, but cannot enter it as it is partially blocked now.

Do visit the Vijaydurg fort. You can to this day see the many bastions, store houses, buildings, water tanks, the walls and many other structures. You will not want to miss this fort.