Akluj Fort
Akluj fort is a historically significant fort that is situated near Solapur in Maharashtra. It has withstood many skirmishes involving both the Mughal and the British forces. Built by the Yadav king Raja Singhan during the end of 13th century, the fort’s possession was taken over by the Mughals for quite a while. Emperor Aurangzeb’s principal Subhedar for the Deccan region, Bahadur Khan was responsible for appointing two key representatives for this fort, namely, Shaik Ali who was the chief officer and Ranmast Khan who was the killedar.
There’s a lot of history in this fort. Many notable personalities are said to have stayed here. The list includes Diler Khan in 1679 and Chatrapati Sambaji Maharaj who was trapped in the fort by the Mughals in 1689. The fort was eventually taken over by the British sometime later. Akluj Fort is however famous for its priceless statues depicting the life and deeds of the legendary Maratha warrior, Chatrapati Shivaji. Smaller sized effigies and images representing these statues are also available for sale at the fort.
Visit this fort on any weekend, and you will be magically transported to another era, another time. With some vision, you can imagine the Maratha warriors trying to fight off the invading Mughals and the British. You can one with Indian history.
There is some religion and mythology too in this place. It is believed that the name Akluj comes from “Shri Akalai Devi”. The Akluj village also holds another distinction – it is the largest village in Asia. This is in fact the first village with traffic signals.
How to reach: Akluj is growing fast and becoming a small town. Reaching the place is not a problem at all. You can catch a train to reach Pandharpur and then change from there. Or you can hire a taxi from the Karad or the Solapur airport. Many buses take people to Akluj as well.
