Naldurg Fort

In India most of the ancient historic information is captured and stored in the forms of “Shrut” (Listened) & “Smrut”(Remembered) forms. The fort is built in the Medieval times by the King Nal in the period of “Chalukya” from Kalyani Dynasty. Naldurg the Sanskrit name depicts – “Nal” the Name of the King & “Durg” the Fort. And the town is named after the King Nal. Later on A.D. 1351 to 1480, under rules of the Bahamani kings & afterwards under Adilshahi rulers in A.D. 1558.

This fort is situated in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, located at the 46 km east from Solapur. Around 1.5 hrs drive from Solapur main city.

This is the classic example of Medieval Architecture. There’s Island in the River - Bori besides the fort. This fort is combination of partial construction on the ground and in the river.

The Massive fortification surrounding the total 118 towers including the giant Upali Burj is the very old one & is located at the central place in the fort. The Upali Burj has the 100+ steps to climb; it is the highest vertical point  in the entire region. Into layman’s words approximately 10+ floors. We can wonder how these ancients would have built such a massive structure in those times. One can see the entire surroundings in 360 degree from such a great height. And on that Tower, there are two large cannons, named as “Hatti tof” and “Magar tof”. The cannons are so giant that they have the range to cover the complete perimeter from the fort around 2-3 km. The tower used to act as a watch tower as well as tower to defend if enemy attacks at any point of time. The entrance gate of the fort is named as “Hulmukh Darwaza”. It’s not the straight entry inside the fort. The entry over there is sort of zigzag followed by the three giant walls (part of that fortification).

There is another marvel, Pani Mahal inside the fort. There is weir built over the river. That Pani mahal is kind of a dam in the riverfront. And inside the walls of the dam, there are rooms built for stay of king and the queen. Sitting inside that window, one can see the water flowing like a waterfall. The marvel of engineering and construction in those times is really fascinating. All the structure originally made of Solid Black rocks cementing materials.

 Inside the fort, there are other places to visit like, Ambarkhana, Munsif court, Masjid, Baradari, Rani Mahal, Rangamahal, Hathi Kund and Machli Tat. These locations are equally nice to visit.