Panhala Fort

En un regard

Le château en bref

Some twenty kilometres north-west of Kolhapur, Panhala Fort occupies a vast plateau perched at nearly 1,000 metres above the plain. Founded at the end of the 12th century by the Shilahara king Bhoja II, it was later reinforced by the sultans of Bijapur, and then became one of the key sites of Shivaji's epic. Natural cliffs provide half of its defence, the rest being enclosed by thick walls. Among its notable structures are the Teen Darwaza, a triple western gateway decorated with a Persian inscription; the Andhar Bav, a three-level structure of black basalt housing a well; the Sajja Kothi, a pavilion with an upper storey where Shivaji stayed; and the Ambarkhana, a complex of granaries capable of sustaining long sieges. It was from here that Shivaji escaped in 1660, covered by the sacrifice of Baji Prabhu Deshpande. Protected by the Archaeological Survey of India, Panhala has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage property Maratha Military Landscapes since 2025.