Sion Fort

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Sion Fort is located very near to Sion Railway Station

Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru Garden

On my second urban trek, I decided to cover the Sion, Dharavi and Sewree forts. So on a Saturday, I packed my rucksack and set out.


Road leading to the Fort



I headed out of Sion station via the bridge facing Dadar. Once on the bridge, I started walking along the east side. I asked a shopkeeper for directions to the fort. According to his instructions, I would have to cross the flyover atop the Eastern Express highway and go to the other side.

Within 10 minutes, I was at the base of the fort. Here I saw the Pandit Jawarhalal Nehru Udyan (garden) and the Sion branch office of the Archaeological Survey of India.



Fort from a distance



The Udyan, at the entrance of the fort, was full of students from a nearby college who had come there either to study or for a small get-together. The garden was in bad shape, as it had not been pruned for a long time. The water fountains were not functioning properly either.

After inquiring with the garden caretaker, I headed off to see the fort. A flight of steps took me to the top of the fort. This fort was built by Gerard Aungier, the British Governor of Bombay, atop the conical hillock. The year of construction is unknown. The vegetation is so thick that you cannot see the fort from the base of the steps.

The one and only cannon on the Fort

I reached the fort in 10 minutes. My first impression of the fort was that it was a series of many one-storey rooms connected together by many doors and windows, but no roof. The ceiling was made of old wooden trunks. The roof must have disappeared a few years ago. The view from here was amazing. I could see a huge portion of the city. Maybe the fort was used as a watch tower to guard over the city.

 Graffiti is a common feature on most of the forts I have been till date, but on this fort it was very minimal. The walls still stand intact. God alone knows for how many centuries they have stayed that way.

Atop the For

There was a cannon atop the fort. Amazingly, it was pointing towards a chemical plant. Had it been in working condition it would certainly have blown up the chemical plant in its radius.

View from the Top

 This fort is worth a visit. It gave me the feeling of being alone atop a rustic fort, surrounded by a modern city below.

 I then bid goodbye to the fort and headed off to see Dharavi Qila, better known as Kala Qila.

Forts in Mumbai are Sewri Fort, Bandra Fort, Mahim Fort, Madh Fort. Sion Fort. Worli Fort. 

Caves in and around Mumbai are Mahakali Caves, Jogeshwari Caves, Mandapeshwar Caves, Kanheri Caves and Elephanta Caves