Devgad Fort

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Hithakshi inquired at the ST bus stand regarding the whereabouts of the Devgad Fort.

At the inquiry counter we were advised that the Fort is at an hour’s distance from here. There are no buses plying there. But rickshaws would land us there in no time, but we would miss out on the beauty around us. We then decided to walk it out to the beach hoping to get some wonderful shots.

The road was narrow with houses located near it. These houses were quite old, I guess around 100 years and above. There was a masala making factory near the road so we decided to check it out. As we were tourists here, everyone around looked at us with a suspicious eye though they were very helpful in guiding us to the Fort. 

Entrance to Devgad Fort.Staircase is from Customs House  in near Devgad Port

It was around 1500 hours and there was not a soul on the road. Guess too many people don’t visit this place or maybe it’s the heat that’s keeping the people away.

This is a fishing village with fishing boats all over the place. Some were on their way back collecting the day’s catch of fish. The view of the boats in the water against the green hills was simply amazing.

The Devgad Fort was erected by Kanoji Angre in the year 1705. The Fort was built at the confluence of the Devgad creek and the Arabian Sea. The fort is accompanied by a Harbor at the base where once a upon a time big ships used to dock.

A staircase near the Customs House Devgad leads us to the entrance of the Fort. Drinking water is available from a tap near the Customs House. 

View of the green waters of the Arabian Sea from walls of Devgad Fort

In no time we were at the entrance of the fort. The walls of the fort were not very high. As the fort was on a cliff they didn’t require high walls I guess. The walls were made of black stone with bordering of white.  The stones were huge and were placed one above the other with no adhesive to lock them.

The fort offered a good view of the sea, that’s the reason a light house has been built here. It offers a good view of Devgad Beach and the Windmills in a distance.

Three bastions that are accessible to public offer a good view of the sea and the area around us.

I noticed that there is no thrash or graffiti on the walls of this fort. This is good. I guess too many people haven’t heard of this place.

In the premises of the fort are temples dedicated to Ganesh and Hanuman. 

View of the Fort from the inside, the light house in the corner and the remains of the houses with stone boundares and dried water cistern

There are stones which I guess were a part of the walls of the houses here which no longer exist.

There is also a well up here which is around 5 to 6 stories deep. And bathing ground which was dried up.

The entire fort can be done by walking on the walls of the fort.

I could not locate single cannon on the fort. Now this is strange as this is a sea fort and the danger of being attacked from the sea is always there and there are no cannons for security. What happened to the cannons, where did they go, where they stolen or did they never exist here were some of the questions running in my head.

One can view the lighthouse, daily between 1600 to 1750 hours. The entry fees are mentioned on a signboard and they are very economical. We were unlucky that day, as the person in charge had not reported and so we couldn’t see the light house.

The part of the fort in the premises of the lighthouse is in accessible to public for security reasons.

After enjoying the beautiful view around and the strong breeze on a sunny afternoon we headed off to see the Devgad Port.