Murud-Janjira Fort

Rajapuri, Maharashtra, India

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Murud-Janjira Fort is a historic sea fort located on an oval-shaped rock island off the Arabian Sea coast near the coastal town of Murud in Raigad district, Maharashtra, and it is accessed only by a short boat ride from Rajapuri jetty on the shore.

The fort is renowned as one of the strongest marine forts in India and is famous for being the only fort along the western coast that remained completely undefeated despite repeated attacks by the Portuguese, Dutch, British East India Company, and the Marathas, including Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his son Sambhaji.

Originally built in the 15th century by a Koli chief as a defense against pirates and later heavily expanded in the 17th century by the Abyssinian Siddis who served the Ahmednagar Bahmani Sultanate, the fort spreads over about 22 acres and has 19 rounded bastions, massive walls, and legendary cannons such as Kalal Bangadi, Landa Kasam and Chavi.

Inside the fort there are ruins of palaces, officer quarters, a mosque, hidden emergency passageways, and a remarkable natural feature of two small freshwater lakes about 60 feet deep as well as a deep well with sweet water, both existing in the midst of the sea. The main gate of the fort faces Rajapuri and is a huge structure with a distinctive carving of a tiger holding an elephant in its claws, while a smaller gate on the sea side was used for emergency escape, making the fort a complete living settlement with all essential facilities in its earlier days.