This former capital of Maratha kingdom is situated in the Raigad district of Maharashtra. The place is known for the fort built during Shivaji?s rule. Shivaji (the great Maratha ruler) had made this as his capital. The Raigad district shares its boundaries with Pune, Ratnagiri, Thane and Mumbai harbor. On the one side it is skirted by the Arabian Sea. This Konkan region is linked to Mumbai by the Sion-Panvel expressway and Nh-4. Lonere city in Raigad district hosts a Technological University named ?Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University. Raigad city in the Raigad district is known by its fort. The fort is built on a high mountain in the Sahyadri mountain range. It is situated at an altitude of 2,700 km above the sea level. Earlier people had to climb 1400 steps approximately however now it is connected by ropeway. The fort was under the control of the More dynasty (a feudatory of Sulthans of Bijapur). Shivaji seized the fortress and named it as Raigad. Later, the fort was destroyed by the British. Today we can see only the ruins of the fort. However the fort can give us a glimpse of the Royal heritage. Visitors do get to see the quarters of queens, ruins of towers, an artificial lake (Ganga sagar lake), the cliff from where the prisoners (sentenced) were thrown to death, the market place, entrance doors, a statue of shivaji and Shivaji?s tomb. It is ideal to visit Raigad during rains. Lush green mountain valley with two rivers flowing through it baffles us. The brown fort with green vegetation grown on it looks fabulous. Raigad can be reached via Pune. It is at a close distance from Mahabaleshwar (a hill resort in the Satara district). It is 75 km away from Mahabaleshwar, 150 km from Pune and 140 km from Mumbai. But, the fort site can be visited only by walk. Vir Dasgaon is the nearest railhead for Raigad.
