Samrajgad Fort Trek

The Samrajgad fort trek is a hill fort trek located in South-West of Murud village. Also known as Danda-Rajpuri, it acted as the main base to attack the Janjira Fort. This fort was built to keep a constant surveillance on the Janjira Fort and so that its means of entry could be limited.

History

Samrajgad Fort was built on a hill near Rajpuri, very close to the Janjira Fort. It was constructed by Shivaji Maharaj with the help of Vyankoji Datto. The Janjira Fort, at that time was controlled by Siddi  and due to to its proximity with the Samrajgad Fort, Vyankoji Datto was given protection with the help of a platoon of Maratha soldiers. In order to acquire power over surrounding regions, Vyankoji waged a war against Siddi in which 300 Siddis got killed.

On 11th February 1671, Siddi Khairat launched an attack on Samrajgad from the land with 500 Siddi soldiers. At the same time, Saddi Kasim attacked the fort from the sea. The Marathas who were in celebratory mood because of Holi festival, were caught off guard. Even though they fought well and with all their might, it was not enough to beat the Siddis. With this defeat, Shivaji was forced to abandon his mission to capture Janjira Fort.

Geography

The Samrajgad fort trek is at a height of 165 m and at a distance of 168 km from Mumbai and 238 km from Pune. Ekdara village is at the base of the fort.

The fort was constructed by laying huge rock stones, one on top of the other without using any binding material. These walls of the citadel are still standing well positioned in its place. One can be able to see the Padmadurg fort in the West and the Janjira Fort in the South. There is also a Shiva temple on the way. No other remnants can be seen on the fort.

The trail

The trek to Samrajgad Fort has an easy trail and is located South-West of Murud town.We can reach the Ekdara village,  by taking the bridge to cross the creek and it takes just about half an hour to reach the fort from here.

The path from the Shiva temple leads to the summit.

How to reach

If travelling by private vehicle, one can take the Mumbai-Goa highway to reach Murud. From Murud, reach the base village, Ekdara.

Direct public transport buses to Murud are also available for those wanting to come from Mumbai or Pune.

Via train, there are direct trains coming from Mumbai to Murud. From Pune, you can take train from Pune-Boribial and then a taxi to Murud.