This is the second post in my Sindhudurg Diaries series. You can find general information about Sindhudurg district HERE and the first post in the series HERE.
In this post, we will cover Day 3 (technically our second full day) of travel in Sindhudurg, which covers the Sindhudurg Fort, and the Rajkot Fort, featuring a Smarak (monument) in honour of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the form of a 91-foot statue overlooking the Arabian Sea.
Me, my wife, and our 12-year-old son had completed our journey from Mumbai to Sindhudurg by train. Although we were scheduled to reach our destination by 5 pm, higher-than-usual congestion near Ratnagiri led to a delay of more than two hours. On the next day, technically our first full day in Sindhudurg, we went on a boat ride across several points on the Devbag peninsular backwaters. It was after the ride, while having dinner (Malvani style) at one of the better-looking restaurants near the jetty point, that we charted out our plan for the following day. The plan involved making a visit to some nearby forts, with a special focus on the Sindhudurg Fort.
The next morning though, we made some changes in our plan. Having reckoned that venturing out under the open sun in the vast fort complex during peak sunlight hours would be a tougher-than-anticipated challenge, we decided to start in the late afternoon to avoid the overhead sun.
Lunch at Breezywood
After taking the help of the hotel's helpdesk to book an autorickshaw for our trip, we proceeded on foot towards the Devbag jetty point for lunch. While it was only a 1.4 km walk with the beautiful Konkan coastline and a cathedral showing up at several junctures along the path, the humidity made this a very unpleasant and annoying experience for me. Once we reached our destination, a restaurant named Breezywood (which also happens to be a resort), I quickly took a seat under a fan.
The restaurant looks like a cool family-friendly cafe that you might find in a tourist hotspot like Goa. The ambience was relaxed and welcoming, and more important, the menu rates were pretty reasonable. My wife and son, who had been salivating since night at the thought of local seafood, ordered some Malvani style Surmai and Pomfret dishes and a Fish Thali. I, on the other hand, who dislikes seafood, called for something can almost NEVER go wrong - French Fries.
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| Our lunch at Breezywood |
We washed our meals down with super-chilled bottles of Maaza. The generous portion sizes and flawless flavours made the meal really satisfying and value-for-money.
Once we were done with our meal, I made a phone call to our designated autorickshaw guy. Thankfully, he was already stationed just outside the restaurant and we didn't have to wait at all. We all quickly got in to shield ourselves from the overhead sun and were soon on our way.
The road taking us towards the Sindhudurg Fort jetty point was long, narrow and winding, but one that afforded some interesting and breathtaking views of beaches, fields, pastures and other sights that you are least likely to see in crowded cities like Mumbai. We eventually reached the Malvan Ferry Terminal (from where we were supposed to hop onto a boat to take us to the fort) in about an hour's time, roughly around 3:30 in the noon. After a 5-7 minutes ride, we finally reached the island on which the majestic fort stood.
The Sindhudurg Fort
Sindhudurg Fort is considered among the most important forts in Maratha history. The fort was commissioned in 1664 by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Maratha empire, to assert Maratha dominance over the Konkan coast, control important maritime trade routes, and protect against foreign naval threats, particularly the Portuguese in Goa and the Siddis of Alibaug. It was built on the rocky island of Kurte in the Arabian Sea, just off the coast near Malvan. It was constructed over a period of three years (completed in 1667) using the spoils from the sacking of the port city of Surat, under the supervision of chief architect Hiroji Indulkar, and by enlisting the services of around 3,000 workers and about 200-300 Portuguese engineers from Goa. |
| The outer walls of the fort |
Spread over a 48-acre area, the fort's structure comprises perimeter walls that are nine metres high and three metres high, with ramparts running along for about three km in an irregular zigzag pattern, and featuring about 40-50 bastions. According to historical records, the walls were built using locally-quarried boulders, laterite, lime mortar, more than 70,00 kg of iron (particularly for the massive curtain wall and bastions) and about 500 barrels of molten lead (for the foundation and casting).
After Shivaji Maharaj's death in 1680, the fort had passed into the hands of his son Chhatrapati Rajaram, the Peshwas, and eventually to the British East India Company after the Third Anglo-Maratha War of 1818.
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| Plaque with information about the fort |
After disembarking from our boat, we had to walk on a rock-paved alley to reach the entrance of the fort. While walking the entrance, we were floored by its curved Gaumukhi construction style (cow’s face-shaped), designed to confuse enemies and prevent them from pinpointing the entry point from afar. All Maratha forts have a temple, idol, or sculpture of a Hindu Deity at the entrance gate; this fort had a domed shrine with a stone-carved idol of Lord Hanuman. As we walked further, we came across a large wooden door with metal spikes called the Dilli Darwaza; the door was constructed at an angle so as prevent easy access by elephants, battering rams, or any other large device/machinery by an attacking army.
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| Idol of Lord Hanuman |
As we walked ahead, we saw some stairs carved out of the rocks on a small hillock. Climbing up that flight of stairs took us to a temple dedicated to Bhavani Mata. After visiting the temple, we walked further and followed the crowds on a narrow path which somehow led us onto the rampart walls of the fort. From this point onwards, we continued along the fort's seemingly endless zigzagging ramparts for at least an hour, failing to find a single exit point. I must mention at this point that people who are afraid of heights should avoid it, despite the fact the path created along the walls was at least 12 feet wide.
We trudged along at a steady pace, while also carefully holding onto walls (where we could find them) and big boulders. From our viewpoint along the rocky path of the walls, we could see the structures, vegetation and ruins within the walls and also the vast expanse of the sea on the outside. The sound of the waves crashing into the fort's rocky facade and the refreshing bursts of breeze hitting our bodies at certain junctures during this walk along the ramparts made this a surreal experience for the three of us. During our walk we saw some steep staircases, guard rooms, water cisterns/reservoirs/tanks and an assembly area, among other structures and spots. We also happened to spot a small beach outside the fort's walls. We later found out that it is called 'Rani-chi Vela', which translates to 'the Queen's Beach'. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to step onto this beach.
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| A view of Rani-chi vela (Queen's Beach) from atop the fort's walls |
After walking for about 45-50 minutes, we eventually reached a spot from where we were able to get off the fort's walls. The path took us to the 'Nishan Buruj', also known as 'Jhenda Buruj', a raised central point within the fort complex that doubled up as the flag bastion as well as a lookout point.
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| Breath-taking view of the sea from one the fort's bastions |
Shivaji Maharaj's Tulja Sword
After spending some time atop the flag bastion, we considered proceeding to the fort's jetty point for our return to the shore. However, I felt a tinge of dissatisfaction, because I had heard that one of the temples inside the fort housed Shivaji Maharaj's sword. Thankfully for us, our walk towards the exit gate eventually brought us to a small museum and the Shivrajeshwar Mandir. The temple was built by Chhatrapati Rajaram in 1695 to honour his father in the form of a deity. One of the Warrior King's battle swords named 'Tulja' is kept for worshipping purposes inside this temple. Unfortunately, visitors/devotees are not allowed to click photographs inside the temple premises.The small museum next to this temple houses a few artifacts from Shivaji Maharaj's times, including some swords, garments, coins from that era, some toys, etc. Some personal belongings of Shivaji Maharaj, including a sword gifted to him by his father, and casts featuring his handprint and footprints are also kept on display.
With all my goals for the visit finally accomplished, we got back to shore, got into our autorickshaw, and proceeded towards our next (and final) stop for the evening, the Rajkot Fort.
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| Left: Stairs inside Sindhudurg Fort leading to the Jhenda Buruj (the flag bastion) Right: Memorial plaque outside a nearby village offering tribute to Indian soldiers |
The Rajkot Fort and 91-foot-tall Shivaji Maharaj Smarak
The Rajkot Fort was built at the same time as Sindhudurg, to serve as a sea-facing military outpost and to provide logistical support to the larger sea fort. It is located barely half a kilometre from the Malvan Ferry Terminal. As of today, only one bastion remains with a flag post. The fort also has a garden where visitors come to enjoy watching waves crash against the rocky shoreline. |
| View of the Sindhudurg Fort from Rajkot Fort |
The main highlight of the fort is a 91-foot-tall bronze statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The statue, which shows him holding aloft a 29-foot sword and looking out at the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea with the panoramic view of the Sindhudurg Fort visible in the distance, stands as a symbol of Maratha pride and strength.
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| Glimpses of the 91-foot statue of Shivaji Maharaj and the sunset outside Rajkot Fort |
Interestingly, this was not the originally installed statue at the site. In late 2023, a 35-foot statue had been unveiled by Prime Minister Modi at the same spot. Unfortunately, this originally-installed statue had collapsed in August 2024 due to structural failure and other engineering lapses. Thankfully, the new, improved, and taller 91-foot-statue was built by May 2025.
Finally done with our visit to both spots, we proceeded on our journey back to our hotel. As our autorickshaw <missing phrase>, I was beaming from ear to ear. After all, I hadn't simply ticked off an iconic historical landmark from my list of 'places to visit before I die'. I had embarked on a journey through time, terrain, and emotion that will forever be etched in my memories.
See you soon in part three of this series.
This post is a part of the Blogchatter Half Marathon: October-November 2025.
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