Type                      Pratapgad is a Hill Fort     

Difficulty level     Pratapgad is easy to trek. 

Height                   Pratapgad is 3690ft (1100meters) above sea level.     

Base village / District / Taluka -  Poladpur, Wada / Satara / Satara, Maharashtra, India.

Until the reconstruction of the fort made by Shivaji Maharaj, the fort was called the 'Bhorpya' hill and after the construction, it was named the 'Pratapgad'. Under the supervision of Prime Minister of Shivaji maharaj's, Moropant Trimbak Pingle the construction of the fort was done.

Prime minister was known as Peshwa in those periods. Because of the famous temple of Bhavani Mata which was constructed by Shivaji Maharaj, this place has more importance.

Afjalkhan's Assassination of Pratapgad The operations of the Kingdom of Adilshah were handled by the wife of Sultan of Vijapur, she was called as 'Badi Sahebin'. She ordered Afzalkhan to kill Shivaji Maharaj he used a large number of infantry, Elephants, and horses and marched to Pratapgad.
Reaching Wai Afzalkhan said to his lawyer 'Krishnaji Bhaskar' to fix a meeting with Shivaji Maharaj. At that time Shivaji Maharaj was in Pratapgad. Maharaj came to know that Afzalkhan had come to kill him.

Afzalkhan had forces with him Maharaj said that the meeting would take place at Pratapgad. As he knew Afzalkhans intentions he kept his area protected by spreading his soldiers such as Moropant Peshwe in Ghats, Netaji Palkar in the forest of 'Jawali', Haibatrao and Balaji Shilmakar in 'Bacheghodi Ghat' and Shamrao Nilkanth & Trimbak Bhaskar in Konkan region.

The tent was decorated by diamonds and golds in which the meeting was going to be held. Maharaj had two bodyguards with him and Afzalkhan had 3 guards with him. When Afzalkhan came in front of "Shivaji Maharaj" Khan hugged him tightly, after hugging him Khan removed his dagger and attempted to kill Shivaji Maharaj on his back.

Maharaj knew his intentions so Maharaj was prepared by wearing a body armor. Maharaj was prepared by having his Wagh Nakha which is also called as the tiger nails kept in his waist-belt. After Khan's attempt, Shivaji Maharaj attacked Khan with his tiger nails in Khan's belly, khan was shouting in pain for help.

Hearing his voice khan's bodyguard came in with a palaquin. At that time 'Jiva Mahal' came in and broke the legs of the Palaquin and Khan's neck, guard Sayyed Bhanda came in with his weapon which was known as 'Patta'. 'Jiva Mahal' was alert with his weapon to kill Sayyed Bhanda.

The signal was given to the soldiers by shooting cannon balls from the fort. This signal was to move the soldiers at the war area Against Khan Soldier. Afzalkhan lost his war and many other soldiers' commanders and prime ministers with large number of elephants, horses and wealth. Maharaj gained in all 4000 horses, 1200 camels and 65 elephants, jewellery and gold coins.

Time to reach the top

From the base village Parali, it takes around 1 hour to reach the fort.

Minimum Duration 

1 to 2days because the fort cannot be completed in 1 day due to many spots available on the fort

Best time to visit the fort

Any time you can visit Pratapgad fort.

Water Availability 

Water is available on the fort throughout the year.

Accommodation Availability

20 to 25 people can stay on the fort in Maharashtra Government Rest House available on the fort.

Hastakala Kendra - Between Wada village to Pratapgad one can see the Hastakala Kendra, on the same route itself the refreshment center are also there.

Tomb of Afzalkhan - On the way to Pratapgad there is a Tomb of Afzalkhan, and his Bodyguard Sayyed Banda to the left side of the fort.

Tehalni Buruj - In those days the Tehalni Buruj was used to keep an eye on the enemies. Tehalni buruj is on the opposite side of the vehicle parking which is located to west side of the fort.

Mahadarwaja - Between the two bastions is the Mahadarwaja, there are cannons near the door. There are two more doors nearby which are of no use.

Rahat Lake - Among the lakes, Rahat Lake is the biggest lake on the fort. In all there are four Lakes on the fort in that two lakes are also famous namely 'Naske Tale' and 'Gode Tale'.

Bhavani Mandir - By taking the help of King Leelasen 'Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj' brought the statue of Goddess Bhavani Mata, the statue of Bhavani Mata is made of a stone. This stone was brought from the Mountain area where three rivers Trishul Gandaki, Shwet Gandaki, and Saraswati are located the stone was in between the rivers.

'Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj' made a statue by his 'Nepal Craft artist'. In 1662 A.D. Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj first worshiped Bhavani Mata on 'Raigad fort', after that he permanently shifted that statue on Pratapgad with Moropant Peshwe.

There are two huge stone pillars 'Deepstambha' which hold lamps in rows. Nearby there is an assembly hall called 'Sabhamandap','Ghanta Rangamandap' is situated inside the 'Sabhamandap'.Another place has an 'Shiva linga' made up of crystal clear stone, There is a Sword of Hambirrao Mohite which is engraved with his name and Impression of 'six ribbits'.A ribbit is only awarded to the person who kills 100 soldiers of the enemy.

Cultural Library - There are some refreshment centers which are made recently on the fort in which the history of Pratapgad is mentioned which is provided by some officers which are in charge of this center.
A slide show is shown on the fort of about 20 mins in which the history of Pratapgad is shown to the visitors. Library contains a large number Maratha history such as coins, dresses of rulers oh the fort, swords and various other historical things on the fort.

Temple of Lord Hanuman - The statue of Lord Hanuman was established by Samarth Ramdas Swami. This beautiful statue of 'Hanuman' is near the entrance citadel of the fort.

Sadar's or Meeting area - The discussion and the meetings were held at the Sadar, Sadar means the Meeting and the Discussion area. This platform is situated opposite side of the Kedareshwar temple. It has a large open place where sardars would meet and had conversations.

Statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj - On 30th of November 1957 the huge and beautiful statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was made by an artist of Mumbai Shri. Kamat. The statue of Shivaji Maharaj is made as he is sitting on a horse with a sword in his right hand and with a bridle in his left hand.

Our Late Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru uncovered this statue of Shivaji Maharaj. Other spots on the fort are The Yeshwant Buruj which is on the east side of the fort whereas, on the south side is the Surya Buruj which is near Hanuman temple, backside of the Surya Buruj there is a secret door 'Rajpaharyachi Dindi' which was used to keep an eye on the enemy's coming from north side of the fort.

way from Pune to Pratapgad Fort

Pune to Pratapgad By Bus

From Pune there are ST (State Transport) buses / Volvo buses available to Chiplun, which is 233 kms from Pune; it takes 4 hrs 10 min from Pune, From Chiplun there are buses or private transport available to reach Ambadiwadi.

From Pune there are ST (State Transport) buses are available from Swargate to Satara Distance from Satara to Parali is only 13 kilometres. Parali is at the base of the fort. From Pune there are 6 direct trains are available to Satara the trains are (Gkp Ltt Exp (15018), Maharashtra Exp (11040), Sahyadri Express (11023), Goa Express (12780) (83kms) Koyna Express (11029) class 2s time 12:52 and the fair of the train is around 50 to 60 rupees.

Way from Mumbai to Pratapgad Fort

From Mumbai, there are ST (State Transport) buses or local buses available from Mumbai to Satara the distance is around 259 kilometres. From Mumbai trains are available to Satara, the names and the timings are Sharavati Express which is at 11.35am, Puducherry Express (11005), Tirunelveli Express (11021), Mahalaxmi Express (17411), Adi-kop express(11049)the distance is around 182 kilometers.

Panchgani

It is about 38 to 40 kilometers from Pratapgad. It is one of the most beautiful hill stations in Maharashtra it has some beautiful bungalows and it is the best place in Maharashtra one can stay it was a prominent hill station during British rule they offered sanctuary for its officials for summer.

Mahabaleshwar

It is 21 kms from Pratapgad which is in the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats in Maharashtra. There are many spots in Mahabaleshwar such as Sunset Point, Monkey Point, Table Point, Honeymoon Point and much more to see.