Naldurg Fort

Naldurg Fort is a historic ground fort located in Naldurg town, Dharashiv district, Maharashtra. Named after King Nalaraja and originally built during the Western Chalukya era, it features medieval Indo-Islamic architecture with massive basalt bastions and double ramparts enclosing a knoll jutting into the Bori River valley. The fort is renowned for its unique Pani Mahal (Water Palace) built within a dam across the river in 1613, showcasing advanced hydraulic engineering. It served as a strategic stronghold under the Bahmani Sultanate, Adil Shahi dynasty, Mughals, and Nizams of Hyderabad.

Visitors can explore extensive fortifications spanning over 100 acres with 114 bastions of various shapes, including the distinctive lotus-shaped Navburuj. Key structures include the Pani Mahal water palace inside a dam, Hathi Darwaza and Hurmukh Darwaza gateways, Jama Masjid, Baradari, Rangmahal, and the 150-foot high Upli Buruj watchtower. The site offers panoramic views of the Bori River valley and surrounding landscape. Boating facilities are available in the river basin moat. Visitors can see historic cannons, tombs, and remnants of royal palaces while walking along well-defined paths through the fort complex.

Originally constructed during the Western Chalukya era and named after King Nalaraja, Naldurg Fort passed through Bahmani Sultanate (1351-1480), Adil Shahi dynasty (from 1558), Mughal Empire (after 1686), and Nizam of Hyderabad's domain. The fort hosted the marriage of Chand Bibi Sultana and contains tombs of Nawab Amir Nawazul Mulk Bahadur and Princess Fakharunnisa Begam. Colonel Meadows Taylor resided here during 1853-57 as British officer. The current fortifications were largely built under Abul Muzaffar Ali Adilshah in 1560 AD, with Pani Mahal added in 1613 during Ibrahim Adil Shah II's reign.