By Jay Mehta
Our tour got over pretty much on
time as the sailors had to go back to the jetty for another ride. We reached
back in no time. It was quite hot in the afternoon as we reached and coconut
water provided the much needed respite from the heat before we began our
journey back to Mumbai.
AUTHOR BIO : Jay is an analytics consultant by profession and an avid
blogger traveller. He detests tick-marked
places as they are mostly overrated and boring. You can follow his blog here: - New LIFE.
Murud Janjira is a unique island
fort, about 500 years old, located near Murud village in Raigad district of
Maharashtra, with amazing beach
landscapes on the way which will force you to take a stop and absorb the
moment. The appealing beach and the
coconut & betel palms along the coastal area of Murud add to its beauty. After
driving for a couple of kilometers from
Murud beach, we had the first glimpse of the fort, coupled with amazing
landscape of fort, sea, beach and mountains – all in one shot.
 |
| Murud-Janjira Fort surrounded by beautiful sea, beach and mountains – all in one shot! |
 |
| Fort from a different angle! |
We had to stop for a while to
enjoy the landscape. The – not so hot – morning weather made it easy to do so.
After spending about 10 minutes absorbing the moment and clicking some
pictures, we were back on the road for the last mile (literally).
 |
| Young boys helping out the ferry passengers |
From Janjira beach, we boarded a
boat that took us to the Janjira fort. While on the boat, I couldn't help but hum the song from the movie Swades – yeh jo des hai tera– given the number of people they stuffed in a single boat,
without any life jackets!
Janjira is an amazing fort,
especially when you're aware of its history and connect it with what you see there.
It is necessary to hear the history from a guide instead of roaming around the
fort on your own. When you take the boat from Janjira beach, one guide is onboard
and fills you on the details throughout the 45 minutes that you spend in the
fort.
 |
| Our Guide, Explaining the History of the Third Largest Cannon in India |
Fortunately we had a good guide
(as I cross checked the facts on Google, later) who kept telling us some
amazing facts about the fort construction, secret routes to the sea as well as
Rajapuri village, the third largest cannon in India (on which he is seen
sitting) and also how the Siddis created these 22 bastions fort after
demolishing the original smaller fort. Since then, Janjira is the only unconquered
fort in India inspite of several attempts by Shivaji Maharaj, the Portuguese,
the Dutch and the East India Company.
 | |
| Fort from Inside |
 | |
| Images of Playing Lions and Elephants on the Fort Wall |
Have you come across such unknown historical gems on your travels?
***
***
Visit www.indiauntravelled.com to discover offbeat travel adventures across India.
To contribute guest posts / photo essays to this blog, please see our contribution guidelines and send your story ideas to blog@indiauntravelled.com.
***
No comments:
Post a Comment
Tell us what you are thinking...