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Why to visit Panhala Fort
The Panhala Fort is located 20 kilometres to the northwest of Kolhapur's main city. This fort, which is the biggest in the Deccan region, continues to rank among the largest places in the nation. It was constructed in a key location where a crucial commercial route flowed across Maharashtra from Bijapur to the Arabian Sea beaches. This destination is a must-see for those who enjoy hiking as well as those who enjoy exploring historical sites.
It is one of the biggest forts in the Deccan, with 7 km of fortification and three big double-walled gates that provide full proof protection. The fort looks over the green Sahyadri slopes. The majority of the buildings are in the Bijapur style, and several of them clearly display the Bahmani Sultanate's peacock pattern. There were three spectacular doors in the Panhala Fort. The main gateway, known as the Teen Darwaza, had carvings of Lord Ganesh, the Marathas' favourite deity, along with Persian inscriptions. The last one, Wagh Darwaza, used to be a hallucination with a small backyard beyond it, where the attackers would get stuck. The second one, Char Darwaza, was destroyed during the British siege.
The Archaeological Survey of India has designated a number of the fort's monuments as noteworthy. One of Panhala Fort's main attractions is Andhar Bavadi, or the Hidden Well. It was a three-story building constructed by Adil Shah that housed the fort's residential quarters, soldiers' posting areas, and escape passages while concealing the fort's major water source from the besieging attackers and guarding it against poisoning. This served as a secondary firewall to the fort's central area. Notably, the renowned Maratha monarch Shivaji and Tarabai, Queen Regent of Kolhapur, called the Indo-Islamic style fort their home.
