Malhargad Fort is the last fort that was built by the Marathas. It is an 18th century monument located in the Western Ghats of India above the Village Sonori, near Saswad, Pune. It is, therefore, also identified as Sonori Fort. Malhargad is one of the forts on one side of the Sahyadri Mountains that has the Purandar Fort, Sinhagad Fort and the Vajragad Fort. The Bhuleshwar Range, which extends along the east-west direction in the Western Ghats, includes this portion of the Sahyadris. Malhargad Fort is also famous for trekking and a quick visit, just like the other hill forts.
It is frequently visited by locals living nearby on the weekends. A heritage building, a palace belonging to the Panse Family, is also present in the base village of Sonori. Although much of the palace is in ruins, the Malhargad Fort is surprisingly quite intact. Visitors can trek up to the fort, explore the buildings and also enjoy a stunning view of the Sahyadri Mountain Ranges.
Malhargad Fort History:
The fort was built by Panse, a Peshwa Sardar, who was the chief in-charge of Tofkhana of the Peshwas. Citations of a visit of Elder Madhavrao Peshwe to the fort are available in historic documents. In Sonori village, you can see a marvelous Palace belonging to Panse.
Malhargad Fort structure
They built this fort on a triangle-shaped plateau on top of a hill, and the wall of the fort is very thick and made of stone. Its main door is towards Sonori village. Inside this fort, there is a square-shaped fort. There is Maha Darwaza to enter this. From this fort, you can see Saswad and the Western Ghats on the other side. I reached the parking of Malhargad fort at 10:00 am. Small steps had been made from here to go to the fort by cutting the soil of the hill. After climbing 30-40 steps, you can see a turret. From where there is a small gate in the turret to enter this fort.
How to reach
To reach this fort, one has to go on Pune Saswad road through Dive Ghat, the distance of this fort from Dive Ghat is around 8 kilometers. Just one kilometer from Vitthal Statue there is a diversion to Kalewadi.
Take a left turn after 1 kilometer towards Malhargarh Fort, this road leads to Malhargad Fort, on this road you will get very beautiful views and there are gardens on both sides of the road.
Recent Comments