Chakan Fort

Chakan Fort is located at Chakan near Pune in Maharashtra. The last Maratha-British war was fought in this fort. This fort was built keeping in mind that it might become a rare kind of fort in Maharashtra. The fort is in the ageing condition, which needs lots of maintenance.Chakan boasts the Sangram Durga or Bhueekot Killa, which was once the domain of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The fort is built on level ground and surrounded by the fortified walls and turrets. It differs from most Indian forts which were traditionally built on hilly, elevated land.

The fort was the site of an epic 54 days of stiff resistance by the Maratha general Firangoji Narsala against Mughal Sardar Shahistekhan. The fort withstood heavy Mughal attacks until the Mughals breached the walls using high explosives. The following attack on the fort was repulsed by the Marathas. But short on supplies, Firangoji counterattacked and cut his way deep in to the Mughal encampment where he was finally subdued and captured.The Chakreshwar temple is another site of importance. Legend has it that it is the site where King Dasharatha was battling a Rakshasa (Demon King), when the wheel of hisratha (chariot) was stuck in mud near the pond of Chakreshwar. When his wife Kaikeyi helped get the wheel unstuck, Dasharatha granted her three wishes, that eventually led to the exile of Rama and the subsequent events of the epic Ramayana.
In May, Chakan celebrates a major festival called Khandobacha Urs.
Chakan is about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Pune, on NH 50 between Pune and Nashik cities. It is also on the roads that connect the Pune-Mumbai Highway to the Pune-Nashik Highway and to the Pune-Ahmednagar-Aurangabad Highway.

Compiled by: Townpune.com Team