Kolaba
Fort, an old military fortification in India, is unique in its location
and is situated right by the seaside, at about a distance of 1 or 2 kilometres
from the shores of Alibaug. Built by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in 1652, the
fort was built to keep a check on the activities of the foreign naval powers of
the English, Portuguese and the Siddhi of Janjira.
The Kolaba Fort, on account of its being a military
fortification, is an extremely strong and impregnable fort with high ramparts
and seventeen bastions. The main gate faces east and sculptures of a tiger,
peacock, elephant adorning it, but with the passage of time they are becoming indistinct.
Similarly, most of the buildings inside and the main fortification have
perished due to lack of sufficient restoration attempts.
A Ganesh temple, built in 1759 by Kanhoji Angre,
still survives. A wall surrounds it and a large number of devotees come to pray
at the temple on a regular basis. The idol, made out of marble, is definitely
worth a look. Another unique structure worth a visit is the isolated fortified
structure a little distance north of the main fort, which was named Sarjekot
and was consider the eighteenth bastion of Kulaba.
An
interesting feature of this sea fort is that it has freshwater wells in its
premises even though it is a seaside fort. In the monsoons, the fort can be
reached by wading through waist-deep water at low tide, while, at high tide,
boats must be used to reach it.
A
favourite spot with the locals, even tourists from rest of the country gather
to visit this beautiful fortification. A must-see while at Alibaug, do not let
this one go unvisited.
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