Fort Vasantgad is an ancient fort which was under the reign of King Shivaji and was home to Hambirrao Mohite, the fourth Commander-in-chief of Shivaji. The fort is located at an altitude of 2950sq.ft. above sea level and is also one of the more popular trekking locations in the state among adventure lovers.Fort Vasantgad is located in Satara district and is at a distance of 85km from Kolhapur city. One has to drive along the Kolhapur-Satara route till Talbid, the base village of Vasantgad which is 12km from Karad. At Talbid, one can see the memorial of Hambirrao Mohite, which has been well preserved by the villagers and then head towards the base of the hill at the outskirts of Talbid village. One has to undertake an adventurous trek of around fifty minutes to reach the hill top fort, which offers amazing landscape views on all sides.Talbid or Vasantgad fort was the home of Hambirrao Mohite, the fourth Commander-in-chief of King Shivaji. The first three were Mankoji Dahatonde, Netaji Palkar and Prataprao Gujar. This is also the home of Queen Tarabai, the founder of Karveer. Amol Salve, a trekker and localite of Talbid village said, “This hillock fort is well fortified by strong bastions. There are temples of Lord Ganesh and also Chandrasen, known to be the son of Shoorpankha, sister of Ravana over the fort along with a cannon, a big grinding wheel, a small pond and rocky fortifications on all sides.This fort was built by Shilahar King Bhoj in the eleventh century and King Shivaji captured the same in 1659. Later on, Shivaji’s son Rajaram stayed here for some time while coming back from Jinji. In 1700, Aurangzeb captured the fort and named it ‘Kili-da-Fateh’. The Marathas got the fort back in 1706, added Amol Salve.Along with its historical significance, Vasantgad also has green and clean surroundings and offers an oxygenated atmosphere all round the year. Umakant Chavan, a city-based nature researcher says, “This fort trek offers mesmerizing landscape views to the visitors and hosts a variety of birds and flowers in its surroundings. The chirping of birds, scenic surroundings and a decent trek make this place a preferred destination for the youth brigade as well as adventure lovers”.

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