रायगड किल्ला (धरतीवरचा स्वर्ग) Raigad Fort छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराज समाधीस्थळ

 छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराजांच्या स्वराज्यातील सर्वात महत्वपूर्ण किल्ला म्हणजे राजधानी रायगड

या व्हिडीओ मध्ये संपूर्ण रायगड किल्ला तुम्हाला पहायला मिळेल

Raigad is a hill fort situated in Mahad, Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. It is one of the strongest fortresses on the Deccan Plateau. Many constructions and structures on Raigad were built by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chief Engineer was Hirojee Indulkar. When Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj made it his capital in 1674 upon being crowned the king of the Maratha kingdom, which later developed into the Maratha Empire, eventually covering much of western and central India. In 1765, the fort was the location of an armed campaign by the British East India Company. Finally, on 9 May 1818, the fort was looted and destroyed by the British. The fort rises 820 metres (2,700 ft) above sea level in the Sahyadri mountain range. There are approximately 1,737 steps leading to the fort. The Raigad Ropeway, an aerial tramway, reaches 400 meters in height and 750 meters in length, and allows visitors to reach the fort from the ground in only four minutes.

The Raigad Fort was built by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj[citation needed] and the chief engineer was Hiroji Indulkar. The main palace was constructed using wood, of which only the base pillars remain. The main fort ruins consist of the queen's quarters, six chambers, with each chamber having its own private restroom. However, an interesting observation is that the chambers do not have any window, which may suggest they could have been used as store-rooms to store valuables and personal belongings of the queens. In addition, ruins of three watch towers can be seen directly in front of the palace grounds out of which only two remain as the third one was destroyed during a bombardment. The Raigad Fort also has ruins of a market which was accessible to horseback riders, although they could also have been guest houses for important visitors due to their internal structure and close proximity to the court. The fort also overlooks an artificial lake known as the Ganga Sagar Lake.[citation needed] The only main pathway to the fort passes through the "Maha Darwaja" (Huge Door) which was previously closed at sunset. The Maha Darwaja has two huge bastions on both sides of the door which are approximately 65–70 feet in height. The top of the fort is 600 ft above this door. The king's court, inside the Raigad Fort has a replica of the original throne that faces the main doorway called the Nagarkhana Darwaja. It was here where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's Rajyabhishek took place. This enclosure had been acoustically designed to aid hearing from the doorway to the throne. A secondary entrance, called the Mena Darwaja, was supposedly the private entrance for the royal ladies of the fort that lead to the queen's quarters. The convoy of the king and the king himself used the Palkhi Darwaja. To the right of Palkhi Darwaja, is a row of three dark and deep chambers. Historians believe that these were the granaries for the fort. From the fort, one can view the execution point called Takmak Tok, a cliff from which sentenced prisoners were thrown to their death. This area has been fenced off. A statue of Shivaji Maharaj is erected in front of the ruins of the main market avenue that leads to the Jagdishwar Mandir, which has Hiroji Indulkar's name engraved on the first step, his own Samadhi and that of his dog named Waghya. The Samadhi of Rajmata Jijabai, Shivaji's mother, can be seen at the base village of Pachad. Additional famous attractions of the fort include the Khubladha Buruj, Nane Darwaja and the Hatti Talav (Elephant Lake)