Fort Shivneri

                       Shivneri fort is one of the famous fort of Maharashtra. It is also the birth place of the famous Maratha king Chatrapathi Shivaji. Shivneri fort is located near Junnar village. Shivneri fort was constructed before the birth of Shivaji. Shivaji's father, Shahaji was working in the army of the sultan of Bijapur. The Shivneri fort was built with the support of Shahaji. Shahaji wanted to protect his family during the time the war. The boundary wall of Shivneri fort is built in such a way that the enemies cannot enter into the fort. There are seven strong gates through which we need to cross to reach the fort.

View from top 

                       Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj was born in Shivneri fort and spent all the childhood days in this fort. He was actually trained with all the skills on this fort itself. We can see the statues of Shivaji wih his mother, Jijabai. The height of the top of the fort is 3500ft above sea level.

Fort map

Some of the attraction places in and around Shivneri Fort :

1. Badami Talao: This is a small lake at the center of Shivneri Fort

2. Goddess Shivai Temple: There is a small temple of goddess Shivai inside the fort. Shivaji was in fact named   after this goddess.

3. Water springs: We can see two famous water springs inside the Shivneri fort. These are called as Ganga-Jamuna. The water is available here throughout the year.

4. Shiv Janmasthan: This is the birth place of Shivaji. It is considered by local people as religious place and also called locally as Shiv mandir.

Palace

Birth place of  Raja Shivaji

Inside view

How To Reach Shivneri Fort :

1. From Pune :   We can reach Shivneri fort from Pune City which is the nearest city. There are a number of state transport  buses available from Pune City. We have to board a bus at Pune railway station of Shivaji Nagar bus stand in Pune and reach Junnar.
2. From Mumbai/Thane : Shivneri fort is 161km from Dadar(Mumbai) or 131km from Thane. We need to go along NH 222 (Road to Malshej Ghat) and leave it after passing Pimpalgaon Joga Dam. From Junnar Shivneri fort is located at 2 km distance.