Sinhgad

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Sinhagad -- where valour is etched on every stone and the soil has turned red seeped by the blood of martyrs! From the time when a Koli chieftain, Nag Naik stoutly defended this fort (AD 1328) against the might of the Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq for nine months to Jaswant Singh, Aurangzeb's commander, who dragged his guns up the fort's steep shoulders to avenge the insult to Shaista Khan, who was rebuffed by Shivaji, this fort has been infused by tales of bravery. 

It was here that Shivaji's general, Tanaji Malusare launched an attack to recall the fort. In the resulting battle, Tanaji valiantly laid down his life, but captured the fort. A grieving Shivaji is known to have said,"Gad ala pan sinh gela" (The fort is won but the lion has gone). And this is how the fort got its name: sinh (lion's) gad (fort).

Sinhagad, Sinhgarh, or Sinhgad (Marathi: सिंहगड, The Lion's Fort), is a fortress located roughly 30 kilometres southwest of the city of Pune, India. Previously called Kondhana (Marathi: कोंढाणा), the fort has been the site of many important battles, most notably the battle of Sinhagad in 1670.

 It was also strategically located at the centre of a string of other forts such as Rajgad, Purandar and Torna

  Perched on an isolated cliff of the Bhuleswar range of the Sahyadri Mountains, it is situated on a hill rising 1312 metres above sea level. Given natural protection by its very steep slopes, the walls and bastions were constructed at only key places; it has two gates – the Kalyan Darwaza in the south-east and the Pune Darwaza in the north-east.