Panhala Fort

Panhala fort
Panhala Maharashtra
Inner gate of Teen darwaza of Panhala fort, c. 1894
Panhala fort Shown within Maharashtra
Coordinates	16°48′32″N 74°06′33″E / 16.80889°N 74.10917°E / 16.80889; 74.10917
Type	Hill fort
Height	845 m (2,772 ft) ASL
Site information
Owner	Government of India
Controlled by	Shilahara, Yadavas, Bijapur, Marathas, Mughals, East India Company
Open to the public	Yes
Site history
Built	1178–1209 (construction) 1489–1557 (expansion)
Built by	Bhoja II, Ibrahim Adil Shah I
In use	1178–1947
Materials	Stone, Lead
Battles/wars	Battle of Pavan Khind
Garrison information
Past commanders	Bhoja II, Ibrahim Adil Shah I, Shivaji I, Aurangzeb, Tarabai
Occupants	Sambhaji I, Ramchandra Pant Amatya

Panhala fort (also known as Panhalgad and Panhalla (literally "the home of serpents")), is located in Panhala, 20 kilometres northwest of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, India. It is strategically located looking over a pass in the Sahyadri mountain range which was a major trade route from Bijapur in the interior of Maharashtra to the coastal areas.^[1] Due to its strategic location, it was the centre of several skirmishes in the Deccan involving the Marathas, the Mughals and the British the grand son's of chhatrapati shivaji maharaj East India Company, the most notable being the Battle of Pavan Khind. Here, the queen regent of Kolhapur, Tarabai Ranisaheb, spent her formative years. Several parts of the fort and the structures within are still intact. It is also called as the 'Fort of Snakes' as it is zigzagged in shape.^[2]