It is one of the rear mid hill forts in
the Ratnagiri district. The fort offers beautiful view of Sahyadri ranges and
its offshoots descending towards west. It forms a boundary between Dapoli
taluka in the west and Khed Taluka in the east. There is dense forest on the
western side of the hill whereas beautifully carved rice terrraces in the east.
The way at the entrance to the fort is carved out of rock. There are some
remnants of the old buildings and two canons. There is one well which has no
water in it.
The village at the western base of the
hill was earlier known as Palil. The summit of the hill is shaped like a lizard
for which Marathi word is Pal. Therefore the fort was named as Palgad. The
village changed its name from Palil to Palgad being close to the fort as time
went by. The Palgad was a major market place for the surrounding villages in
the past. The fort is said to have been constructed during the reign of Shivaji
and then was under the control of Peshavas. It came under British control
subsequently.
The fort has little of the structure
remained from the past. The dense forest on the western end is believed to be
having some spirits and makes the person who goes up the fort through those to
forget his way back. The phenomenon is known as Chakwa in the local language.
It is better to have a local guide or get the directions correctly while
climbing the hill from Palgad village. Alternatively one can climb it from
Eastern side from hamlet of Kadamwadi which is a hamlet of the village Jamge in
the Khed taluka.
Sane Guruji, a famous Gandian and freedom
fighter was born in the village of Palgad and a memorial has been developed in
the village.
Accommodation :
Accommodation is not available on the
fort.
Mumbai->Mangaon-> Ambet-> Mandangad->Palgad
By Air : Mumbai is nearest airport.
By Rail : Khed is nearest railway station.
By Road : From Palgad village : Palgad village is at
21 km from Dapoli on the Dapoli-Khed road. There is road till Palgad Machi. The
path near Hanuman temple leads to the top and it takes around half an hour from
here. It takes one hour from Palgad village.
From Kadamwadi village : We have to reach Kadamwadi village on
Khed-Jamge road.
The area of the fort is around 1.5 acres.
The main entrance is east facing, and completely broken. The bastion is still
there. There is one canon half buried near the entrance, second one on
"Holicha Mal", and third one in a field in the village. We can find
some plinths of old mansions and a dried water tank. The further part becomes
narrower and there is a bastion. Some part of the walls is remaining. We can
find residences on the mountain top.