Murud Janjira - Raigad
Murud : Murud is a village in Raigad district, south to Alibag. It is just 45 Kms. from Alibag. The place is full of coconut and betel nut trees and has a nice and prosperous sea shore. Like other villages in Konkan, Murud is also on the seashore and there are many businesses dependent on sea which are the natives lives like Fishing and tourism. Murud is not a big village but it has a huge palace of Nawab of Murud. That is the only attraction in the village.But Murud is famous for the fort of Janjira. The fort is build in the sea 2 Kms. inside of Murud. This is one of the vital sea-forts in Maharashtra. The fort is old one but still very strong. Though, today it is not in a proper condition, one can still imagine its hugeness and toughness. Some monuments inside and the walls of the fort are destroyed after so many years now. But the toughness of the fort can be still felt. There are in all 19 Buruj in the fort. Every buruj has huge guns on it especially 3 big guns 'Kalal Bangadi' , 'Chavari' and 'Landa Kasam' are very famous. There are 2 water tanks inside the fort and some tombs as well. The fort was built by Burhankhan - a minister of Nizmashah. Many times , Marathas tried to capture the fort, even Shivaji Maharaj, Sambhaji and Peshwas tried - but all those attempts failed. So this is one of the rare forts in Maharashtra which was not managed by Marathas .Padmadurg - a fort built by Shivaji Maharaj is to north -west of Janjira. Though not as big as Janjira, still Padmadurga is also a sea fort that can be visited and enjoyed. Truly, Murud Janjira and Padmadurg are the places to visit and enjoy the weekends or holidays.