Spreading over an area of 120 acres, the Mahitpatgad Fort is known to be one of the largest forts in Maharashtra. It is located close to the Khed city in the state of Maharashtra and at the foothills of the fort is the Beldarvadi village. The Mahitpatgad Fort lies on the same 8 km long spur as the Rasalgad and Sumargad forts, which run parallel to the Western Ghats.

History of Mahitpatgad Fort
Standing tall at an elevation of 3,090 ft, the Mahitpatgad Fort was built from stone in the 15th century by Adil Shah of Bijapur. In 1661, the fort was captured by the Maratha Emperor Shivaji and was eventually passed on to the Peshwas. The village of Beldarvadi located at the foothills of the fort has 10 houses and the villagers were said to have been brought by Shivaji himself as bricklayers for construction of the fort. In 1818, the Mahitpatgad Fort came under the control of the British Empire but after the Indian Independence, the fort has been under the administration of the Government of India.

Overview of Mahitpatgad Fort
The Mahitpatgad Fort had well built battlements and gateways on a table land but they are currently in a ruined state. The six gateways are the Laldevdi on north eastern side, Pusati on eastern side, Yeshwant on south eastern side, and Khed, which is still in use and connects Beldarvadi village to Mahipatgad. On the western side is the Shiva Ganga, where one can see the rock cut Shiva Lingam near this entrance and lastly, there is the Kotwal gateway, which leads to the Kotwal village in Poladpur.

Close to the Mahirpatgad Fort on the southern gateway lies a foundation of the temples of Maruti and Ganpati but the walls of these temples are half destroyed. Other than this, there are also remnants of numerous horse stables, two wells near the Khed entrance and Pareshwar temple. Water from these two wells is used by the villagers for drinking and other purposes. In the year 1960 the Christians had inhabited the area of the fort and built a number of Christian tombs.

Visiting Information on Mahitpatgad Fort
The nearest railway station is at Khed at a distance of 22 km from the fort and via roadways, tourists can reach the village of Wadi- Jaitapur and from there it is a 3 hour long trek to the Mahitpatgad Fort.