Surat Castle/Fort, also known as the "Old Fort", is one of the heritage monuments in Surat, Gujarat. This castle was built in the 16th century by the Gujarat Sultanate on the foundations of an earlier Fort built by Feroz Khan Tughlaq of Delhi Sultanate, as a defence measure against Portuguese. Today, Surat Castle/Fort houses various Government offices. The castle offers clear view of the surrounding areas and River Tapti.

History of Surat Castle/ Fort
Surat is said to have been burnt by the Portuguese in 1512 and again in 1531. Upset by the frequent destruction of Surat, the Ahmedabad king Sultan Mahmud Shah III (1538-1554) ordered for building a very strong castle and entrusted the work to Safi Agha, a Turkish soldier who had been ennobled with the title of Khudawand Khan. He was provided with substantial budget and was ordered to plan and build a very strong castle. The old fort is an impressive architecture with strong walls and iron bars.

The main aim of the construction of the fort was to fortify the defence against the Portuguese. In order to counteract the attack of the Portuguese, Khudawand made adequate defence arrangements by installing the cannons. Since the king wanted to build a very strong castle, the component units of the masonry were bonded or fastened together with iron strips and the joints were filled by pouring the melted lead.

Architecture of Surat Castle/ Fort
The Surat Castle was built on an irregular square in plan and of Portuguese in style. The height of the Fort wall was 20 yards and 15 meters wide, at each corner there is a large round bastion having 12. 2 meter height and the thickness of the wall was 4.1 meter.

Maintenance of Surat Castle/ Fort
In the year 2015, the Government of Gujarat has given the responsibilities of conservation and restoration of historical Fort of Surat to Surat Municipal Corporation. Surat Municipal Corporation has carefully examined and appointed various able agencies to carry out conservation and restoration work of the Fort.

Visiting Information of Surat Castle/ Fort
To reach the Surat Fort, frequent buses from Surat Railway Station run on this route. Surat Airport is the nearest airport from where one can hire taxis to reach the castle.