Visapur
Grade : Easy
Region : Lonavala
Base village : Malavli
Landmark : Loanavala
Number of Routes : 2
Highest Altitude : 3038 Feet (926m)
Trek Duration : 3 Hours Ascend, 1.5 hour descend
Surrounding Peaks : Lohagad, Tikona
Ideal Season : June to September
Major Attarction :
Waterfall through the Stairs, Hidden Waterfall at Base, View of Lohagad, Tikona Forts,
Water Sources :
Small water streams along the way in Monsoon Season
Special thing about structure/route :
The main characteristic of this fort is the strong fortification built on a large plateau, to make it one of the strongest forts. A large plateau of this size is found on many less forts. It is difficult to fire cannons on the fort due to its position. We can see the injuries of destruction caused by Mughals and British on Bhaje caves, but this has not affected Visapur much. The long stretched ramparts fascinate us. On this same plateau we can see a huge stone wheel. It was used for grinding the mixture of lime, jaggery & lead. This mixture was used as cementing material for building purposes. The wheel was driven by bulls, and is the big one of its kind.
History Info :
Era :
Lohgad and Visapur lay in Nane Maval. This region came under Nizamshahi after dissolution of Bahmani rule.
Brief War History :
It went into the hands of Mughals in the treaty of Mahuli, between Shahajiraje and Mughals. Seeing that the Mughals were not able to keep a control over the region, Shivaji Maharaj captured almost all the forts here till 1660. However, he lost the fort again to Mughals in the treaty of Purandar in 1665. However Aurangzeb broke the treaty. In 1682, Shahbuddin, a Mughal Sardar invaded the region, and killed 60 Marathas in an anguish. However Marathas escaped to Visapur. They were chased, but moved in time to the village of Kusapur. On 4th march 1818 Colonel Prother captured Visapur, and the next day Lohgad fell into his hands. The mountain of Visapur is significant, as Bhaje caves have been carved out in the same mountain. The destruction caused by Mughals and English is clearly evident from the injuries on the Bhaje caves. These beautiful caves could have been bombarded by cannon balls, because much of their part has been broken.
