Khanderi Fort and Raigad

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Khanderi Fort

   Khanderi is a small island fort in the Arabian Sea, a short boat trip off the Konkan coast south of Mumbai. Shivaji built it in the late seventeenth century to challenge the Siddis, the Abyssinian-descended admirals of Janjira, who held the neighbouring island of Underi, and the two forts glared at each other across a narrow stretch of water for decades. The Marathas built Khanderi first, and the Siddis answered by fortifying Underi, and the sea between them saw skirmishes and cannon duels. Today Khanderi carries a lighthouse and the remains of walls and bastions, and its rocks are surrounded by fishing boats.

   Read the complete Khanderi Fort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Khanderi Fort is where the day begins. Next is Lohagad.

2. 2. Lohagad

   In the monsoon, Lohagad disappears into the clouds and reappears, drenched and green, with waterfalls pouring off every ledge. This hill fort stands on a ridge of the Western Ghats a short distance from Lonavla, between Mumbai and Pune, and its walls and gateways crown a basalt plateau a few hundred metres above the surrounding valleys. Its name means iron fort, and it is one of the forts associated with the Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji, which in 2025 were grouped together on the UNESCO list as the Maratha Military Landscapes.

   Read the complete Lohagad write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Lohagad comes up about 96 km into the recorded legs. Next is Raigad.

3. 3. Raigad

   Raigad is a flat-topped mountain in the Sahyadri, the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, with cliffs falling away on almost every side, and it was chosen by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as the capital of the Maratha kingdom. In 1674 he was crowned here, a ceremony that announced the Marathas as a sovereign power in the face of the Mughal empire, and the fort became the political heart of the young state. Today the summit holds the ruins of the palace, the market street with its rows of stone shop plinths, water tanks cut into the rock, and Shivaji's samadhi, which draws a steady stream of visitors who come as pilgrims rather than tourists.

   Read the complete Raigad write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 232 km into the recorded legs you reach Raigad. Next is back through Lohagad.

4. 4. back through Lohagad

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Lohagad write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Lohagad, late in the day. Next is Khanderi Fort.

5. 5. Khanderi Fort

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Khanderi Fort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Khanderi Fort. That is the ride.