Type: Hill fort
Base : Chikhaldhara (Amravati district)
Height : 2950 feet (above MSL)
Grade : Easy
The fort of Gawilgad is about 2 kms from Chikhaldhara a hillstation in Amravati district. It is located about 50 odd kms from Achalpur. This was the 2nd fort in our Vidharbh trek. Gawilgad is supposed to be build by the Gonds who dominated this region in the 12th century AD. It was a mud fort before and then was strenghtened by the Mughals when they captured this fort later and retained it. Gawilgad was also briefly under the rule of Marathas for sometime before the British took over it.
The fort is a huge structure with lots of remnants, entrance doors to it still intact. It would take around 4-5 hrs to see all the parts of the fort fully as the area is large.
Main entrance of Gawilgad Fort
The huge expanse of the fort
Some ruins of structures inside the fort
Gawilgad front view of the fort
The fort has several inscriptions in Persian recording the date of building of each of its seven gates. It has two water tanks(Devtalav and Khantalav) which would have been the main water source in case the fort was besieged. Within the fort is the ruins of a mosque are the most conspicuous. It stands on at the highest point in the inner fort and is built in the Pathan style of architecture. The mosque has a square canopy with intricate stone lattice work and a seven arched façade. The mosque originally had two minarets, only one of which is intact today
There are several unrepaired breaches made by British guns, which remain to this day.
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