Kothaligad, Bhandardara
About Kothaligad
History
The cave and the temple carvings date back to the 13th century. Not much is known about the history until the 18th century. In 1684 Aurangjeb sent Abdul Kadir and AlaiBiradkar to capture this fort. After a small skirmish, the fort was captured by Abdul Kadir. Aurangjeb honored Abdul Kadir and renamed this fort as Miftah-ul-Fateh ( Key to success). Many attempts were made later to win this fort by Maratha Army but, were not successful. In 1716, this cave was captured by the British. Then later on, on 2 November 1817, it was recaptured by the Marathas under the leadership of Bapurao who was general of Bajirao Peshwa. The fort was recaptured by the British, on 30 December 1817, by Captain Brooks. The British had the fort till 1862 as an outpost for vigilance on the surrounding valley and the hills all around it. The locals say that this is not actually a fort but a sort of lighthouse from where the directions were given to know the advancements of the enemy. In fact, it can be called a watch tower to keep a vigil on the Mawal area in the greater province of the Maratha.