Chandwad Fort

Chandwad Fort, also called Chandor fort, stands 3 km from the town of Chandwad in Nashik district, Maharashtra. It overlooked the trade route from Khandesh to Nashik and kept guard over the Chandor pass in the hills close by. It is said to have been built around AD 801 by Dridhaprahara, founder of the Seuna (Yadava) dynasty, and legend tells that King Bhoj, who founded 52 temples in the region, married his daughter Chandrakala to King Vikram at the fort.

The fort passed to the Bahmani Sultanate in the 14th century, to the Mughals in 1635, to the Marathas in 1665 and back to Aurangzeb. In 1754–56 Malharrao Holkar settled craftsmen in the town with grants of land, and Chandwad became known for its brassware. A British force under Lieutenant Colonel McDowell took the fort on 10 April 1818; in 1857 the 24th Maratha regiment held it before surrendering in 1859. When the railway reached Manmad in 1861, trade moved away from Chandwad.