Ghodbunder Fort

Ghodbunder Fort stands on a hill just south of the Ulhas River in Ghodbunder village, Thane. The name joins ghode, horses, and bunder, port, for this was where the Portuguese traded horses with Arab merchants. The Portuguese began fortifying the hill around 1550 and held off repeated Maratha attacks, including one by Shivaji's forces in 1672; the fort as it stands was finished in 1730. In 1737 the Marathas under Chimaji Appa took it after a siege, and Shahu I had the defences strengthened and a tower built. From 1818 the British used it as their district headquarters.

The fort is now in ruins and under the Archaeological Survey of India, while the church inside its walls survives and is used as a hotel. Under the state's Adopt a Monument scheme, the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation has taken on its restoration, and during the work in June 2024 a forgotten underground chamber was found and is being excavated.