Kamalgad

Kamalgad, the lotus fort, also called Bhelanja or Kattalgad, the death fort, rises to 1,375 m, 32 km from Satara and some ten miles west of Wai. Its builder is unknown. In Maratha times it and nearby forts were managed by an official from Bijapur, and in April 1818 it surrendered after some resistance to a British force under Major Thatcher; under British rule it was later used to execute prisoners of war.

The top is a flat area of three to four acres ringed by sheer rock. It has no walls, buildings or gateway, which is unusual in the region, and the old access tunnel is blocked by a fallen boulder. The only feature is a hole 18 to 20 feet deep, the remains of a well cut through the rock, said to have once had niches where criminals were left, though it may also have been a quarry for red ochre. The trek starts from Tupewadi, 30 km from Wai.