Kolaba Fort

Kolaba Fort stands on a rock in the sea one or two kilometres off Alibag beach, about 35 km south of Mumbai. Shivaji chose it as a naval station and building began on 19 March 1680; Sambhaji completed it in June 1681. In 1713 it passed to Kanhoji Angre, who made it his main base for raids on British shipping. A joint British and Portuguese attack in 1721 failed, and Angre died in the fort in 1729. Fires later destroyed many buildings, and in 1842 the British auctioned its timber and reused its stone.

The walls average 25 feet high, with one gate facing the sea and another facing Alibag. Unusually for a sea fort, it has freshwater wells. Inside are temples, including a Siddhivinayak temple built by Raghoji Angre in 1759, houses for caretakers, the dargah of Haji Kamaluddin Shah, and two English cannons on wheels by the northern wall. At low tide visitors can wade across; at high tide a boat is needed.