Patta Fort

Patta Fort, also called Patta Killa or Vishramgad, stands about 1,392 m above sea level between Nashik and Ahmednagar. It lay within the Bahmani Sultanate, passed to the Nizam of Ahmednagar in 1490 and to the Mughals in 1627. Moropant Pingale took it in 1671, lost it the next year and won it back in 1675, when it marked the edge of Shivaji's Swarajya. In November 1679, fleeing the fight at Jalnapur with Mughal forces closing in on three sides, Shivaji reached Patta safely with the help of his spy Bahirji Naik and rested here. The Mughals took it again in 1688, the Peshwas in 1761 and the British in 1818.

The climb is straightforward, and the forest department and villagers have added paths, steps and a gazebo. The rebuilt Ambarkhana hall can sleep about 200 visitors, with a rock-cut cistern close by, and followers of Laxmangiri gather in the fort's caves at full moon.