Prachitgad

Prachitgad is a fort of about 5 acres in the Sahyadri range, on the western fringe of Chandoli National Park where Sangli, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri and Satara districts meet. Dense forest makes the Sangli side hard going; the usual approach is a climb of 5 to 8 hours on foot from Shringarpur near Sangameshwar, while the walk from Chandoli dam takes 14 to 15 hours.

Rana Jakhuray Surve built the fort in 1404, and its masonry points to a rebuilding by Rana Suryarao Surve in the 16th century. Shivaji's men under Tanaji Malusare took it in 1660 after Surve's divan Shirke betrayed him. Chitursingh, brother of the Raja of Satara, seized it in 1817, a British force under Colonel Cunningham captured it on 10 June 1818, and by 1862 it lay ruined and empty. An old Bhairav Bhawani temple stands at the fort, and nearby are the Sada lava formation and Kandhar Doh, a waterfall on the Warana river.