Santoshgad Fort is a fort in Satara district of Maharashtra. The fort is also known as "Fort of Tathawada", since the base village is called by that name. The fort was used to keep watch on the surrounding area.

History of Santoshgad Fort
According to local tradition, Santoshgad Fort was built by Shivaji Maharaj. In 1666, it was in the hands of Bajaji Naik Nimbalkar. In the same year, Chhatrapati Shivaji after the Treaty of Purandar served under Jaysing, the Rajput general of Aurangzeb"s army, against Bijapur and with his Mavlas escaladed Tathawada. The Bijapur Dynasty again apparently got it back from the Mughals by treaty. Chhatrapati Shivaji retook it for himself in 1673. The fort was taken by the Mughals in 1689, but was ceded to Shahu in 1720 in the imperial grants made to him in that year. The fort remained in the hands of the Marathas till 1818.

Structure of Santoshgad Fort
Santoshgad is divided into three parts. First part of the fort is the protective fortification, second part is the flat portion on the mountain and the topmost part is the “Balekilla” or the top citadel. There is a "Math" on the way to Santoshgad. Besides this monastery is a cave with water storage tank. Also, there is a statue of “Valmiki Rishi”. Though the remains on the fort are diminishing, the outer walls and bastions are in a good shape.

Visiting Information of Santoshgad Fort
Tathawada village is situated 19 km southwest of Phaltan. There are Maharashtra State Transport buses available for every half an hour from Phaltan to Tathawada. There is a proper trail from Tathawada to the fort. It takes half an hour by this route to reach to the fort.

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