# Vijaydurg Fort > Vijaydurg, the 'Gibraltar of the East' in Devgad: triple walls, 27 bastions, a 122 m undersea wall and Kanhoji Angre's naval base. UNESCO site, open in daylight. - Location: Sindhudurg, Konkan division, Maharashtra, India - Difficulty: easy (scale: easy, moderate, challenging, technical) - timings: Daylight hours, about sunrise to sunset - Time: 2 to 3 hours to see the fort - location: Vijaydurg village, Devgad taluka, Sindhudurg district, at the mouth of the Waghotan creek - Starts at: Walk in from Vijaydurg village; the fort is joined to the land on one side - Fees: Small entry fee charged in the past; carry cash - Good for: Families, history and naval-history lovers, a Konkan road trip - Best time: November to March - By public transport: Konkan Railway to Rajapur Road or Kankavli, then MSRTC bus or taxi to Vijaydurg - Distance from Mumbai: About 485 km - Distance from Pune: About 455 km - Last updated: 2026-11-08 - Source: https://trekmaharashtra.com/vijaydurg-fort/ **Vijaydurg, on the Devgad coast of Sindhudurg district, was the chief base of the Maratha navy and is one of the 12 UNESCO World Heritage forts of the Maratha Military Landscapes.** Three lines of walls and 27 bastions guard a headland at the mouth of the Waghotan creek, with the sea on three sides. It is open in daylight, takes 2 to 3 hours to see, and is best from November to March. ## Why Vijaydurg matters The headland was a fort long before the Marathas. It was known as **Gheria**, and traditions credit the first fortification to the Shilahara king **Bhoja II** around 1200. It later belonged to the Adil Shahi sultans of Bijapur. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj took it in the **1650s**. He wrapped it in a **triple line of walls** with tall bastions and renamed it **Vijaydurg**, the "fort of victory". The Waghotan creek behind it was deep and sheltered, so it became a harbour and a shipyard for the Maratha fleet. Its greatest days came under **Kanhoji Angre**, the Maratha admiral who made it his headquarters from 1698. The East India Company and the Portuguese attacked it again and again in the 1710s and 1720s and failed each time. It earned the name **"Gibraltar of the East"**. In **1756** a combined British and Peshwa force finally took it from Tulaji Angre. The Peshwas held it until it was given up to the British in **1818**. In July 2025 UNESCO inscribed Vijaydurg as one of the [12 forts](https://trekmaharashtra.com/unesco-world-heritage-forts-maharashtra/) of the "Maratha Military Landscapes of India". It is the only one classed as a **coastal fort**. ## How to reach Vijaydurg Vijaydurg village is at the end of the road on the north bank of the Waghotan creek, about **30 km from Devgad**. - **By train:** the nearest Konkan Railway stations are **Rajapur Road** and **Kankavli**, each roughly 60 to 80 km away. Take an MSRTC bus or a taxi on to Vijaydurg. - **From Pune:** about 455 km, 9 to 10 hours. - **From Mumbai:** about 485 km, 10 to 11 hours by road, or take the train to Rajapur Road. - **By air:** Sindhudurg (Chipi) airport is the closest, then Goa. The fort is joined to the land on its east side, so you simply walk in from the village. No boat is needed. ## What to see on Vijaydurg - **The gates:** you enter through **Hanuman Darwaja** and on to the great **Yashwant Mahadarwaja**, a hidden, angled (gomukhi) gate that could not be fired on directly from outside. - **The triple walls and 27 bastions:** walk between the lines of walls and along the ramparts. Some bastions are two storeys high. The western walls take the full force of the sea. - **The Khalbatkhana:** a hall for important meetings, one of the few such buildings on any Maratha fort. - **Cannons and cannonballs** scattered around the fort. - **The raised platform** known locally as the place where the British astronomer **Norman Lockyer** set up to watch the total solar eclipse of **January 1898**. You will often hear that helium was discovered here; it wasn't. The helium story began with the 1868 eclipse, observed elsewhere in India, and was worked out by Lockyer in England. - **The view** over the creek, the fishing harbour and the open sea. **The undersea wall.** In the 1990s, divers from India's National Institute of Oceanography found a stone structure on the **seaward side** of the fort, at 8 to 10 m depth: about **122 m long, 7 m wide and 3 m high**. It may have been a barrier to wreck enemy ships, or a breakwater; some researchers think it could be natural. You can't see it, but it is a good story to stand above. **The Maratha dock.** About 1.5 km up the Waghotan creek are the remains of a dock cut into the rock, where Maratha warships were built and repaired. ## Tips for your visit - **Hire a local guide** at the gate. Vijaydurg's stories are what bring the walls to life. - **Go early or late.** The fort has little shade and the stone gets hot. - **Stay a night.** There are homestays in Vijaydurg and many more in Devgad. Fresh fish thali is the order of the day. - **Mango season** (April and May) is hot, but Devgad's Alphonso mangoes are famous. ## Places near Vijaydurg **Devgad** (fort, beach and the lighthouse), **Kunkeshwar temple** on the beach, and further south **Malvan** for **Sindhudurg fort**, Tarkarli and Devbag. To the north, **Ratnagiri** and **Jaigad** are on the way back towards Mumbai. ## Questions people ask ### Why is Vijaydurg Fort famous? Vijaydurg was the chief base of the Maratha navy under Kanhoji Angre in the early 18th century and beat off repeated attacks by the British and Portuguese. Its triple line of walls earned it the name 'Gibraltar of the East'. In July 2025 it was inscribed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site 'Maratha Military Landscapes of India'. ### What is the undersea wall at Vijaydurg? A marine survey by India's National Institute of Oceanography in the 1990s found a stone structure on the seaward side of the fort, at 8 to 10 m depth, about 122 m long, 7 m wide and 3 m high. It may have been a barrier against enemy ships or a breakwater; some researchers think it could be a natural formation. ### Who built Vijaydurg Fort? The site, then called Gheria, was fortified long before the Marathas. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj took it from the Adil Shahi sultans of Bijapur in the 1650s, rebuilt it with three lines of walls and named it Vijaydurg, the 'fort of victory'. ### What are Vijaydurg Fort timings? The fort is open in daylight, roughly sunrise to sunset. ### How do I reach Vijaydurg? The nearest Konkan Railway stations are Rajapur Road and Kankavli. From either, take an MSRTC bus or a taxi to Vijaydurg village. Devgad town is about 30 km away. ### Was helium discovered at Vijaydurg? No, though you will often hear it. The helium story began with the 1868 solar eclipse, observed from elsewhere in India, and was worked out by Norman Lockyer in England. Lockyer did set up at Vijaydurg to observe a later total solar eclipse, in January 1898. ### Is Vijaydurg a UNESCO World Heritage Site? Yes. Vijaydurg is one of the 12 forts of the 'Maratha Military Landscapes of India', inscribed on 11 July 2025, and the only one classed as a coastal fort.