Alibag, Korlai and Kankeshwar

I visited Alibag last weekend and realized that Alibag is much more than a dirty beach. It's dirty because in the morning you see the boys walking along the beach and you think people are going to splash in the same water. Therefore, even if you go for a walk, you have to walk hard to avoid crowds.

The second best thing is to visit other great places nearby like Korlai Fort, Kankeshwar Lighthouse and Temple. Both require a bit of climbing, but they are well worth it.

Korlai Fort is located 24 km from Alibag on the road to Murud.

The last kilometers of the road are more than just a trail. Once there you can visit them

First the Kurla lighthouse, then the castle, whose staircase begins immediately after the lighthouse.

The castle was built by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The fort served as an important lookout point.

The lighthouse tower was built in 1955 and houses a DA gas lamp that was lit on December 25, 1955. Battery-powered electric lights that are charged by DC generators were installed in 1960 and the new lamp was commissioned on January 28, 1961. Improved optics (500 mm) and light in 1998, and electronic flash (JLWL) was introduced in April 1999.

The gunner optics and cylinder were replaced by the GRB-48-II axis supplied by M/s Ana Nav Aids, Ltd, New Delhi and commissioned on August 31, 2003. The light flashes every 3 seconds and indicates 18 nautical miles. miles. For a casual fee of $10 per person and $20 per camera for photography, you can take a guided tour of the lighthouse.

lighthouse entrance

Stairs to the top of the lighthouse.

Narrow stairs to the top

View of the road to the lighthouse.

Kurlai Fort (also called Moro or Corlu Fort) is a Portuguese fort in Kurlai, Maharashtra, India. It was built on an island (Morro de Chaul) guarding the road to Revdanda Creek. It was to accompany the Shuli Fort.

At this strategic location, the Portuguese could use it to protect their province that stretched from Korla to Vasai.

The castle is 2,828 feet long and has an average width of 89 feet. The perimeter wall is 5 feet 3 inches high and has 305 faces per pistol.

The area within the fort's walls is divided into three walls by two rows of reinforced fortifications.

Each of the seven strongholds bears the name of a saint. The two strongholds to the west were named San Diego (after Didacus of Alcala) and San Francisco (after Francis of Assisi). The others are San Pedro, San Inacio and San Felipe.

It has a large rainwater tank with three spigots, each a foot wide, and the ruins of a church.

The church was built for the army in 1630 and lasted until 1728.

There are three Portuguese inscriptions.

There is one of them in the center of the fortress and above the gate at the highest point, and it bears the following inscription:

This fort was built by the Viceroy of India Dom Felipe Mascarenhas in November 1646 with Fernau Miranda Henriques as commander of the Shull and completed in May 1680 with Cristóvão de Abreu de Azevedo as commander of this fort.

The inscription shows a cross with the coat of arms with the Portuguese stars at its center and surrounded by seven castles. Other inscriptions in the main entrance to the church and the altar are worn and unfathomable.

Some of the forts' names were changed during the short Maratha era, but now

The only evidence of their existence is a few mined shrines.

The magnificent Shiva Temple is located in Kankeshwari, thirteen kilometers from Alibag on the road to Rewas.

It is located on top of a hill and there are 700 well paved steps to reach it. It's actually complicated

Temples starting with Hanuman Temple, Ganesh Temple, and many other small Shiva temples. It is a very famous temple and during Shivratri festival it gets very crowded. They have Dharamshala if devotees want to stay there and the cost is very reasonable, up to 150 rupees for stay.

We had a lovely evening in Alibag watching the beautiful sunset.

On the way back we left the Alibag Observatory. Founded in 1904, the Alibag Magnetic Observatory has provided an uninterrupted record of geomagnetic observations for over a century and has since become one of the most important magnetic observatories forming a global network. Unfortunately, we did not have the permission we needed from Panvel's office to enter and see how it worked.

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