View source for Asheri fort

{{Short description|Fort in India}}
{{Cleanup bare URLs|date=September 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2017}}

{{Infobox military installation
|name =  Asheri Fort
|native_name   = '''[[अशेरीगड]]'''
|partof = 
|location = [[Palghar district]], [[Maharashtra]]
|image = [[File:Asheri Fort.jpg|300px]]
|caption = Asheri fort from the highway
|map_type=India Maharashtra
| map_size = 300
|map_caption = Shown within [[Maharashtra]]
|type = Hill fort
|coordinates = {{coord|19|49|13.5|N|72|55|16|E}}
|materials = Stone
|height = 1680 Ft.
|used = 
|condition = Ruins 
|ownership = Government of India
|open_to_public = Yes
}}

'''Asheri Fort ''' / '''Asheri''' is a fort located 102&nbsp;km from [[Mumbai]] and 88&nbsp;km from [[Thane]]. It is in [[Palghar district]], of [[Maharashtra]]. This fort is an important fort in Palghar district. The fort is located on the hills near Mendhavan Khind on Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway. The base village Khodkona is a very small tribal village. The Fort restoration is done by the local villagers.

==History==
This fort was built by the Bhojraja of [[Shilahara]] dynasty. This fort was captured by Bimb Raja of Mahim (Palghar) from Kolis.<ref>https://cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/Thane/Places.html</ref> This fort is about 800 years old. It was ruled by Gujarat Sultanate. The [[Portugal|Portuguese]] captain of Bassein, Antonio Moniz Barreto annexed the Asherigad in 1556, after bribing the Abyssinian captain who commanded the fort.<ref>http://www.hpip.org/def/en/Contents/Navigation/GeographicToponymicNavigation/Place?a=567</ref> Manor Fort was captured later. This fort was the northern boundary of Portuguese territory. Portuguese made it as a capital of 38 villages and 6 [[parish]]es. The fort had twenty water cisterns and two ponds. In 1737, this fort was conquered by the [[Maratha]] forces led by [[Chimaji Appa]] against Provincia do Norte, but it was reconquered in the counter-offensive by Antonio Cardim de Frois, the new General of the North. In February 1739, it fell definitely into the Maratha hands. In 1818 Captain Dickinson captured this fort and thus it went into the hands of the [[British East India Company]].

==How to reach==
The nearest town is [[Manor, India|Manor]] which is 80&nbsp;km from [[Thane]]. The Fort lies between mastan naka and Charoti naka. There are local rickshaws available from either nakas to reach the base village Khodkona खडकोना. There are good hotels at Mastan Naka and Charoti Naka. Now tea and snacks are also available in small hotels on the Highway. The trekking path starts from the hillock north of the Khodkona. The route is very safe and wide. There is a dense forest on the trekking route. It takes about an hour to reach the col below the fort hill. The narrow path climbing up on the eastern side of the hill leads to the entrance of the fort.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://trekshitiz.com/trekshitiz/EI/Asherigad-Trek-A-Alpha.html |title=Asherigad, Western Ghats, Sahyadri, Adventure, Trekking |website=trekshitiz.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121124010438/http://trekshitiz.com/trekshitiz/Ei/Asherigad-Trek-A-Alpha.html |archive-date=2012-11-24}}</ref> The night stay on the fort can be made in the cave on the fort. The local villagers make night stay and food arrangements at a reasonable cost.

==Places to see==
There are nothing much structures to be seen on the fort, except for the rock cut pond, which is full of lotus flowers and a cave inhabited by a sadhu.
 
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Asheri1.jpg|Portuguese post of arms engraved in rock on the Fort
File:Asheri2.jpg|Rock cut stps on the fort
File:Asheri3.jpg|Vaghya dev tribal god
File:Asheri4.jpg|Forest below the fort
</gallery>

{{Coord|19|49|13.5|N|72|55|16|E|display=title}}

== See also ==
{{commons category|Asheri Fort}}
* [[List of forts in Maharashtra]]
* [[List of forts in India]]
* [[Chimaji Appa]]
* [[Marathi people|Marathi People]]
* [[Battles involving the Maratha Empire]]
* 
* [[Military history of India]]
* [[List of people involved in the Maratha Empire]]
* [[Military history of Bassein]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Forts and fortresses of the Portuguese empire|state=collapsed}}
{{Forts in Maharashtra}}
{{MarathaEmpire}}

[[Category:Forts in Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Portuguese forts in India]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures of the Maratha Empire]]
[[Category:Forts in Palghar district]]
[[Category:16th-century forts in India]]
[[Category:1521 establishments in the Portuguese Empire]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Palghar district]]
[[Category:Hiking trails in India]]
[[Category:Backpacking|*]]
[[Category:Hiking]]