Daulatabad Fort

Daulatabad occupies a conical hill whose lower slopes were cut away entirely to leave a smooth vertical scarp around fifty metres high, surrounded by a moat cut into rock that could be flooded, and defended by successive walls and gates set at angles with spiked doors. Beyond the moat, the only route to the summit is the andheri, a spiral tunnel cut through the rock, designed to be blocked, flooded, filled with smoke or heated by fires, and it is still walked in near darkness with a guide carrying a lamp. Muhammad bin Tughlaq famously moved his capital here from Delhi in 1327 and moved it back a few years later.

History

The site has been occupied since at least 100 BC, with Hindu and Jain cave remains, and around the 6th century Devagiri grew into an important upland town on the caravan routes. The fortress is said to have been founded around 1187 by Bhillama V, first of the Yadava kings, whose capital it remained; Alauddin Khalji raided it in 1296 and annexed it in 1308, and in 1327 Muhammad bin Tughluq renamed it Daulatabad and moved his capital here from Delhi with much of Delhi's population, a move he soon reversed. It later served as a secondary capital of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate from 1499 to 1636 (Wikipedia, Daulatabad Fort).

The main sights

• The scarped hill - a vertical cut face fifty metres high around the cone.
• The andheri tunnel - a dark spiral passage as the only route up.
• The rock-cut moat - a flooded ditch cut into the hill's base.
• Chand Minar - a fifteenth-century victory tower within the walls.

When to go

October to March; the climb is exposed and Maharashtra summers are severe. Mornings are best. Guides with lamps wait at the tunnel entrance and are effectively necessary.

Good to know

The tunnel is pitch dark, uneven and unsettling for anyone claustrophobic. The full climb is long and steep with hundreds of steps. Bats occupy parts of the passage.

Nearby

Ellora lies northwest; Aurangabad is east.

Key facts