The road less traveled to the ruins of Belapur fort and exploring kille gaonthan.

Belapur today is well known as Central business district of Navi Mumbai and a bustling township. It has been known by different names like Belawal then Sambhayo as well as Shahbaz. The history of Belapur goes back 500 years when it was under Portuguese rule around 1560. Not much details is available prior to this period.It came under the control of Siddhi's of Janjira who built a fort between 1560 to 1570 on a small hillock which is known as Belapur fort. Strategically located at the mouth of Panvel creek, It provided important vantage point to keep an eye on the trade route.

The Portuguese wrested control of the area and the fort back from Siddhi's in 1682. In 1733 Maratha's wanted to capture the fort for which Chimaji Appa took a vow that if he is successful in his mission then we would offer garland of Beli leaves in nearby Amruthaishwar temple, After Maratha victory the fort came to be known as Belapur fort. In 1817 Britishers took control of the fort. They destroyed the fort under their policy of razing anything under Maratha rule to avoid being recaptured. With expansion of Bombay presidency it's importance declined and went into ruins. As per the book coastal forts of India - Belapur fort is suppose to be the first coastal fort of India.

Present day fort ruins: Today what remains of the fort is only one of total three watch tower ruins close to the highway while ruins of the buruj and royal rooms are located 500 meters away. The area between the two ruins have been developed into residential high rise and CIDCO guest house. Belapur watch tower is stand alone structure which has been renovated over a period of time and efforts are on to save the structure from collapsing. Its a one storied structure with few windows built strategically in such a way that person from inside gets larger view as compared to person from outside. A rusted iron pillar lies inside. It is said to be part of narrow staircase from the time of Siddhi's to reach the upper part of the watch tower. Today one part of the watch tower is occupied by roots of a tree.

Authorities have done some gardening around the structure but as always preservation done is in a very haphazard way.

Further down the road towards the other ruins, one comes across a peculiar shaped step well which looks like a lock key hole. The construction of the well is said to be done by Portuguese. It lies among hidden among the forest cover and is easy to be missed if there is dense growth like in rainy season. The buruj ruins can also be easily missed as it is situated on a small hillock behind the vegetation and trees cover. A signboard put up on the tree will lead you to the ruins. A well paved small path from near CIDCO guest house also leads to the balekilla ruins. They say that area around is infested by snakes. 

The balekilla structure wall is intact somewhat and inside lies the famous Amrutaishwar temple idols. One can reach the upper level by climbing on rocks but the rocks are loose and its quite risky. Just next to it lies the place where they say it was royal rooms. Nothing is left of it except a mound of rocks. In its heydays the fort was occupied by 4 companies of 180 people each and 14 guns were placed here. The legend has it that a underground tunnel connects the Elephanta caves from under the sea though it is hard to believe and no such underground tunnel opening can be seen anywhere here.

Wada houses: As one walks towards the Shahbaz village or Kille Gaothan that is what it is called now, Many wada's have give away to high rise buildings. During the time of Maratha occupation, many wada's were built here, One wada known as Patwardhan wada is occupied by few families. Just next to it lies a standalone house which was once part of Bapat wada. The families have moved out and entire property might be under some dispute. Bapat wada house is classic example of how the wada's would have looked like, Hugh verandah and lot of space around the house which could have been used for growing vegetables or farming. A well in the backyard still exist. 

The closed wooden doors and windows are today silent spectacle to the bygone era. A red letterbox hangs next to the door. Wish these walls could talk and narrate stories of yesteryear's. 

At end of the hillock lies a two colonial era buildings painted in white and blue colour, it was part of the salt works department but it seems they have been recently sold to some private party. The view one gets from this place of the entire creek is second to none. But unfortunately with the ownership change now, one cannot enter the premises and those buildings would probably give away to some high rise buildings in the future. Next to these colonial era buildings there is a small temple amidst the dense vegetation. Lot of Sonpatta or Apta trees can be found everywhere apart of Beli trees. Two wells are also located next to this temple. 

One of the highlight of our stroll was a visit to a 17th century house in one of the wada. Luckily the owner was welcoming and gave us a quick tour of the house which has remained unchanged from last 300 years. The Kitchen areas, the corner of the house where idols of the family deity is kept, a palana room for pregnant ladies of the family, traditional butter churning bilona, a small stone in the ground with a hole where ladies would ground spices, stone pot for holding drinking water was the highlight of the quick tour by the owner. 

At the end of Kille Gaonthan lies two water tanks, A bigger one was suppose to be built by Portuguese and then renovated during the Maratha rule. Another smaller tank opposite the bigger one was built by Maratha's. An inscription stone on the inner side the smaller tank can be seen clearly when the water level is low. Distinctive construction style of both the tanks can be clearly seen.

A weekend heritage trip on the road less traveled to ruins of Belapur fort and around is worth a visit. These ruins have withstand the test of time and are the at cusp of being lost of forever if immediate remedial measures are not taken soon.

The walk to ruins of Belapur was lead by Professor in architecture college and heritage enthusiast Tejashree Lakras.