Ghodbunder Fort — Attraction in Mira-Bhayander

Ghodbunder Fort is a fort located in Ghodbunder Village, Thane, Maharashtra, India, on the hill just south of the Ulhas River. It was built by the Portuguese, occupied by the Maratha Empire, and became the East India Company's district headquarters. The place was called Ghodbunder because it was where the Portuguese used to trade for ghode with the Arabs. Hence the name Ghodbunder: ghode & bunder.

Ghodbunder Road is one of the major roads leading out of Thane, in Maharashtra, India, and as the name suggests leads to the village of Ghodbunder. It is approximately 20 km long and links two main arterial roads of Mumbai - the Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg which starts at Sion and terminates at Thane and the Western Express Highway which starts at Bandra (East) and becomes the National Highway leading to Gujarat. For the Anglo-Saxon royal retainer, see Thegn. ... Maharashtra   (Marathi: , English: , IPA: ) is Indias third largest state in terms of area and second largest in terms of population after Uttar Pradesh. .redirects here. ... Lal Bahadur Shastri  (October 2, 1904 - January 11, 1966) was the second permanent Prime Minister of independent India and a significant figure in the struggle for independence. ...  Sion (Sheev in Marathi) is a suburb of Mumbai. ... Mumbai as seen from Bandra Reclamation A stall on Linking Road Bandra (Marathi : is a suburb of Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), popularly nick-named Queen Of The Suburbs. It is home to a railway station on the Mumbai Suburban Railway, Western line. ...  This article does not cite its references or sources.

One of the more interesting aspects of Ghodbunder Road is that it cuts across dense forests which form part of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. It also skirts the Vasai Creek for most of its route and provides scenic views of the forest across the creek. In spite of development encroaching on the forest, a lot of flora and fauna continue to survive and prosper. Another less-known fact about Ghodbunder is that it is lined with numerous historical monuments, some minor and some not even that; just step off the Ghodbunder Road and you might walk into an old Portuguese church. The path to Kanheri Rivers in the park The Borivali National Park, officially known as the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, is a rare National Park that lies within city limits. ... Vasai Creek is an estuarine creek, one of the two main distributaries of the Ulhas River in Maharashtra state of western India. ...

However, since the late 1990s, the urban sprawl of Thane has caught up with the idyllic surroundings of Ghodbunder. What used to be paddy fields and abandoned industrial lots are rapidly being converted into mass housing projects. Pretty soon, most of the area adjoining Ghodbunder Road might well be one large suburban jungle linking the Thane and Bhayandar urban...

Nice place to visit for beauty, historical place and small photo shoot. This fort is located on a small hill in Ghodbunder village, at the last of a U turn road. This is close to Kashimira area.

Fort is of good size and various structures in fort are standing there, but are not being managed well. On the top of fort where one can see a flag is hoisted, there is very good view of Vasai creek and salt fields. You can see Road Bridge on western highway which connects Vasai area to Mumbai through this Mira-Bhayandar area. You can also locate Bhayandar-Naigaon Railway bridge there looks beside Electricity Transmission towers. Add on for nature lovers, some mountain peaks of Sanjay Gandhi National park are also clearly visible here which are near to western Highway (Mumbai-Ahmedabad).

Fort has a bastion type structure in which stairs are there for going to its top. There is a small storage or hidde room in halfway of this small staircase. This room was in dark, with garbage was there including plastic & glass bottles. There is a big water tank near bastion, not fully visible due to greenary covered in rains. There is big unroofed hall in the fort with a number of circular top gates, children play cricket within this open hall premise. There are some rooms connected with this hall. There is one big field area with boundry walls, not sure if any well is there. It was covered with knee lenth vegitation in rains.

Fort top (watchtower or cannon point) is a small circular area of radius around 15-20 feet, here you can sit and relax. Local youths were there when I visited, they were looking good in behaviour. But it looks like alcpholic groups also come here.

Suggest to visit this fort in winters or late evening in summers. You can capture beautiful sunset. This is not a trek but it is good place to visit, specially for nature lovers and for people interested in history or historical places. Nice place for group of friends. Avoid coming here in late evening if you are alone or couple. Take water and snacks with you. Road to fort is narrow but car can come. There is Vasai Creek Watch Point near it, but not much to watch from there. There are public toilets in this area. And you can see monkeys in this area. This area is very peaceful and people in nearby areas can come here frequently. Cyclying upto here is better option.

Fort closure timing is 6pm as per notice board there. It is good to follow the same timing. It has no gates to close, so people might have visited there for having alcohol.

Govt bodies of village, town or city should take care of this place, it can be developed as a good small tourist point. I visited in rainny season two day ago on 13-Aug-2018.

Blog about details and more photos...

Ghodbunder Fort is a fort located in Ghodbunder Village, Thane, Maharashtra, India, on the hill just south of the Ulhas River. It was built by the Portuguese, occupied by the Maratha Empire, and became the East India Company's district headquarters.

The place was called Ghodbunder because it was where the Portuguese used to trade for ghode (horses) with the Arabs. Hence the name Ghodbunder: ghode (horses) & bunder (port).

In 1530 the Portuguese came to Thane, and they began fortifying the hill area about 1550, but completion of the fort in its current form was in 1730. The Portuguese name for the fort was Cacabe de Tanna. It was under Portuguese rule until 1737. The Portuguese built a church in the fort that still stands, and is now used as a hotel. Two angels engraved on the inside wall of the church still remains. The old church can be seen clearly in the background of the courtyard photo.

There are many old maps and texts which mention continual attempts by the Marathas to capture this fort. The Portuguese were able to defend Ghodbunder Fort from these attacks successfully for many years, including the attack in 1672 by the forces of Shivaji. However, the Marathas under Chimnaji Appa successfully besieged the fort and took it over from the Portuguese in 1737.Following its capture, Sambhaji ordered the strengthening of the fortifications, initiating the construction of the tower.

Presently a major renovation work is going and it is slated to open in few weeks.

Best time is early morning or...