"Ilha das vocas", a Portuguese name. The Portuguese, who reconstructed and once owned this fort now known as ARNALA. Arnala Fort is built on a small island of the port town of Arnala, located around 8 miles north of Vasai Maharastra,India. Being an island fort, it is also called Jaldurg or Janjire-Arnala. (Image Source : Google)There is a large hexagonal fresh water artificial lake inside the fort. There are the temples of Ambakeshwar, Goddess Bhavani, Lord Shiva, and the tombs of Shahali and Hajjali inside the fort. The 'PADUKA' or hallowed sandals of Shrinityanand Maharaj are housed in a dome on the eastern face of the fort. The solid stone doorway is beautified with pictures of tigers and elephants. The external bulwarks are in a evenhandedly good condition, and a roughly 3-meter-wide path exists along the outer walls.
Sultan Mahmud Begda (in 1516), a local chieftain in Gujarat, originally constructed the fort on the island, strategically located at the mouth of the Vaitarna river. The Portuguese, in the 1530s, had established their operations in the coastal area headquartered at Fort Bassein and soon gained control of the island. The Portuguese captain of Bassein presented the island to a Portuguese nobleman who charged down the old fort and began construction of 700x700 foot fort. Though fort was never completed by the nobleman, it remained under Portuguese control for 2nd centuries, who used it to control shipping and seafaring along the northern Konkan coast. Just visit here for its great scenery. (Image Source : Google)
