ANKAI TANKAI KILLA | ANKAI KILLA | ANKAI TANKAI FORTS AND JAIN CAVES | ANKAI KILLA MANMAD | GOPRO 7

Auspicious, holy, and prosperous is the soil of Maharashtra, rich in culture and heritage. Located in the northwestern part of this mainland is the region of Nashik, a region sanctified by the footsteps of Lord Ramchandra. According to an ancient belief, 'the city of nine peaks means Nav Shikha' and so the name Nashik was derived. A significant portion of the region's geography consists of hills, mountain ranges, and deep valleys. These rock-cut structures that were formed naturally over a while are quite steep to climb, making it difficult to access them, Taking advantage of these exceptional geographic conditions, many rulers from different dynasties over different eras built many forts on these hills, to strengthen their control over the region, and similarly, religious missionaries carved out many caves in these hills. There are approximately 55-60 forts in the Nashik region alone, among these forts; Ankai and Tankai are two forts with mythological, historical, and cultural heritage. Located in the Nashik district in the Manmad region. Let's take a virtual tour of these forts rich in culture, history, and mythology and learn about their history. Forts Ankai and Tankai are located at a distance of 8 kms from Manmad railway station along the Manmad - Aurangabad National Highway. From the railway station, we get rickshaws that either takes us to the base village of these forts or up to the joint road connecting the highway and the base village, 2 kms from the fort. The route is straight, without and turns and in the absence of any transportation, one might even consider going for a long walk of 8 kms to reach the base village. From the base village, there is a route that will lead us towards the forts. On reaching the base village, we see the Jain Caves that were carved out in the 10th Century. As these forts were mostly under the rule of Nizams and Mughals, Islamic architecture remnants are found in many places. On our way towards the forts, we first encounter the Jain caves. There are seven caves in total, along with a water tank. These Jain caves are an excellent example of rock-cut architecture. The carvings of the Jain Tirthankars Shantinath and Parshvanath, Indrani Devi, elephants carved by imagining an elephant chariot, reticulated windows, lotus flowers, Mahadev idol, mythical lions (beast-like creatures), carved out pillars show the richness of the past as a culmination of cave architecture in India. After visiting the caves and moving on towards the forts we come across a Khind, the strong fortification that can be seen on the left-hand side of this Khind, that's fort Ankai and the connecting fort to the right-hand side of this Khind, that's fort Tankai. Going past this Khind, what lies before us is the main entrance to the fort (Maha Darwaja) guarded by strong watch towers on either side. Come on then let's go through the six entrances of the fort and take a look at the Hindu caves, Sitamai caves, Agasti Rushi temple, water tanks, samadhi, and the remnants of the only Wada (Castle) on the top of the fort. Let us now take a look at the history of these forts. The mythological significance of these forts can be seen from the caves and samadhi of Agasti Rushi. These forts were built as observation forts during the Yadava dynasty, during the 9th and 10th centuries. Later on, after the fall of the Yadava dynasty, through Khilji's invasion, these forts came under the control of Alauddin Khilji. Later it was under the control of Bahamani and after 1490, under the control of Nizamshah. After 1635 Shah Jahan's general captured these forts from the Nizam. During the reign of Shivaji Maharaj, these forts were in the possession of the Mughals. According to the treaty of Bhalki between the Marathas and the Nizam in 1752, these forts came under the possession of the Marathas. Later after the defeat of the Marathas in 1818, these forts came under the control of the British also known as fort-destroyers. After exploring fort Ankai, let us now visit the Tankai Fort. This fort was primarily built to protect Ankai Fort. On this fort, there is a water tank, Shiva temple, and the remains of a ruined castle. After exploring both the forts, we get back to the Khind, from here we exit these forts through the opposite entrance, (Manmad Darwaja) proceeding towards the base village. About 4-5 hours are sufficient to explore both the forts.

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