Amazing Korlai Fort ❤️Unseen Alibag You Need To Explore

Niraj, what is happiness? Having visited Alibag hundreds of times and doing the same old beach routine, I found a completely hidden jewel—Korlai Fort. I had never expected that such a beautiful place could exist in the middle of all the touristy places in Alibag yet remain away from all the limelight. White sand beaches, a short hike, surrounded by the ocean and exotic views—Korlai Fort ticks all the right boxes for a perfect day trip in Alibag. Many questioned whether I had gone to some beach in Portugal. Yes, shhhh!!! In this Korlai Fort blog, you will find all the details needed to plan the trip yourself. Similar adventures like Korlai are at the end of this post.

What is the best time for Korlai fort visit ?

Since the climb to reach the fort takes only 15 minutes, it’s not that exhaustive and you can plan it in any season. In summer and winter you can experience beautiful sunsets and enjoy the beaches, which might be closed in monsoon. In monsoon you get to enjoy the fort in lush greenery and cool monsoon winds. As such the weather best suitable would be just after monsoon. I had done it in all the seasons and can tell you its perfect every time. Also, the fort is not properly maintained, and the grass tends to be taller after monsoon.

The main entrance from East & west side remain open only from 9 am to 5 pm. However the chor darwaja is not yet gated and can be accessed from a trail from light house ( described in the Korlai map )

How much time is needed for Korlai fort trek ?

Niraj, how much time does it take to complete Korlai fort? Korlai is a small fort & the routes from East side from Korlai village & the light house route from West side take about 15-20 minutes of climbing time. Once at the top you will need about 60-90 minutes to go around the fort from one end to the other. The fort is completely flat at the top till the fish-tailed south end. However to reach the North port you will need to descend & climb back again which can be time consuming for some.

Food & stay options around Korlai

Fort has no stalls of any kind. Hence plan your food and water accordingly. Korlai village did have some small time shops. For staying it would be better to check hotels around Alibag, Revdanda & Kashid beach. With growing popularity many hotels would soon sprout up here. Also being a fishing community you can buy dried fish from Korlai. ( checkout my trek food & trek gear )

Korlai Fort Trek Difficulty ?

Niraj, how difficult is Korlai fort for beginners? Climbing to reach Korlai fort takes 15-20 minutes, making it easily manageable even for elderly people with basic fitness Hence i term it as a family friendly easy trek. The risky part I would say is the concrete road till the light house which is very narrow and can accommodate only one car at a time , with the sea on one side & the hill on the other . If the driver is not careful there are chances vehicle may slip into the sea & any vehicle from other side means a dead lock.

Korlai Fort History

The Portuguese built Korlai fort in 1521 with the permission of the then Ahmadnagar Sultanate Burhan NizamShah. It is situated at the estuary of Kundalika river & the Arabian Sea. Together with the Revdanda fort situated at the opposite side of the river, these forts were used to control the sea trade to Chaul which was a flourishing city at that time. The region between Korlai Fort to Bassein fort ( Vasai ) was under the control of Portuguese and these two forts used to act as checkposts.

After the death of Burhan Nizam, Portuguese tried to benefit from the condition and takeover the fort, but failed. They again tried to takeover the fort in 1594 when they succeeded briefly , but seeing that they cannot maintain the control decided to destroy the fort instead. Hence Korlai remains to be the diminished version of its magnificent self it once was. Sambhaji Maharaj tried to takeover the fort in 1687 unsuccessfully. Marathas however succeeded in taking it over in 1739. Fort changed hands further when the East India Company / British Raj took over in 1818 till Independence.

Fun Fact : When this region from Korlai to Bassein , was captured by Marathas specifically Bajirao-the first’s brother Chimaji Appa a 650 kg bell was captured from a cathedral in Bassein fort and moved to Menavli Temple, Wai Satara. This Menavli temple on banks of river Krishna has become a famous Bollywood shooting location. Read more about it

The Korlai villagers still speak a hybrid of Portuguese and Marathi which is called as Kristi. I didnt get to hear this as i could not spend any time in the village. But have taken note to do so when i visit here next time around.

How to reach Korlai from Mumbai & Pune?

Where is Korlai fort located? Korlai is located in the Murud taluka, Raigad Maharashtra. Korlai Fort can be easily reached by road from major cities like Mumbai (111 kilometers) and Pune (160 kilometers) . It is in middle of Alibag ( 24 kms ) and Kashid beach (13 km).  Nearest Railway Station for Alibag is Pen & Roha. Alibag being a big town with government offices & commercial activities has 24/7 connectivity by bus from all the major cities. Bus services are available between Alibag and Murud which can drop at Korlai.

For private vehicles just add Korlai and enjoy the coastal roads to reach here. For Mumbai folks apart from the time consuming road mode one can opt for the Ro-Ro boat which is a unique service to carry your car across the sea in just an hour from Bhaucha Dhakka ( Mumbai-side port) to Mandwa jetty ( Alibag side) saving about 110kms & about 2-3 hrs of travel time ( Rs 1000 per car). From Mandwa the main city is about 30 minutes away. One can also use this service to land at Mandwa and then use local transportation to reach Revdanda & then Korlai .

Planning day trip around Korlai fort

For people who have been to Kashid beach will remember crossing the huge Revdanda bridge. Towards the right of this bridge a clearly visible hill is the Korlai fort. Being so close to other famous spots of Alibag you can combine these for a proper day trip. My plan was to visit Akshi beach, Nagaon beach , Revdanda beach & fort on day 1 & stay near Kashid. Here are few hotels around Alibag, Revdanda & Kashid beach. On day 2 take a dip at Kashid beach in the morning when there would be less crowd, have lunch and head to Korlai fort. In hindsight , Akshi & Nagaon beach can be avoided due to crowd and overall ambience. Instead what I would suggest is to do Kolaba fort on day 1 , stay at Kashid and visit Korlai on day 2.

Things to see at Korlai fort

The fort seems like small one but due to its strategic location is an architectural marvel. The fort is 2828 feet long with average breadth of 89 feet. Wall has 305 battlements for guns/cannons. Currently Korlai has about 20 cannons. On the east slope of the fort there is lots of greenery while the west slope has scanty vegetation due to exposure to winds & rains. Apart from enjoying beautiful views & listening to the ocean waves , we can enjoy the following

• Bastions / Buruj which have cannons in good conditions. Each bastion also has a unique Portuguese saint name which you can look out for
• Church, temple & the rain-harvested water tanks
• South most point which presents stunning view of beach & Korlai village which is sandwiched in between the ocean & river
• North Port has a unique shore where you can just sit in silence
• Go to the light house and enjoy the experience.

Korlai fort map

KORLAI fort blog : TheFreeBird’s story

My plan was to visit Akshi beach, Nagaon beach , Revdanda beach & fort on day 1 & stay near Kashid beach. On day 2 take a dip at Kashid beach and head to either Murud-Janjira or Kolaba fort. However when I reached Revdanda beach I realised that the hill opposite to it is actually a fort – Korlai . Few searches mesmerized me with the views & made me change my plan to visit it the next day.

The Portuguese built the fort in 1521 and the surrounding village that cropped up around the fort speaks a language / creole which is mix of Marathi and Portuguese called Kristi. As I passed through the village, the white sand of Korlai Beach became enticed me, but I had already had my share of dipping in Kashid in the morning. The concrete road is very narrow and fits only one car & feels risky to drive a car. On bike it was one of the best roads you can find. I parked near the lighthouse and found out light house was closed that day, giving me more time to explore the fort.

Through the chor darwaja and into the fort I had reached the North side of the fort and now had to climb up again to reach the top of the fort. This side of the fort has many rooms for storage and also another gate towards a deep port . I wanted to go there but high tide meant that it was not reachable.

Climbing up I reached the first buruj / bastion which was still in good condition with a cannon visible. They numbered all the cannons on the fort, and if I remember correctly, the highest number was seventeen.

The soldiers positioned here must enjoy this view daily and be the happiest ones, caressed by the ocean winds. That day however it was very hot and walking in the grass with the sun in full form I felt it was trying to roast me. Reaching a fortifications shadow never felt so good.

Like this second gate which I reached , each of them divide the fort into various parts.I headed south where most of Korlai Fort’s structures lie. You will see cannons on top of all these fortifications. As I moved ahead I started towards gate 3, the main west entrance door was in between where I had initially climbed to, descended & went all the way back round the fort. This little maneuver had cost me hours.

I think reaching here in afternoon and then doing the extra work of climbing to main entrance, descending and going around the fort had taken a toll on me. But this shadow provided by gate 3 and half a liter of lemon juice had me re-energized. The wind felt cooler as I sat here for some time wondering about questions of life.

From gate 3 starts the main fort premise where church, temples, inscriptions, bigger cannons and better views are present. This entire fort was having dried grass but one peek on the west side of the fort and you will find a proper jungle. This side by the Kundalika river must be getting better rains than the east side which has scanty vegetation.

I’m not sure what these mean. Someone could have written jokes 500 years ago 😁. Two of these inscriptions are on the wall, while one has fallen near the stairs. These stairs are from the east side entry of Korlai. That route starts from Shankar mandir in the village and passes through the jungle canopy to reach the top. Both of the west & east entrance are equally easy. The buruj/ bastion on this entrance is the biggest one on the fort with cannons in best condition. It also provides a panoramic view of the entire region to keep an eye on the entire trade route to Chaul.

Revdanda fort is clearly visible & together these forts used to protect the trade over Kundalika river. This is the highest point of Korlai & provides a terrific 360 view of the entire region. This wraps up the main area of Korlai, and we move to the southern end of the fort, which undeniably provides the best possible view in Alibag.

This is the perfect climax for the Korlai experience. All words fall short to describe this stunning view. Having visited Alibag atleast 10 times before, I felt really stupid not knowing about such an exotic place. I remember spending a lot of time here , not wanting to go back home. The perfect view , cool breeze and the stunning sunset overlooking the dreamy Korlai village hits all the right buttons. At such times everything in life seems to fall in place and you feel care free. The ambience reprograms you to face all the hurdles life throws at you with a renewed vigor.

With a recharged body and a mind full of memories I descended to the light house , hopped on my bike & headed back to Mumbai. Till next time.

Bye !!

That’s it for the Korlai fort blog