Karnala

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The Karnala Bird Sanctuary is located in Panvel Taluka of Raigad District, outside Mumbai, India is a small bird reserve. The sanctuary is quite small with an area of 4.27 square kilometres. It lies just off the Mumbai-Pune highway to Goa and is home to over 147 species of resident and 37 species of migratory birds who visit the sanctuary during winters. Two rare birds i.e. Ashy Minimet and Spotted heart woodpecker have been sighted here. It is one of the more popular destination for avid bird-watchers and hikers in the Mumbai area.

Karnala is also famous for the Karnala Fort a.ka. 'Funnel Hill' stands 475 metres high. The Karnala Fort dates back to the 12th Century when it was built. It was under the Nizamshahi rule until the 15th century after which Emperor Shivaji captured it by building obstructions all around the fort. The Moghuls, the Angres and the Peshwas were some of its later conquerors which was important fort in the region. The fort was finally captured by Colonel Prother of the British in 1818.

Its command of the high road between Bhor ghat and the rivers of Panvel and Apta, must have from the earliest time, made Karnala a place of strategic importance. Two gateways one at the foot and the other at the top of the rock-hewn steps lead to a dual gateway with a chamber in between. There are two inscriptions in the Fort, one in Marathi and the other in Persain. The Fort has a cheqered history of having passed through the hands of Muslim, Portuguese and Maratha rulers.

Source: http://www.mahaforest.nic.in/KarnalaRaigad.htm, http://hotels.samsantravels.com/places/karnala/karnala.htm and http://www.bhooshan.com/2005/07/25/when-nature-calls/

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