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Sewri Fort, Mumbai

15 June 2010 19 Comments

This weekend after a lazy morning and a sumptuous brunch we suddenly decided to go to Sewri Fort.
But contrary to expectations, it disappointed us.

@lemonicks.com/Travel

Dargah near the entrance of fort.

Besides locational advantage, I didn’t see anything that could attract tourists or locals to this fort. Although the Sewri Mangrove Park is close by & you get a great view of the creek and the flamingos, unfortunately the fort is in a dilapidated condition.

@lemonicks.com/Travel

Stairs to go to the fort and dargah.

Sewri fort or (शिवड़ी किल्ला in Marathi) was built by the British in 1680 to be served as a watch tower against the Portuguese who had held the land across Mithi River (called Salsette Island). The fort is atop a quarried hill overlooking the Mumbai harbour and the Sewri mudflats.

@lemonicks.com/Travel

The lone tree in totally deserted fort.

@lemonicks.com/Travel

This is all what is left of the fort.

I could not see a single sign board from station till this place guiding people. The place is deserted and I was wondering if it has become a hangout for petty crimes. When I clicked the below photo and some more, one of them saw me and alerted others. The whole thing was so scary that we hurried up and left the place without any delay.

@lemonicks.com/Travel

We could see some boys lying on top of a portion having discussion over something.

Directions for going to Sewri fort.
By train:
Get off at Sewree station (E), on the harbour line and walk towards north end of the platform as there is no exit from the south end for going to the eastern side. Cross the main road (Mahul Road) through railway crossing, take the Sewri Koliwada Road opposite. Continue on this road and take the left of a ‘Y’ road. This will take you to a T junction where this road meets the Sewri Fort Road.
You can see the stairs going up. Total walking is 10 minutes.
By road:
Take the IMAX Wadala road and take the turning for Sewree. If you’re coming from Chembur side, there is a left turn after the salt pan road. Continue along this road until you reach a crossroad near Godrej Foods. Take a right and go straight along this road (Mahul Road) until you reach Sewree Station.
If you’re coming from town or from the Western side, take R.A Kidwai Marg and cross over from West to East when you reach Sewree station. Once you are at Sewree station East, directions are the same as above.
By Bus:
Sewree Bus depot is located in Sewree West and cross over to eastern side. Take any bus that ends at P.Thakeray Udyan/Sewree depot.

Tips:- 1. Remember, the roads are full of oil soaked dust and not very clean, wide or good.
2. Ask for शिवड़ी किल्ला and not for Sewri fort. We asked the policemen on patrolling duty the directions for fort and in turn he asked a rag-picker. Thinking the boy would not understand ‘fort’ I asked for ‘killa’. Even before he could utter, the policeman said, “Achha, killa jana hai? Idhar se jao (Do you want to go to killa? Go from this side.)”. I immediately realized my mistake.

Next post :-While Sewri fort disappointed us heavily, lovely flamingos made our day.
Beautiful Flamingos. Click on the image to see.
—-
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19 Comments »

Mridula said:

The Flamingos look really delicate and beautiful. Will wait for that post.

# 15 June 2010 at 2:38 PM

JPK said:

Whoa! This here is a lot of content! Thanks for voting. Love the amazing amount of content on your blog.

Cheers,
JPK

# 15 June 2010 at 7:03 PM

PN Subramanian said:

Thanks for the information about Sewri. To me although in ruins, the fort still looks strong.
PN Subramanian´s last [post] ..Kanheri Caves (Mumbai)

# 15 June 2010 at 7:30 PM

Nisha (author) said:

Mridula,
Yes, they are.

JPK,
You are welcome. Keep coming.

PNS,
It is all recently renovated with cement & bricks. The perception (big stones, mud cementing etc) we generally have for any old fort is missing here.

Keep coming.
Nisha´s last [post] ..Sewri Fort, Mumbai

# 15 June 2010 at 8:11 PM

Namita said:

So many of our historical monuments are neglected, seems we have scant regard for our heritage and treasures of our past.
Namita´s last [post] ..Five amazing travel photographs

# 15 June 2010 at 9:50 PM

anjuli said:

Oh I would have loved to see the flamingos. Also, the shots you took of the fort made it look like a place which would be nice to explore. I do know what you mean though about a place being so run down and vacant that it is not appealing (even to explore). Thanks for sharing the pics!!
anjuli´s last [post] ..Guest Post by "A"

# 16 June 2010 at 3:40 AM

Zhu said:

This ia what traveling is all about – sometimes you find beautiful places, sometimes you are a little bit disappointed… but disappointement often leads to better finds
Zhu´s last [post] ..The Nostalgic Chameleon

# 16 June 2010 at 9:43 PM

Joe Zachs said:

This is the case with most of the tourist spots in Mumbai.
When we went to the Elephanta Caves, the stink was so bad that we felt like rushing back to the boat.
Joe Zachs´s last [post] ..The NDA in Pune

# 18 June 2010 at 6:41 AM

HOBO(nickname) said:

I wish to visit one day – a wish pending since years.
And Re.: photographs
Excellent shots – I love the way it is clicked. Beautiful.

# 18 June 2010 at 2:53 PM

radha said:

As a fort, it is disappointing. Especially since we have such beautiful forts in India. You write it was built by the British and not Indian rulers, and was that why it is not like the forts we see in Rajasthan or even one closer home the Golconda Fort?
radha´s last [post] ..Book Review – The White Tiger – Aravind Adiga

# 19 June 2010 at 11:07 PM

sm said:

Thanks for the information about Sewri.

# 20 June 2010 at 1:51 AM

Le Monde – A Poetic Travail » Blog Archive » Flamingos said:

[...] Sewri fort was done in a few minutes time and we were in no mood to head back home. We knew Flamingos can be seen somewhere nearby but this was not the right time to see them. We were told, most of them have gone back to Australia from where they come every year. Still we wanted to take a chance. It was our casual outing… no birding in mind, no tripod or long lens as well. [...]

# 20 June 2010 at 6:08 PM

Nisha (author) said:

Namita,
Very true.

Anjuli,
The flamingos are up here. For more photos pls check the Facebook.
It didn’t look like a typical historical fort, the renovation is done with bricks & cement and it has a modern architecture, possibly because it was built by the British.

# 20 June 2010 at 11:24 PM

Nisha (author) said:

Zhu,
I like your pov and it happens most of the time.

Zoe Zachs,
Ha Ha Ha…. we had also thought so. Not only Elephanta caves, the stink is in all the caves… the readymade public urinals.
Nisha´s last [post] ..Flamingos

# 20 June 2010 at 11:26 PM

Nisha (author) said:

Hobo,
Thank you very much for your appreciation.

Radha,
Yes, I think that is the reason it didn’t look like a typical historical fort we are used to see. It has modern design made of cement & bricks and very small in size.

SM,
Welcome here. And keep coming.
Nisha´s last [post] ..Flamingos

# 20 June 2010 at 11:31 PM

Ms.N said:

Didn’t even know that Sewri had a fort. hopefully, the flamingos made up for what the fort didn’t deliver!

# 22 June 2010 at 4:22 PM

Nisha said:

N,
I knew about the fort but not this kind of. I had the illusion of big Indian forts.

Yes, Flamingos made it possible.

# 23 June 2010 at 10:28 PM

How External Links Work And What They Do For Your Travel Blog | Travel Blog Advice said:

[...] This is the actual text that is linked. For example Sewri Fort, Mumbai or overnight stay in Papeete, Tahiti. (You’ll notice that the second link isn’t the [...]

# 26 June 2010 at 11:08 AM

Le Monde – A Poetic Travail » Blog Archive » Flamingos caught live ! said:

[...] is a small video of Flamingos enjoying their feast that I captured on my camera when we visited them recently. I have uploaded it on Youtube. The quality is not that good but then I didn’t have a full [...]

# 8 July 2010 at 11:51 AM