Mumbai - Visit to Worli Fort

I discovered that Mumbai had more forts than the famous Fort area or St George's Fort in South Mumbai. That there was a Worli Fort (a small one), a Mahim Fort (slightly bigger) and a Bandra Fort (almost non-existent), intrigued me. Since I was based in Bandra I decided to explore these three forts.

Worli Fort

First, we went to Worli Fort which one can have a great view of from the Sea Link - it looks more like a bunker and is at the end of Koliwada. The car does not go and we had to leg it to the end of the Koliwada where we found the Fort. It was pretty well kept and we walked in and found great views of the sea, the sea link and the Mumbai skyline against the Koliwada background.

A structure along the way

The Worli Fort is a Grade I Heritage structure which was an important military outpost built by the Portuguese as early as 1561 CE. It served as a watch tower over the western seaboard and also as a line of defense.

Worli Fort

Gateway

The fort had an arched gateway, bastions, rooms for storing ammunition, a bell tower, a well, mounting platforms for guns and cannons.

Mumba skyline behind the koliwada

Bell tower, mounting platforms

It came under the possession of the British later and was used as a lookout for enemy ships and pirates. It was stocked with ammunition and had a garrison of troops ready.

The walk through Koliwada was fascinating - narrow lanes, fragile houses that somehow seem to survive being exposed to the rain and winds, a thriving community with schools, tuitions, temples, churches and such. It rained on the way back and we rushed back to the car which was parked near the Coast Guard building.