Kandhar Fort is located on the banks of the Manyad River, encircled by hills. Kandhar, earlier known as Kandharpur was the second capital of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty in the tenth century.

Districts/ Region

Nanded district, Maharashtra, India.

History

Kandhar town is surrounded by hills. It is of notable vestige for multicultural settlement that included Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religions from the Rashtrakuta period. ​​In bygone eras, Kandhar was known as 'Kandharpur'. Kandhar and the encompassing district have been managed by numerous dynasties and kingdoms, including the Rashtrakutas, Kakatiyas of Warangal, Yadavas of Devagiri, the Delhi Sultanate, Bahamani Empire, Nizam shahs of Ahmednagar lastly the Nizams of Hyderabad.

The Kandhar Fort was erected by the Rashtrakuta king Krishna III in the tenth century CE, on the banks of the Manyad River. All dynasties from the later period added their designs to the Fort, and it was consistently involved till the 1840s.

The most enduring construction in the fort is a stepwell from the Yadava time. The primary door of the fortress has a Persian engraving from Muhammad receptacle Tughlaq (1325-1351). Significant augmentations to the post were made after the thirteenth century by the Bahamani Sultans.

The fort had a unique multi-layered protection system that kept it secured for centuries. Kandhar Fort has its very own legend that connects it with Mahabharata. It says that Kandhar was initially called 'Panchalpuri', and it was here that Draupadi wedded the Pandavas. The valley close to Kandhar is otherwise called Pandavdara. The encompassing villages of the Kandhar fort are rich in archaeological relics. Various artefacts found in the area are housed today in the fort. This includes images of lord Ganesha, Jain divinities etc. The most important are the remaining parts of the huge image of a defender god known as Kshetrapala, which was presumably 60 ft high.

Geography

Kandhar Fort is on the banks of Manyad River in the Deccan Traps.

Weather/Climate

The region has a hot and dry climate. The summers are more extreme than winters and monsoon, with a temperature up to 40.5 degrees Celsius.

Winters are mild, and the average temperature varies from 28-30 degrees Celsius.

Monsoon season has extreme seasonal variations, and the annual rainfall is around 726 mm.

Things to do

Places to visit on fort:

Lal Mahal
Darbar Mahal
A beautiful water tank with fountains.
Arabic and Persian Inscriptions
Masjid-E-EK-Khana

Nearest tourist place

Jagattung Sagar (3.2 KM)
Sunegaon Lake (15.6 KM)
Devpur Dam (43.8 KM)
Asna River Dam (46.7 KM)

How to travel to tourist place by Rail, Air, Road (train ,flight,  bus ) with distance and required time

By Road: Local Buses are available from the railway station

By Railway: Nanded-Waghala station (45 KM)

By Air: Nanded Airport is the closest (49 KM)

Special food speciality and hotel

The reason for being so popular in terms of food is this city belongs to the people of 5 different communities- Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Jain and Buddhist. Some of its famous foods are:

Tehri, Biryani, Shakes

Dessert: Imerti (Jalebi like sweet)

Accommodation facilities nearby & Hotel/ Hospital/Post Office/Police station

Many local restaurants at Kandhar

Many hotels at Kandhar.

Nearest Post office: Kandhar Post Office.

Rural Hospital, Kandhar (1.5 KM)

Nearest Police station: Kandhar Police station (1.4 KM)

Visiting Rule and Time, Best month to visit

The best months to visit Kandhar are from September - February with ideal weather.

The hottest and windiest months of Kandhar are April, May and June.

Language spoken in area

English, Hindi and Marathi.