Fort Chapora, North Goa

A fort all time protects the inhabitants inside the castle and gives a comfortable life of all of them from the enemies. Chapora Fort, also known as Shahapura, was constructed by Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur on the bank of Chapora River. Now, it is located about 26 km away from Panaji and just 9 km from Mapusa in Goa North District. Though there is nothing but debris and ruins of the imposing fort left to be seen, yet an air of history lingers in the air. You can almost feel the clash of swords and hear the echoes of the canon shots being fired from those bygone eras.

During the time of Portuguese, the fort was reconstructed in 1617 AD to protect possible attack from the Marathas. Despite of their best efforts they failed and captured by the Maratha ruler, Sambhaji in 1684 AD. After few years in 1717 the Portuguese rescued the fort. Thereafter in 1739 it was recaptured by Marathas, but in 1741 the Portuguese took re-control of the fort and they were successful to keep the control of the fort till 1892. Now, the fort is mostly in ruins and few walls are standing as proof of the fort history.