The main palace was constructed of wood, of which only the base pillars remain. The fort ruins include the queen's quarters, and six chambers, each with a private restroom. The chambers lack windows. In front of the palace grounds are the remains of three watchtowers, of which only two survive, as the third was destroyed during a
bombardment. The fort also overlooks an artificial lake known as Ganga Sagar Lake. The primary access route to the fort passes through the “Maha Darwaja” (Great Gate), which was traditionally closed at sunset. The Maha Darwaja is flanked by two bastions, each approximately high. The top of the fort rises above this entrance. The king's court within Raigad Fort contains a replica of the original throne, which faces the main doorway called the
Nagarkhana Darwaja. The throne is oriented towards the east. It was here that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was crowned. The enclosure was acoustically designed to allow sound to travel from the doorway to the throne. A secondary entrance, called the
Mena Darwaja on the southern side, is believed to have been the private entrance for the royal women and leads to the queen’s quarters. The
Palkhi Darwaja on the northern side was used by the king and his entourage. To the right of the Palkhi Darwaja is a row of three deep, dark chambers, which historians believe served as granaries. The fort overlooks
Takmak Tok, a cliff used as an execution site from which condemned prisoners were thrown to their deaths. This area is now fenced off. A statue of Shivaji is erected in front of the ruins of the main market avenue that leads to the
Jagdishwar Mandir, which has Sardar
Hiroji Indulkar's name engraved on the first step, his own
Samadhi and that of his dog named
Waghya. The Samadhi of Rajmata Jijabai, Shivaji's mother, can be seen at the base village of Pachad. Additional attractions of the fort include the Khubladha Buruj, Nane Darwaja and the Hatti Talav (Elephant Lake). Henry Oxienden was on the fort from 13 May to 13 June 1674 & he quoted "We arrived at the top of that strong mountain about sun set, which is fortified by nature more than art, being off very difficult access, and but one advance to it, which is guarded by two narrow gates, and fortified with a strong high wall, and bastions thereto. All the other parte of the mountaine is a direct precipice, so that it is impregnable except the treachery of some in it betrays it. On the Mountain are many strong buildings, as the Raja's Court, and houses for other Ministers of State, to the number of about 300, It is in length about 21 miles and breadth * a mile, but no pleasant trees nor any sort of grains grows thereon. Our house was about a mile from the Raja's Palace, into which we retired with no little content." The legend goes "that a milkmaid named as Hirakani from a nearby village had come to sell milk to the people living at the fort. She happened to be inside the fort when the gates got closed and locked at sunset. Hearing the cries of her infant son back at the village echo after nightfall, the anxious mother couldn't wait till dawn and courageously climbed down the steep cliff in pitch darkness all for the love of her little one. She later repeated this extraordinary feat in front of Shivaji and was rewarded for her bravery." Noticing that this was a potential loophole, Shivaji built a bastion over the cliff and named it after the milkmaid as Hirakani Buruj. ==Incidents==