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Apart from being a place of interest to the naturalist, Karnala is redolent of martial history. Karnala Fort, or the 'Funnel Hill' as it is called, stands 475 metres high. Its command of the high road between Bhorghat and the rivers of Panvel and Apta must have from the earliest time made Karnala a place of strategic importance. Two gateways — one at the foot and the other at the top of the rock-hewn steps — lead to a dual gateway with a chamber in between. There are two inscriptions in the fort, one in Marathi and the other in Persian. The fort has a chequered history of having passed through the hands of Muslim, Portuguese and Maratha rulers.
Karnala Fort is a hill fort in Raigad district, Maharashtra, India, about 10 km from Panvel city. Currently it is a protected place lying within the Karnala Bird Sanctuary. It was a place of strategic importance since it overlooked the Bor pass, which connected the Konkan coast to the interior of Maharashtra on the main trade route between these areas.
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