Korlai Fort, Portuguese fortress in Raigad district, India

Korlai Fort is a Portuguese fortress on a narrow hill in Raigad district, about 2,828 feet long and 89 feet wide, with a 5-foot-3-inch wall pierced by 305 gun battlements. Eleven gates, four outer and seven inner, lead through three enclosures divided by two lines of bastioned walls; seven bastions bear saints' names, including São Diego and São Francisco. A tall pointed arch opens through the stone wall, and a weathered archway with dark stone blocks recedes into shadow.

The Portuguese began building Korlai Fort in 1521 with permission from the Ahmednagar sultanate, but a truce left only a wooden cross on the site. In 1594 Captain Abranches took the fort with 1,500 soldiers and 1,500 natives, then destroyed much of it for lack of men. The Marathas held it from 1739 to 1818 after Portugal ceded Chaul by the Treaty of Poona in 1740.

The fort's church, built in 1630 for the garrison, served worship until 1728; its ruined walls stand on the highest part of the hill. The village below keeps Korlai Portuguese Creole, a Luso-Indian dialect descended from the Portuguese settlers, still spoken by residents today.

Three routes reach the fort: from Korlai village in the south, from the lighthouse to the west, and from the northern tip beyond the lighthouse. The village path climbs to the top in 20 to 30 minutes. The fort is about 2 km from Korlai village by a road fit for small vehicles.

Three stone inscriptions carved into the fort's walls preserve orders from a Portuguese Viceroy, offering rare written proof of how the outpost was governed. Visitors can read these ancient commands directly carved into the stone.