Wairagarh

Wairagarh stands at the meeting of the Khobragarhi and Satnalas in the forested country northeast of Chanda. Its stone fort, with walls and bastions, is associated with Gond princes who held the surrounding districts under the kings of Chanda. Nearby temples include shrines to Mahakali and Mahadeva, while old workings recall the diamonds once found in this region.

Wairagarh’s diamond mines are mentioned in Abu’l Fazl’s Ain-i Akbari. The fort is attributed to around 1600, and the tomb of the Gond prince Durga Shah lies near it. Earlier, the Bahmani ruler Ahmad Shah is said to have raided the place around 1422; old graves near an idgah are traditionally connected with that attack. Its fort and mines made Wairagarh a distinctive centre in the wooded Wainganga country.