Western Ghats

The Sahyadri hills west of Satara form part of the Western Ghats, with forested ridges, steep valleys and heavy monsoon rainfall. The Krishna rises in these uplands near Mahabaleshwar and flows east onto the Deccan plateau. Fortified peaks gave the Maratha rulers strong positions in this rugged country. Among them was Pratapgad, built under Shivaji’s orders above the Jawali region, where his encounter with the Bijapur general Afzal Khan in 1659 became a turning point in his rise to power.