Kalavantin Durg East of Mumbai, on the edge of the high plateau composed of basalts of the Deccan Tr

Kalavantin DurgEast of Mumbai, on the edge of the high plateau composed of basalts of the Deccan Traps, sits this pillar. It has several names, including Kalavantin Durg, Muranjan, or the Prabalgad Fort, depending on whow as in control at the time. The spire is over 500 meters high and the fort at the top is believed to have been built about 2500 years ago.The fort can be reached by climbers today via a staircase carved into the rock seen in the side of the rock facing you if you zoom in; that climb has been nicknamed the “Climb to Heaven”. The entire staircase is open to travelers, who if they do dare to climb it must do so without any sort of guardrails.Records of who constructed the fortress or why have been mostly lost, although some records indicate it was built for a queen named Kalavantin.There aren’t obvious records online about exactly what the rock types are, but the entire surrounding area including the nearby plateau where this photo was taken are made of Deccan trap basalts. Based on the maps of India, I believe this spire is also made of eroded basalts, erupted 65 million years ago.-JBBImage credit: Buddha Jyothiprasadhttps://flic.kr/p/roE9PfReferences:http://bit.ly/1UqWUSchttp://bit.ly/1QRa2im (used only for the other available names)https://niume.com/pages/post/?postID=18392http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/kalavantin-durg -- source link

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