Sinhagad, the Lion Fort, is 24 km south-west of Pune and makes an excellent day trip from Pune. It was the scene of another of Shivaji's daring exploits.

In 1670 Shivaji's general, Tanaji Malusre, led a force of men who scaled the steep hillside in the dark and defeated the unprepared forces of Bijapur. Legends about this dramatic relate that the Maratha forces used trained lizards to carry ropes up the hillside ! There are monuments at the spot where Tanaji died, and also at the place where he lost his left hand before his death. The fort stands on top of a steep hill near a telecommunications mast and, although the fort is largely ruined, there are a number of old bungalows up here, including one where Gandhi met the freedom fighter, Tilak, in 1915.