A Visit To Chitradurga

Chitradurga Fort is located in the city of Chitradurga in Karnataka.  It is about 200 km from Bangalore and 200 km from Hubli too. It is accessible from most cities and small towns by buses and trains. You can also come here by car. Its website is http://www.chitradurga.nic.in/

At Chitradurga Fort Entrance

Clouds Kissing The Hill

In Chitradurga there are many points of interest. Its main point of interest is called the Chitradurga Fort. The  fort was built in the 17^th century by the chieftain of the area which was under the Vijaynagar Empire. Further into the fort the sights are breathtaking. I could see clouds kissing the hillocks. The fort was a city in the olden day. It’s surrounded by a 32 km moat which cannot be seen everywhere today. An interesting fact about this fort is that a lot of importance is given to it, though it was just built by a local chieftain.

The fort is mostly made of stone so it is advisable to go early in the morning before the scorching sun hits you. The fort was built by stones which were found on a hill close by. On the fort walls there are no grand reliefs as this fort was built by a chieftain.

Inscriptions 

There are also a few temples on the way. If you ask for a guide he will explain  everything to you in detail. The sights at a few points are breathtaking. 

Coming Out Of The Tunnel Where Obavva Caught Soldiers coming out.
Thankfully she did not see me!

If you ever go to the fort, ask your guide to show you to a place where a woman named Obavva went and killed enemy soldiers. 
He will show you a place where little water runs. Over there is an informative board about Obavva. Here is an interesting story about Obavva. Those days enemies tried to attack them from the front, but they could not. So they decided to attack from the back. One particular day, Obavva’ s husband had gone for lunch. That time Obavva came to take water. She heard some suspicious noises and went to investigate. She found these soldiers coming through a little passage from the back. She killed each one with a wooden staff. Sadly, she got killed at the end, but she had saved her kingdom. Now, you can go to this place in the fort and go through a small part of this passage. It is really nice.

There is also a steep mountain which you can climb. It might be slightly dangerous, but if you are willing to do that it should be really exciting. Unfortunately, I could not climb that mountain as we did not want to stop our guided tour.

A few tips/ information:

·         The Hotel “Naveen Regency” is a nice hotel, which is located about 3.5 km from the fort. It gives you a spacious room, complimentary breakfast and wifi (Wireless Internet) for about Rs 3000 per night + taxes. They offer lunch and dinner at additional costs. Another advantage is that it is located right off the highway. Visit http://naveenregency.com for more information.

·         From Bangalore the road to Chitradurga is newly tarred 6 lane highway. The only disadvantage if you are travelling at night is that there are no street lamps and it is difficult to drive.

·         The entrance fee to the fort is nominal Rs 5 and free for children below the age of fifteen.

·         A certified guide charges about Rs. 350 for 1 and a half to 2 hours. Disadvantage is that not all guides know English.

·         All history lovers, I suggest that you visit this place for breathtaking sights and good history.

Standing On the Place where they crushed gun powder

If you sit inside here, you can here your own echo

A relief on the wall.

A gun fired at this wall. You can also see the mark.

Those cuts were made to break these boulders to build the fort

*All information given is as of August, 9th 2013. Thank You.