Gandikota Fort & Bellum caves-year 2017

Browsing through my Facebook feed I came across this amazing picture of the Grand Canyon of India posted by a friend and it was love at first sight. A little bit of Google search on the history of this place just fostered my intention of going there and witnessing it myself.

Now if you go read the history of Gandikota fort, there is no significant history there but that’s exactly what attracted me to it.

History of Gandikota Fort:

Gandikota is a small village located on the banks of the Pennar River in the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh. The fort gets its name from 2 Telugu words “Gandi” which means gorge and “Koti” which means fort.

As per the Khaifiat of Gandikota, KaKa Raja (a subordinate of Ahavamalla Someswara I, the Western Chalukyan king of Kalyana) built a sand fort in Gandikota way back in the year 1123. As per the same records, Chief Kakaraja fell in love with the landscape of Gandikota and ordered to building of the fort and the temples within.

On the other hand, as per Sthalapuran 1213,  Sallivahana King Kaka Maharaju from Bomanpalli discovered this village during a hunting expedition and then built the village/fort.

It was later ruled by many other rulers right from the Vijayanagar Kingdom to Narshimha Raju to Sri Ranga III to Tipu Sultan to the East India Company.

The year 2018…..

Tattva Adventures put up a post on trips to Gandikota and Bellum Caves. I registered almost immediately. The trip took place last week. September- February is an ideal time to visit this amazing place.

About my trip:

A bunch of 22 people from varied professions and walks of life got into the Chennai Express from Mumbai and Pune. The journey began rather peacefully with the usual chit-chats, games, discussions, and a lot of food sharing.

Food helps to connect people may it be the Gujrathi methi theplas ; a simple pack of little hearts or a bottle of chilled flavoured milk; or the spicy mushroom gravy with rice bhakris.

Amidst all the chaos of travelling through the Indian Railway and struggling to get our confirmed seats. We finally reached Muddanur station after 18 hours.

(Note: One can even reach the location by roadways or flight and road)

Our stay was at the APTDC Haritha Hotel, a beautiful place spread across a huge property.

We had a lovely brunch followed by lunch. Each of which was loaded with curry leaves.

Post lunch we headed over to the fort for our explorations which is around 20 minutes walk from the hotel.

Gandikota Fort:

You cannot miss the humongous entrance which is around 20 feet tall and consists of beautiful metal doors and has an influence of Islamic architecture. Let your imagination loose and see how amazing it must have been when it was in full glory.

The walls of the entire fort are made of huge carefully chiseled red stones. Beyond these huge walls lie around 101 bastions and many important and beautiful structures.

Once you enter the fort premises, you will see a Hanuman temple which I guess is the latest addition. Following which you have another entrance. One can walk to the top of this entrance, and the construction above is a watchtower.

Post the second entrance you can directly see the Charminar.

Charminar

The Charminar is one of the most well-preserved constructions.

It is strategically designed to house pigeons. You will find many villagers sitting and unwinding around the Charminar.

The Jail

As we walked a little ahead on the left, there was a beautiful construction which strangely happens to be a jail.

The Construction has a large center door and the other side is open. So I am not very sure how the jail functioned. But on the premises of the jail, you will find a huge round stone that is very difficult to lift and probably was used to tie up the prisoners or so.

A little further is the small water tank with a small temple-like structure on one of the corners.

 

This is exactly where we got lost but the localities came to the rescue and guided us to our fellow teammates even though there was a barrier of language.

Madhavaraya Swamy Temple

I stood awestruck looking at the intricate work on stone and it made me wonder again how they managed to create so much beauty.

 

Madhavraya Swamy temple is one of the tallest structures in the fort premises with intricate stone sculptures and carvings. It was built by Krishnadevaraya in the 15-16^th century and so was the other temple.

 

It is beautifully designed and consists of a grand entrance, a shrine in the center, a wall of pillars on all the sides forming the boundaries of the temple.

Walking away from this stunning place was a hell of a task yet we walked ahead to explore the fort further. Our next halt was the Big water tank.

The Big Water Tank

The Big water tank is the biggest in the fort and is also known as Kattula Koneru which means pond of swords. It is said that the royalties would wash their weapons there.

This Big water tank is located bang opposite the Masjid.

 Juma Masjid & Mausoleum

The Juma Masjid is a stunning construction and is a later addition to the fort. Probably added during the Moghul rule. Just beside the Masjid is the Mausoleum.

Granary

Just beside the Masjid is the Granary ie. a place where grains are stored.

Ranganath Swamy temple

This is the only other temple in the fort which we missed out on. So make sure if you visit the place you visit it.

A little further beyond the granary is a large patch of rocky land. Crossing it over is a task but then difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations like the breathtaking “ The Grand Canyon”

The Grand Canyon

No words are enough to describe the beauty of this place. It holds the power to calm a chaotic soul. Breathtaking, mesmerizing, and stunning are some of the terms one can associate with this place.

While most spent the time clicking pictures, I preferred writing, meditating, and enjoying the scenic beauty.

The Grand Canyon is formed by the Erramalai hills and Pennar River and the way the gorge is formed with the shimmering Pennar River is bound to leave you speechless.

Note:

There are many other structures located spread across the fort and one can indulge in rafting. Food scenes at the fort are ok. You will get the basics like water, wafers, biscuits, and a few other eatables in and around the area but it would be best if you carry it along.

 

At 6 pm the whole place had turned dark and we had to return to our hotel to have tea and curry leave bhajiyas and chai followed by dinner.

The night involved singing, dancing, playing games for many, and then there were people like me who slept on time to get ready for day 2 of our trip-Bellum caves and all.