Trek to Udayagiri Fort, Nellore Dist. Andhra Pradesh

What is the connection between the once magnificent city Hampi in Karnataka and a remote fort called Udayagiri in Andhra Pradesh?

Udayagiri was the scene of a number of violent battles between the Mighty Vijayanagar Kings of Hampi and the equally strong Gajapati Kings of Orissa. Finally King Krishnadevaraya, the most able of the Vijayanagara Kings managed to defeat the Gajapatis and drive out them out from Udayagiri. To mark this victory Krishnadevaraya took a sculpture of Lord Krishna from Udayagiri and took it with him back to Hampi and had it installed in a new temple he had constructed. Presently this sculpture lies in the Chennai Museum in Tamil Nadu.

Udayagiri lies just 100 km from Nellore so a couple of weekends back I decided to check it out. The Fort lies at the top of a hill so I heard its quite a climb to the top. This made me doubly excited. Hills plus a fort. Its a combo on offer and I couldn't resist.

Our target was reaching that speck at the top 

My colleague from work, Dwarka joined me on this trek. We reached Udaygiri by 8am and after a good breakfast started looking for an auto to take us to the starting point of the trek.

After much searching and some dead ends we finally reached the starting point of the trek. There were stone steps rising away, which disappeared into the thick forest after some distance. These were engulfed by shrubs and trees all around. I stopped here and noted the altitude. It was 300 MSL. Time 1100 Hrs. We started the climb aiming to go as high as possible. We had been warned that going in twos was quite risky as there was the danger of wild animals attacking. The villagers had told us that a group of 4 or more is the safest. Keeping this in mind we decided that we will stop whenever we feel its not safe to proceed further.

The day was cool and the sky was covered by a carpet of clouds torn here and there revealing the clear blue of the sky. The sun was peeking between the clouds now and then. Overall it was an excellent day for a hike.  So on we went on the stone steps. As we gained some height on the towering cliffs of the hills came into proper view. We were surrounded by the hills on three sides leaving one side offering views of the surrounding plains.The sides of the hills were red in colour, characteristic of the soil in these areas. After about 20 minutes we met another group of hikers resting under a tree. They were a bunch of middle aged guys who looked as if they lost steam and had settled down to have a rest. They inquired about our target and we said we were aiming for the top even though we know it was quite late to do that. Inspired by our intent they decided to join us. They offered us some snacks to eat which proved heaven sent to me later in the day.

So with the middle aged guys joining in were now a team of seven. The trees around us kept getting dense and the top of the hill still looked far away.The stone steps ended near a small water stream. It cannot be called a water stream exactly as it was just a sheet of water flowing over a huge overhanging rock and narrowing down to a trickle of water. The middle aged guys were saying that during the rainy season there is much more water. A couple of them had done this climb before hence the information. Here we rested for a while before moving on. We still had a lot of climbing to do so there wasn't much time to indulge in long rests. The next stop came at a spot where there was a long fortification running along the side of the hill. There was a gateway through which we entered and found ourselves surrounded by the stone walls on two sides, one wall running along the right and one in the front like two adjacent sides of a square. Here the views of the surrounding plains were stunning. As we stood at the corner of the square I mentioned before, in front us, to the right, was the side of a hill on which stood a lone watchtower jutting out from the undergrowth. On the opposite side, to the left was the gentle slope of another hill making a rough V in the middle offering views of the plains ahead. The sky and the land merged into each other far away. 

From here we resumed our climb in earnest,our spirits boosted by the wonderful views. We passed by a number of ruins of other structures scattered here and there. The sky was getting a shade darker and now and then a gust of wind was blowing. Seeing this the middle aged guys were getting a bit agitated. The top was still out of sight and they worried that if they push for the top they wont be able to return to the bottom before dusk. So they had a discussion and decided to call off and head back. Dwarka and myself decided to push on regardless. Luckily for us just as were there standing there another group of three appeared and after a brief talk with them we joined them. Finally after going through another stretch of thick forest, the object of our trek came into view far away. As we emerged from the forest cover into an open land,in front us, there lay a structure exuding a mystical and dark appearance. It was a greyish decaying building rising above the growth surrounding it. At the two front corners stood the sturdy bases of towers. It looked like an English castle and reminded me of the Tintin Comics I used to read when I was a kid. Climbing over the rocks which littered its approach we finally reached it. The time was 1330Hrs. Altitude 856 MSL.

This stucture was a mosque. It stood at the edge of the hill with its front facing the edge. It was a small mosque with one arch in the middle clubbed in between the two towers, the tops of which were destroyed and only the bases remained. The location was breathtaking. We stood here, near the crumbling mosque at the edge of the hill at 856 MSL and took in the views. Directly below us lay the town of Udayagiri. Above, the clouds shone bright white against the clear blue sky. A hazy air hung around the horizon merging the sky and the land indistinctly. Here and there a low hill rose above the haze and revealed itself. The whole land was spread with square cuts of agricultural fields. In all, the view was magnificent. The mosque had a spiral staircase going around one of its towers which I attempted to climb but the dilapidated nature of it made it risky and I stopped midway. After taking some videos from here I climbed down.

We still had the 2 hour climb down and there were chances of us getting lost so without much delay we started our return. It was imperative that we reach the base before it got dark. So we retraced our steps to the best of our abilities as the path had no markers to guide us. By 1530 Hrs we reached the base without any incident and we were relieved. Just as we were going back we spotted the middle aged guys having lunch. They invited us to join and we accepted the offer gratefully. To our tired and hungry bodies this was heaven sent. The lunch comprised rice and dal with mutton fry. It was lip smacking. And a perfect finish to our grueling trek of 6 hrs. 

The Chota Masjid as its called

View from the steps of the Masjid

Here's a short video I made of the trek. Enjoy! 

Chandragiri Fort, Andhra Pradesh.

Chandragiri is a small village 15kms away from Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.This small nondescript village doesn't attract many serious travelers and is frequented mainly by the local populace.But there was a time in History when this place and its fort held much significance.After the defeat of the mighty Vijayanagara Empire in the Battle of Talikota, the Vijayanagara Kings shifted their capital from Hampi to first Penukonda and then again to Chandragiri. Built in the 11th century its years of prominence were from 1367,when it came under the Vijayanagar Empire till 1792 when it slowly faded into obscurity.   

Now it lies silently amidst the barren lands surrounding it, coming alive only on weekends when throngs of people swarm its corridors oblivious of its history and only interested in the park surrounding it.

A few days back I visited this place from Nellore. I took a RTC bus from the RTC Bus stand in the city to reach  Tirupati.It took 3 hours for this part. From Tirupati I boarded another bus which dropped me in the small nondescript village of Chandragiri after a brief journey of 30 mins.

From the village one has to walk a few hundred metres to the fort complex. It was a Sunday and just a few metres away the road was lined up with cars on both the sides which was a bit unexpected. I don't like crowds and on top of that this was a crowd here not for the fort but for the park. Anyway I resigned to my fate and walked in.There is a ticket counter for entry. The fort complex has two palaces and a park near the point of entry but sadly access to the actual fort on the top of the hill is restricted, I have no idea why.Of the two palaces the first is called the Raja Mahal and the other is called, you guessed it, the Rani Mahal.

Raja Mahal
The Raja Mahal is a beautiful structure with three floors of arched windows on the front and a gopuram like structure on the top.It now houses a museum.The museum has nothing much to look at except a couple of sections. The first section which I liked was the Document section. There were a few documents from the 1810s detailing the correspondence between the then king and a British officer. It was fascinating to look at.Then there was the Coins section which had many Vijaynagara coins on display. Apart from these, other interesting displays were a full chain mail and a model of the Chandragiri Fort complex. After looking at the objects with interest and looking at the people with disgust I made my way out of the museum and headed over to the Rani Mahal.

Rani Mahal
The Rani Mahal looked as if the builder of the complex put his all efforts in the Raja Mahal and when the time came to build the Rani Mahal, lost all his interest. The front of the structure is plain and bland. I walked towards it hoping that maybe the inside will be better but I was disappointed. The moment I entered I found myself at the end. Thats how small that is. Reminded me of Munnabhai's Circuit's famous dailogue 'ye to shuru hote hi khatam hogaya'. I sat here on the grass on the other side of the building and took some much needed rest. The sun was shining relentlessly on the whole time and I was soaked wet with sweat.I saw a lot of couples here looking for privacy. I left soon not wanting to spoil these couples' 'quality' time and wandered over to the quiet canteen at the corner of the complex.

I had some snacks here and a bottle of Fanta. After spending some nice quiet time here I left when some noisy uncles and aunties entered. After spending some 3 hours in the complex I left .

Boating facility for the visitors

Chandragiri was a part of my 7 day trip I had planned during my Engineering Days which couldn't materialize due to lack of availability friends. Since those days a lot of things have changed and I have took to Solo traveling. I was glad I could visit one of the places from that unfinished trip. Still have many places to cover.

Notes
Where- Chandragiri Village near Tirupati,India
How to Reach - A lot of RTC buses pass by this small village.

Jagityal Fort,Andhra Pradesh

Unknown to most people, even people form Jagtiyal itself,there is a fort in Jagtiyal.

Built by the French during the 18th century,This is the only fort I saw with the entrance still having a bridge on the moat.

But access to the fort is only through another point.

Malangoor Fort,Andhra Pradesh

40km from Karimnagar lies the little known Mallangoor Fort.Information regarding this Fort on internet is almost nil.I read about this fort in The Imperial Gazetteer of India,1910 edition.

I was really interested and told Kiran to find out about this fort among the locals in Karimnagar.We knew about its location and the means to go there from one of kiran's friend.And one fine day we set out for it..Most of the fort is in ruins. 

Climbing this fort was the hardest among all the other forts I visited

Contrary to our expectations there were many local people here.












A small Video I made of the Trip

Bhongir Fort,Andhra Pradesh

Kondapalli Fort,Vijayawada,Andhra Pradesh

day 3--
As it was my plan to visit kondapalli fort ,so i got up first early in the morning at 5am.After i got ready,i woke up p and afterward swat ,sumant and lastly akram got ready.We were on the road by 7 05am,just 5 mins behind our planed schedule(which was quite an achievement considering akram).We went to the bus sation and after some inquiries we boared a bus to kondapalli village.The bus dropped us at the main road from where a samll road led towards the villagen and the fort.The sun was out in the sky and was beating down hard on us.It was a long walk and on reaching the vilaage we had some drinks and as akram's bag was the heaviest,we kept it in a shop.We bought some snacks and drinks and after getting the directions from the locals we started on the path. I read that it was a 1 km trek uphill to reach it,but nobody wrote how hard it would be on a hot and humid day.The path was lined with stones.

It looked ancient but i dont know who laid it and when.We had to take four stops in between for rest,as the heat was proving too much for us.We were drenched with sweat by the time we reached the fort. I forgot all else as soon as i laid my eyes on the arched hall,it was beautiful,not like in the black and white pictures i saw. I read so much about this fort and its history and to see it in person was an exhilarating experiance.As we entered the fort complex, to the left of us was a lake nestled between two hills.The most striking point of this fort is that,it is located between two mountain peaks,unlike the golconda or the elgandal fort,the fort itself is not on the highest point,it is in between two tall mountains.To the right (inside the complex) is the main arched hall,the face of this fort.As we made our way inside,we saw two boards declaring two wide open spaces to be the diwan-e-aam and diwan-e-khas.The diwan-e-aam ,the court for the general public and the diwan-e-khass for the courtiers. Next came the narket yard.Neverbefore did i see a market yard of the olden times.It was systematic in the shape of a square,with walled spaces or cubicles for the shops at the perimter of the square.Personally, i liked the marketyard the most of all the structures we saw.From the marketyard we moved on to the the rani mahal and the raja mahal.Nothing was left of them, just there were only ruins left now.As we strolled along ,we reached the toop khana and the royal jail.Both were imposing and had the dungeons look about them.Sounds of bats squealing prevented us from going inside.Behind the toop khana,there was an excellent viewpont.


There were some cement chairs there ,but with the scorching sun beating down upon us,we couldnt stand there for a long time let alone sit.The view there was good.We made our way back and saw the dancing hall at the entrance,before we settled down under a banyan tree overlooking the lake i mentioned before.We had some snacks and drinks before we left the fort.Fortunately for us there was an auto waiting in the parking area and we found out that there was a motorable road.That road was an astonishing 6km from the top.The problem with the road was that it takes you away from the base of the fort or the village and drops you many kilometres away from the village.We had akram's bag in the village so we talked the autodriver into taking us there and he reluctantly agreed.We reached there and after taking akrams bag, we went to a shop selling the famous kondapalli toys.(at last i found them and i was determined i would bring back some as souvenirs). p and swat bought some ganesh idols and swat bought a big beautiful fan.I bought a hand fan and a candle holder. After our purchases we walked back to the main road .Just as we emerged on to the main road , a manuguru bus was approaching .so akram and swat boarded it.P, sumant and myself went back to the bus station where we had another one of those finger licking andhra meals.After that hearty meal,p boarded a bus to tenali and sumant and myself catched a bus to hyderabad.Sumant got off at suryapet.Thus ended a wonderful weekend trip for which i was longing for a long time.

Warangal and Karimnagar(Elagandal Fort)

posts from my group blog www.falconsclub.blogspot.com
date-Monday, March 8, 2010
Just came back from warangal yesterday.we wanted to attend nit sprinspree fest in

NIT warangal. so abhishek came to hyderabad on thursady.the two of us left for warangal early on friday and reached the nit campus by 11am.kiran was waiting for us there along with his cousin.we were wandering around the campus(it was veryyy bigg) when we met our classmate modini ,who is studying at nit warangal.she guided us and soon we got registered for the events. i wanted to take part in theme based a quiz and kiran, abhishek and his cousin went for essay writing.none of us won any prizes though.well it doesnt matter right.participating is more important than winning isnt it?(and no it's not a case of sour grapes).well my brother was also attending a workshop.we spent our evening together and at 8pm we(abhishek,kiran and me) left for jagityal,near karinmnagr where kiran stays.we reached at 1200 in the night.having got refreshed ,we made plans for the next day and soon fell asleep.we got up at 9am the next morning.after getting ready for the day,kiran took us on a bike ride around jagityal,he showed us the clock tower , among other things.our plan for the day was to visit elagandal fort near karinmnagar.we boarded a bus for karimnagar.from there took a bus to sircilla. we enquired about the fort to the
conductor.he gave us the directions and soon dropped us at apoint,from he told us to take a particular road .on taking note of the surrounding it looked as if we were in a desert.we could only some houses here and there scattered around barren land.the horizon was dominated by small gruops of hills.we started on the road which looked as if it lead to nowhere.we could not see what directly lay ahead of us as a hill was in the way. after walking for some time we came around the hill and to our delight we could see the elagandal fort in the distance.this renewed our energy and we stared briskly again.but again, as it was 1 o clock in the afternoon,the sun ovwerhead was burning . it felt as if we were walking on a pan.luckily for us an auto was approaching from behind. we took it and reached elagandal fort in about 10
minutes.whatever i read about the fort in websites,i found out,didnt do justice to the fort.the entrance itself was imposing.to our surprise we found that we had to take a ticket.this meant that our govt was taking care of the structure. i felt good abt it.we took the tickets along wth a bottle of sprite and made our
way inside the fort.we started climbing the fort and somewhere we didnt know at that time, we took a wrong turn.we went on and on in this direction until we hit a dead end .by this time we were famished.the hot sun didnt help.i wasnt sad though coz we saw some beautiful sights and things that normally others dont see.we retraced our steps back till we found the right track.we follwed the track and reached the top
in a matter of 15 minutes .we had to climb a lot of steps though.at the top of the hill there was a masjid and a temple.we spent some time here taking pics and enjoing the views.we were the only odd people here as others were all couples who came here for the privcy it offered.so we left quickly and at the base
took another auto right to karimnagar.from here we took a bus to warangal.we reached nit campus by 7pm and joined my brother. we then trotted off to the stadium where there was to be a group dance competioion. it started by 9pm and went on till 1130.barring 2or 3 all the performances were awesome.at around 1am abhishek,my brother and myself took a bus bound for hyderabad and kiran took a bus to jagityal.thus ended a memorable weekend.