Rock Climbing Series: Channarayanadurga, a lesser known hill fort

-

 

Overview: Talking about offbeat trekking destinations around Bangalore, we came across Channarayanadurga, a hill fort built by Hyder Ali just opposite to the Madhugiri fort. It is a bit tricky to reach this place with not many signboards leading to this place from the main road. We reached the base of the hill late in the morning and started climbing even as the sun was beating down. We realised that it was not a perfect day for trekking and hiking. The trek is not a very difficult one on a normal day with steps carved out of rocks at some places. At one place it is very steep but not comparable to Madhugiri. On the top of the fort we have a small Ganesha temple which is in ruins. There is also a small pond where some kids were playing. Cool winds blowing at the top did a lot to soothe our souls. This fort, even though in proper condition after so many years, deserves to be promoted more and should be developed as a tourist destination.
         

How to reach: Bus: KSRTC buses ply from Bangalore to Madhuguri regularly. Also Private buses are available from Kalasipalyam to Madhugiri. From Madhugiri, hire a private vehicle to reach Channarayanadurga.
By Car: Travel towards Tumkur road NH4. At Dobaspet, turn right towards Madhugiri. At Koratagere, turn right and watch out for signboard pointing to Siddarabetta. Turn left towards Siddarabetta and after a few kilometers, ask for directions to Channarayanadurga. The road leading to the right goes to Channarayanadurga.
Food/Accommodation: Its advisable to carry food from home as there are no proper restaurants on the way. The nearest restaurant is in Dobaspete (Kamat Upachar).
Map:
View Larger Map

Comments

  1. Ramakrishnan5 July 2012 at 19:48

    Magnificent fort and historically significant. Lovely views from the top.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Drifter5 July 2012 at 22:03

    Good Photos.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ರಾಜೇಶ್ ನಾಯ್ಕ5 July 2012 at 22:06

    Nice to see a fort which is intact. Nice shots of the place.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Vineeta Yashswi6 July 2012 at 13:12

    Wow... me too wanna go there...

    ReplyDelete
  5. R Niranjan Das6 July 2012 at 15:00

    Lovely fort with great views from the top. Nice find Arun.

    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2012/07/night-safari.html

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sudhir R9 July 2012 at 17:59

    Reminds me of the hill fort in Bellary- my native. Majestic I should say

    ReplyDelete
  7. jagadish31 July 2012 at 23:43

    hiii it is a really good place to visit i have been there atleast 6-7 times it reminds me of the good old days lovely but there so many unsloved mysteries around this place but the govt has not taken any measures to safe guard the place

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

North Indian Sojourn-1 (Agra & Delhi)

-
Image
  Overview: Killing time for 4 days on a long weekend was definitely not going well with me. So suddenly decided to make some quick travel plans. Being brought up in Chandigarh for over 20 years, I wanted to refresh my childhood memories with my wife and moreover she had not been to North India. With all resorts booked around Bangalore and no bus reservations available, we decided to take a plunge on the long distance route. My wife, being a tatkal reservation expert :), booked tickets from Bangalore to Delhi for 25th Dec, and the return trip by flight from Delhi to Bangalore for 4th Jan. My job was to fill the itinerary between these days. I wanted to cover as many places as possible, chalked out a plan for that. Below are the details of the trip: Day 0-2: We had to catch the 12649 Sampark Kranti express from Yesvantpur at 22:10 hrs on 25th Dec. Luckily we got the tatkal reservation done, thanks to my wife for that. The train took around 36 hours to reach H.Nizamuddin station pass
Read more

Specialties from Districts of Karnataka

-
Image
Overview: In a post-Covid world, people will not wish to travel far and wide pretty soon. However, they may wish to explore some good places in their neighborhood. While its very good to visit local attraction, its great if one can help buy local crafts and local food to help the artisans and boost the economy. Highlighting the specialties from each district of Karnataka: 1. Bagalkot: Aminagad in Hungund taluk is famous for a sweet savoury Karadantu, made out of edible gum, dry fruits and jaggery. Guledagudda Khana is a unique textile, and is a 4000 year old fabric, and is handloomed in the small town of Guledagudda. Ilkal sari is a traditional form of sari which is a common feminine wear in India. Ilkal saris are woven using cotton warp on the body and art silk warp for border and art silk warp for pallu portion of the sari. Amingad Kardant Shop Ilkal Saree Weaver 2. Bangalore Rural: Bangalore Rose Onion, having a GI indicator, is grown in 16 taluks of Bengaluru rural.
Read more

Chikkajala & Srinivasa Sagara: Forgotten places amidst developing infrastructure

-
Image
  Overview: I read about a place called Srinivasa Sagara which is a lake near Chikkaballapur and comes lively in monsoon as the water falls from the reservoir when it overflows. I couldn't get much details on this place on the web, so I decided to club it with Chikkajala fort and Akkayyamma hill. 1) Chikkajala Fort: Though nothing is clearly known about this fort, this fort is believed to have been since Hoysalas and then used by Tipu Sultan. But now its in a total mess and nothing much remains out of it. We saw that fort which lies on NH7, then we went inside Chikkajala to the hill of Akkayyamma. It looked beautiful with cloudy weather and was pleasant and there were not many steps leading to the top. We went into the temple, had darshan of the Goddess and rested next to it. There are a lot of pillars on the hill which are believed to be built more than 1000 years ago. Kodigehalli, which is not very far from here, has been a center of exploration by the archaeologists and they
Read more