Rehmangarh/Kaivara Fort

Though we were aware of the presence of two mighty forts between Kaiwara and Chintamani, there was always an uncertainty of the sheer existence of these forts as very little or no information was available   on the internet. This made us more curious to explore and one Sunday, it was time to do the same.  We headed towards Kaivara in search of these forts.

Update:- Now this trek is under Karnataka Eco tourism managed by Karnataka Forest Department and can be booked from their website and is charged Rupees 250 per head. 

Rehmangarh Fort

Our first stop was a small tiffin centre at the entrance of Kaivara. After having a sumptuous breakfast, we inquired the owner of the hotel about the fort. He had absolutely no idea about any fort around. When we later pointed towards the hill on which the fortification was vaguely visible, he smiled sarcastically saying that the route to the fort was no longer accessible and nobody goes there now-a-days and is completely abandoned. Additionally, he mentioned that we would not make it there. On asking him why he said so, he replied that though there is a route to reach the fort, no one including the locals dares to do that.  His concern towards us was understandable. But, we would never give up! Once we know there was a route, we were determined to trek up and reach the fort.  . He then challenged us saying that we will not be able to climb that hill and suppose we did, then he would offer us free lunch in his hotel!  This was a real bonus, an exciting adventure plus free meals. It was a challenge to us now to capture the fort! And so we headed quickly towards the hill following his directions. 

The Path thru Forest

The Fort Wall

The Gateway

Tippu Drop

The View from Tippu Drop

We reached the entrance of a mini-zoo-park maintained by the Karnataka Forest Department. The forest guard there was quite surprised by us when we inquired about the directions to the fort, and advised us not to venture there and if we wished to do so, we could at our own risk. He was not too convinced with our decision to move ahead since the route was not safe and difficult to climb and showed his concern for us.  After a brief chat, he agreed and told us to return by 3 pm. We paid the nominal fee for entering the park and proceeded further. From here began our search for the first fort.  Fortunately or unfortunately, he gave u no directions while we proceeded as though we knew the route to the fort! We made our own way until we reached a path that looked like a shepherd’s route.  The ascent hereon was quite easy and pleasant. Within no time we reached the top of the first hill from where the fort was at a striking distance. We found a way towards the fort and started walking. The rest of the climb was simple and plain.

Ruined Structure and Water pond

Lord Veerabhadra Swamy Temple

The Fort Ruins

Lone Microwave Station

The fort was built by local Palegars and later improved by the Tippu Sultan. This conspicuous hill fort rises to a height of 4200 feet above sea level. There is a temple dedicated to Lord Veerabhadra Swamy and a small pond of water besides.  A point on the edge of the hill was served as a place to kill the sinner by Tippu, who dropped them from that high point. It reminded us of Tippu drop of Nandi Hills. Not many structures remain on the fort apart from a few ruined ones.  The strong and lonely fort walls have many stories buried within them. The different views from atop the hill were mesmerizing but for us, the most striking one was that of a hill higher than this with a fort like structure.   After resting a while, we started our descent and reached the park that housed a small zoo having nothing more than rabbits, swans and peacocks.  Though the premises have been fairly maintained, we felt a little extra care needs to be put in by the concerned.  The guard became friendlier once we returned and spoke to us calmly.  Very surprisingly, he was not aware of the exact name the hill carried and quoted names like Kaivara fort, Anegundi fort, Tippu drop, Permachanahalli fort, etc. We headed directly to the shop situated right opposite to the park and quenched our thirst drinking some refreshing mango juice.  The lady at the shop was shocked and said most of the people who get in to climb up the hill return after trekking half way.  Now the time had come to redeem our reward of a free meal and reached the hotel.  The challenger had a broad smile on his face and was not ready to believe we had actually done it. We had to convince him by showing a few clicks of the fort as proof.  Very kindly, he offered us lunch while we thanked him and moved on.

The View

Bird's Eye View of B C Road

At the Tippu Drop

 How to reach Kaiwara/Kaivara: Bangalore - NH75 - Hoskote - SH 82 - H Cross Continue further till Kaivara cross - Left turn - Kaivara towards Kaivara zoo (Fort is inside this Zoo). About 70 Km from Bangalore.
The hunt for the second fort begins…..

Quite Inviting

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1. 101 interesting Places to Visit around Bangalore

2. Fort Hulukudi

3. Paparajanahalli Fort

Ambajidurga/chintamani Fort

Caution: An entry to this hill is strictly restricted and a board instructing the same has been put up in order to prevent people venturing into this hill. Updated: As per the comments by Umesh Sir and Sudhakar, the restrictions have been removed and people can visit this place.

Good Morning Ambajidurga

          Ambajidurga, the second fort we were on a look out for, between Kaivara and Chintamani, seemed so near yet so far way. Ambajidurga is situated atop a hill adjacent to the very well known cave temple of kailashgiri and the temple authorities have banned the entry to this hill fort owing to the unfortunate incidents that have taken place here a few years ago. long back, during our visit to Kailashgiri, we had inquired about Ambajidurga and temple authorities  simply denied its presence and refused to give any information, only saying that Ambajidurga was another name given to Kailashgiri. When we told them that the fortification on the neighboring hill was clearly visible and insisted on details about the fort, they replied that there was no route to the hill and no one can go there. So we did not bother much about it, and thought we will explore this place when the time is right. This day was not too far from the day that we conquered Rehmangarh! We were much eager to conquer Ambajidurga. We reached the spot from where the hill base from where fortification was clearly visible. An old lady who stopped by told us about the route to the hill top and gave us directions. We were glad that a route to the hill top existed and went ahead following her directions. The hill was gigantic and we looked too small in comparison to its massive size.

First tier of the Fort

Lord Hanuman Temple and The Fort Wall

Broken Gateway Arch

   Overnight rains had made the path slippery, but that didn’t matter much to us as we were engrossed in the thought of reaching the fort. Our initial climb was a little tricky as after reaching a certain point, we realized we were heading in a wrong direction. We halted and to changed our course of climb and headed in the right direction. After a few minutes of trek, we reached the first tier of the fort on the first hill (or the lower hill) and rested here for a while. Later, a short walk lead us to the  top of the first hill which was an open plain land having a temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman and a few fort ruins. We were able to view the fortification on the upper hill but found no specific route. After investigating, we finally decided to make our own path and succeeded in our venture within no time.  We were at the fort entrance, and had a bird’s eye view of the surroundings including the now dwarfed fort of Rehmangarh.

Fort Entrance and Rehmangarh

Water Tank

Lord Shiva Temple

  The hill rises to about 4400 ft above mean sea level and was initially fortified by the local Palegars, which was then rebuilt by Tippu and finally fell into the hands of the British. There is a small temple atop the hill dedicated to Lord Shiva and a few ruined structures and water tanks. We were quite happy for having explored this fort too. We spent some time at the top and started to descend slowly and carefully down the hill. Our descent was a little tiring but calm, until we heard a person standing at the hill base shouting and signaling us to come down quickly. Initially, we thought of him to be a shepherd boy   calling out to his cattle, but later realized he was indeed waiting for us! Once we reached the base, he literally started shouting at us asking whose permission we had taken in order to go to the fort and my wife retaliated saying, we had inquired and only at the old lady’s suggestions, we decided to climb as she had not warned us about any restrictions. While he forced us to accompany him to the temple authorities, we insisted him on showing his identity card and if he did, we would surely go with him. Somewhere, we thought he was boasting about himself being a guard to the hill we had just explored. He argued saying there was a big board put up right at the entry point which strictly restricted any further entry. Truly, we were not aware of such a board. There was an exchange of words between him and us, and on demanding him to show where the board was put up, he took us a little away from where we started our trek and alas! There was the board! We told him that we had taken the path present much before this board and therefore had missed seeing it. We also questioned him about his absence during the time of our entry at the starting point. If he were to be a guard, he should have done his duty and cautioned us. We would have not ventured further at all. Finally a person associated with the Kailashgiri temple management who by chance had come to pick him, spoke to us and warned us in a rough tone saying that the place we had just ventured was really not safe and we shouldn’t have gone so far. On saying that we were not really aware of the board as it was put up in a wrong place and  since we had already made a safe return, there was no use of telling us now not to have ventured. There was an exchange of words again. It was slightly upsetting as this was the first time we had encountered such a rude behavior. Though our conversation ended sourly, we were quite happy that we had already explored the fort before they came and realized we would have missed so much, just in case destiny had taken us on the route towards that board! 

Lord Hanuman

 Mt Kailashgiri

Dwarfed Rehmangarh

Kissing the Clouds

     This was our dual-fort-adventure that ended with destiny being on our side. With both the regions being popular tourist spots, it’s quite hard to believe the fact that these hills are actually unsafe. We personally did not feel so, but who knows. Many places in Kolar district are considered unsafe, including the Antharagange hills. 

Anchettydurgam Fort, Krishnagiri - Unravelling the Past

Anchetty is a well-known destination located on the route to Hogenakkal waterfalls. However, we were pretty sure that this place had no fort as we have traveled quite a few times along the same route. A visit to "Anchettydurgam" however remained pending for a long time. While researching for Anchettydurgam on the net, I realized it has nothing to do with Anchetty, and is situated much closer to Bengaluru. On a late Sunday morning we decided to explore this place and little did we know that this place was going to unravel its past. Not much of the history of this place is known or available on the internet. The fortification here is similar to that at 'Balagondarayanadurgam', and was probably built during the period of Ankushagiri Palegars. Later, it fell into the hands of Tippu and finally the British in 1799. This fort acted as a military outpost to Kelamangalam.

Anchettydurgam Fort

 Thanks to the wonderful weather that day, we were able to start our trek late. This being a small hill we were able to trek slowly and enjoy the place to the fullest. At the outset, this place seemed like a prehistoric site. But surprisingly it does not find its mention in the Archaeological sites of Krishnagiri. There are two temples in the village of Anchettydurgam dedicated to Lord Shiva and Goddess Mallamma probably built during the same time as the fort. Walking through the small lanes of this village, we reached the base of the hill fort from where the path led us to the top of this hill. The trail is pretty simple and remains of fortification were quite evident. Most of the gateways here are of a much simpler type and sadly remain damaged.

Ruined Mandapa

Rock Cut Steps

Under the Rock

Meditating

 We inspected every rock for the presence of any kind of rock art. Unfortunately, we weren't successful and there were many such probable rock sites that were out of reach for exploration.  Once we passed by the second gateway, we came across a small cave temple which consisted of many small stones that represented the local guardian deities of the village. We came across debris of pottery all through our trek, most of which belonged to the historic era except for a few. Some carried interesting design patterns on them along with others that had color. We reached the third entrance on either side which were present carvings of Lords Anjaneya and Garuda. The artwork was simple and seemed quite different.

Ramparts

Layers of History

Stairway

Third Gateway to the Fort

 Hereon the trail turned interesting and at one spot, we felt that this place was a prehistoric settlement. Though dating it will be a very difficult task, some of the stones found here resembled prehistoric man-made tools, especially that used as a hand axe. Also spread across the site were many pieces of pottery. However, it is quite difficult to ascertain whether they belong to the historic or pre-historic period.  This place needs a thorough investigation and should be excavated for further details. We inspected the nearby rocks for any carvings but found none. Further from here, we reached the top tier of the fort where there was a small temple-like enclosure on our right. We decided to check it out. There were seven stones lined up next to each other. To our surprise, five out of the seven stones closely resembled polished hand axes belonging to the Neolithic period. Thus indicating that prehistoric people indeed lived here. Hence a scientific study of this site needs to be carried out and this place needs protection.

Neolithic Polished Stone Hand Axes

Lord Shiva Temple, Anchettydurgam

Clear Water Pond

Keep Me Clean

There was a small rock at the top which had a carving of Lord Hanuman, most likely carved in recent years. We could find many stones of different colors and shapes along our way and this sight left us puzzled. We wondered about what they could be and how could they get there!? Many such questions kept us engaged while we reached a small temple on the peak of this hill, dedicated to Lord Shiva. This temple is believed to have been built during the Chola reign and has undergone renovations during the Palegars' rule. We rested for some time here at the top, while I was scanning around the area to find out if I could spot any area of interest. Overall, a beautiful and serene place to explore. Thus completing another adventure.

Colorful

Fort and the Farm

Zebra Blue Butterfly (Leptotes plinius fabricus)

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Reference:
1. Madras State Gazetteer - Salem    

Udedurgam Fort, Krishnagiri - History with Mystery

'Ooria-Durgam' is one of the 12 forts that constituted the 'Baramahal' (the earlier name of Krishnagiri). Locating this place with the name of 'Ooria-Durgam' was quite a difficult task for us as the Google search engine failed to show any results for the same. However, I came across an article that mentioned that Ooria-Durgam was the erstwhile name of Hudedurgam, and is today being called as Udedurgam. Udedurgam is a nondescript village near Kelamangala and we reached this place without much difficulty. The fortification on the hill was quite evident and when we drove in its direction, we missed a right turn and went further. After realizing that we were heading in the wrong direction, we inquired with a passerby and tracing back as per his instructions, reached the missed turning point. On finding it inappropriate to drive, we took the available deviation and reached a dead-end, where we found an elderly person involved in his farm chores. When asked about the route to the hill of Udedurgam, he kindly replied by telling us to park our vehicle under good shade after which he volunteered to accompany us till the start of the trail from where the route seemed clear and the ascent quite comfortable. He was a very interesting and joyful person, hailing from the state of Andhra and having settled here long ago.  Since he spoke the language of Telugu, our communication with him was easier.

Udedurgam Fort, Krishnagiri

The pattern on the Rock

 As we started walking towards the hill, I happened to notice a structure similar to the prehistoric stone circle and Bingo! I was indeed right! It turned out to be a prehistoric cairn circle. 'Cairn Circles' are a type of megalithic burials, which was constructed using rough boulders with cairn/ urn packing at its center. It turns out very difficult to date these structures and can be roughly assigned to a period anywhere between 2000 B.C.E to 500 B.C.E. Only a proper and systematic study can help reveal the exact or the closest date. Sighting a cairn circle only doubled our excitement as it seemed to be a perfect ' History with Mystery ' kind of exploration. Many hidden secrets were waiting to be discovered. We continued to walk towards the hill and were welcomed by a ruined fort gateway. It was also pleasing to witness some portions of the fortification intact. The environs here had an endless vista of hills and valleys apart from its history/ pre-history. It looked like a place where every layer of history remained evident and exposed.

History with Mystery

Megalithic Stone Circle

Butter Ball

 This place may have been inhabited from a very long time back, as tools found here belong to different periods - the Neolithic, Mesolithic period, and Megalithic periods. The site is perfect for carrying out pre-historic studies, as it is quite evident from the environs that it is a perfect place for pre-historic human settlement. The ascent was pretty much straightforward and easy. It was a first for our youngest trek partner Ms.Diya who took it up on her own and trekked covering a decent distance. However, this was just her beginning and she proved to be a good learner! After some time, we reached a big boulder that carried a painting of Lord Hanuman. A little further was another gateway with much of its fortification intact, after which the terrain turned flat. We passed by a small water pond and a little further from here was a damaged structure that looked like a room, probably constructed during the British period. We continued to explore this region and stumbled upon another intact stone circle! Simply wow! This sighting deviated us from following the original route as we spent some time exploring this area. However, we were unable to find anything apart from a few ruins of the fort. We returned to our trail and spotted a big stepped water tank or Kalyani that remained empty.

A Water Pond

Young Trekker Leading the Way

Bless Me "Lord Anjaneya"

Lovely Vista

 We continued our climb and came across the third gateway, which eventually led to the topmost tier of the fort. Atop the hill were two temples dedicated to Lords Hanuman and Shiva. While the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is at the summit, at a much lower elevation is the temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman. While the Shiva Linga seems to belong to a period much older than the fort, the temple structure belongs to the 15th and 16th centuries. The temples were surrounded by many water ponds which remained clean. Many broken pieces of pottery were seen fallen all over the place, probably belonging to the historic era of the 15- 16th century CE.  Although not much history is known about this place, it is very clear that the fort existed much before the 16th century. Later during the third Mysore war, Tippu garrisoned this fort and surrendered it to the British in 1791. After the peace treaty between them, the fort was returned to Tippu. Finally, in 1799 it fell into the hands of the British and was annexed to the Madras state.

Lord Anjaneya Temple, Udedurgam

Lord Shiva Temple, Udedurgam

Panoramic View 

Om Namah Shivaya

The view from atop the hill was simply magnificent and the lovely moving clouds added the required glamour. We could spot various other forts from the hilltop, some of which are Ratnagiri, Rayakottai, Anchettydurgam, Krishnagiri, and many such. After having the snacks and bananas that we had carried, we spent a good amount of time at the top. The surroundings seemed to have many hidden mysteries. We spotted a cave that resembled a shelter for prehistoric humans and hence wished to check it out. However, we could not find any trace of prehistoric humans. The place may have been used by the soldiers who guarded the area. We then headed towards our parked vehicle. We greeted Mr. Venkatesh, the person who had guided us in the morning,  and thanked him. It was lunchtime and he insisted we join them for lunch. We were hesitant initially as we had to return home and the weather was extremely hot, but later agreed to join them as we were hungry. And we were pleased to have joined them for lunch. It was one of the best lunches we have had, sitting under the canopy of tamarind trees and amidst people with big hearts, who were more than happy to feed our children and us by sharing their food. The elderly man also gave us the freshly harvested beans and tomatoes from his farm. Finally, we bade goodbye, after thanking them. Exploring Udedurgam was an amazing experience overall. Another day, another adventure!

Cave Bunker

The Lost Wood

Forts of Krishnagiri:
1. Thattakaldurgam 
2. Krishnagiri 
3. Jagadevi 
4. Ratnagiri 
5. Balagondarayanadurga
6. Maharajakadai
7. Rayakottai 
8. Periyamalai
9. Ankushagiri 
10. Anchettydurgam
11. Thrayandurgam

12. Nagamalai 

13. Shoolagiri 

14. Veerabhadradurga

References:
1. Madras state gazetteer - Salem
2. Archaeology of Krishnagiri District