Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Channa Rayana Durga - A Panorama

Channa Rayana Durga (Fort) is a beautiful backdrop of a village near Madhugiri in Tumkur district. It is at a distance of 85 kms from Bangalore. As per the history, this fort belong to the Maratha rulers and then got transitioned back and forth to the Mysore Wodeyars. Most of the fort is in ruins without anybody to take care of the same. There are some old structures, huge pond and some temples that are worth seeing. The hillock is a monolith and it is a nice place for a small trek. There are not many tourists who visit the place and hence the place is free of litter and looks neat. Blue sky as a backdrop for these lovely rocks is a treat to watch. Here are some of the panoramic shots from the fort. 

(Click on the photographs to enlarge them)

Older structures that are in ruins all along the way (Looking South)

Backdrop of the mountain ranges around Madhugiri. This one among the nine forts.

Beautiful blue sky as a backdrop for these lovely rock mountains are a treat for sure (Looking South)

Dried yellow grass and many cactus plants on the way to the fort (Looking East)

Lovely rock formations (Looking West)
The fort stands on this huge monolith. (Looking East)

The fort atop the hill, watch tower to the right (Looking West)

The huge (or small) pond which never dries up even in summer. (Looking North)

Watch towers and the older structures are stronger to this day. (Looking NE)

Entry door to the fort. And there are many such doors in the fort.

Many such mantaps decorate the fort landscape. And they are the best places to rest. 

Looks like very old dried up well/tank. Wonder why they had built this.

The best view of the rocks and the fort from here. 

Channa Rayana Durga village at the base with the backdrop of lovely ranges of rocky mountains

2013 (C) Srikanth Parthasarathy

3 comments:

MEROPS said...

That's a nice photo-journey of the fort ! Looks like a great place !!
:)

Manju Mohanadas said...

Nice!!:)Feeling quite nostalgic! :)
Was a lot greener when we visited in Sept though.
Did you guys get inside the highest structure? Where the brick structure is pretty much intact?
We all need to go camping there! :)

Narasim said...

You have captured the bleak beauty in all its ravages. Great pics.

The photograph that I liked most is the seventh from top, with the watch tower to the right. The fort on top appears like a special effect in a Hollywood film.

The photograph that is a mystery is the brick and mortar "well", third from bottom. Wonder whether it was for storage of grain.