Well i had been covering forts in the tumkur district and one major fort eluded me in my quest -Madhugiri fort.After Nijagal, Devarayandurga, Channarayandurga, Midigeshi and Madakasira,finally Madhugiri is conquered :)
I parked my vehicle in front of the fort which coincidentally also houses a court complex.Started the trek @ 8:30 am.The climb is relatively easy and made good ground.
At the first level of the fort,one can spot a huge kalyani which is now dry unfortunately.There are some interesting rooms -the entry to which is dificult since there is some thick undergrowth.However i managed to check out these places.They seems to be massive granaries -since the there were no doors to these places ,except for a small opening for one person to enter.
The huge watchtower near the granary is simply majestic.As one climbs this watch tower ,one feels like a king literally :).Proceeding from here ,one has to climb a series of steps carved out of the rocks.The iron railings are missings/worn out and there are none now.The steep climb from here ,leads to a place which is the trickiest part of the fort.
One has to be very careful,since this climb to the entrance to the next level of the fort ,might be fatal if one slips from here.Meanwhile i noticed a few abonded footwear and i assumed somebody should be on the fort.While climbing this stretch it is advised that one climbs with barefoot.
After reaching level 2,the steps vanish,all that remains is faint carved steps in the rocks which again is very slippery.Thinking that i might be very near to the summit i reached the next level 3.Again the entrance to the place is a bit tricky and slippery.I reached this place thinking that i had reached the summit when i heard some voices,it turned out some local people had climbed the fort ahead of me and they were returning back.They posed for the snaps and i carried on.From here it becomes even tricker where one has to climb only on steep rockface.Due to rains recently there was some algae around and i had my heart in my mouth.
Finally i managed to reach the level 4 and the topmost level of the fort.Spent about half an hour clicking snaps and resting which is when i realised that during my climb i hadnt drank any water :) .Quickly had some water since i was very thirsty by then.I had delayed drinking water thinking everytime that the summit was just around the corner.
I climbed down slowly by around 11:30 am ,on the way i saw many people climbing up the fort.The climbdown-i enjoyed the gentle breeze blowing and took multiple breaks to enjoy the view from the fort.
I also liked the court complex below,which also houses a watch tower :).One the way back i decided to visit Kaidala
To be continued..
The main vigraha of Lord Channakeshava is quite impressive.Legend has it that famous sculptor -Jakkanachari had built this impressive vigraha in his left hand.
