Channarayana Durga Fort, Best Day Trekking Spot Near Bengaluru

First Look of the Fort of Channarayana Durga

This was our fourth attempt to reach Channarayana Durga and finally we made it. Every time we thought of exploring this place, we would find some other place intriguing. Hence, it would always be the first to be considered during our next trip. This happened thrice because of which we ended up discovering  Heggunda , Mahimapura and  a few places at Tumkur . Finally, when we arrived at this place, we were shocked to see such a magnificent structure on the hill top.

Channarayana Durga Fort

 "Channarayanadurga" is a small village situated in Koratagere Taluk , Tumkur. It's major attraction being the hill fort. The height of the hill is around 3700 ft above MSL . This fort was built by Madhugiri chief  Channappa Gauda during the 17th century and  then captured by  the Marathas. Some years later, they were able to recapture this fort . But, it did not last long. It was then captured by Komaraiyya,  the general of  the King of Mysore. Later, it was captured by Haider Ali and again , the Marathas, under Madhava Rao  took in charge of the fort .Later, it was the turn of Tippu Sultan to capture the fort .Finally, during the third Mysore war, British army surrounded the fort ,captured and then abandoned forever . There is an inscription on the entrance of the fort in Marathi speaking about the capture of  this fort by Sri Pant Pradhan and Madhava Rao  Ballal Pradhan .All this  happened within a duration of 60 years.

First Entrance to the Fort of Channarayana Durga

Intact Fortifications

Ruined Shiva Temple

 The initial climb was slippery because of the heavy rains that poured previous night .As we gained  height, it seemed to be an easy walk. It is a four tiered fort. Once we crossed the first tier, we came across a beautiful temple besides a  pond. This reminded us about the importance of Rain water harvesting which was one of the main features in most of the other hill forts.

Upper Fortifications

A Colony

Marathi Inscriptions at the Entrance to Channarayana Durga Fort

A Bugle Player

Lord Anjaneya Swamy

As we proceeded further, we came across a  few structures  that were probably used as horse stables. We reached another entrance in the same fortification which took us to the outside of the fort. This seemed like the main entrance since it had a big  Mandapa (Hall) with pillar, for people to rest after  the climb and also had steps leading to it from the bottom of the hill. 

Birdseye View of Surroundings 

Rain, Sun and Hills

Beautiful Setup of Channarayana Durga Village

After investigating the main entrance, we climbed further to reach the next tier. Here, we found a few structures that probably formed a small colony where soldiers and the king's  people  resided.Finally, we reached the last tier of the fort. The view from above was breath taking. One can spot the mighty Madhugiri hill which also has a fort and is the highest monolith in India.

The Mighty Madhugiri Fort

The Fort Walls

During our descent, we came across a ruined temple. Behind the temple, were two granaries used for storage. Most of the structures were intact and its surroundings clean even without any kind of maintenance. there were no signs of ASI in this place.

Ruined Temple

Interiors of Ruined Temple

Directions from Bangalore: Bangalore - Dabspet (NH4)- right turn - Koratagere (SH3)  - proceed further - left turn towards Siddara  betta - right turn towards Channarayanadurga . Total distance : 95 kms .

Trip date: 26 Sept, 2010

Places to visit near by : Madhugiri , Koratagere , Devarayanadurga , Mahimapura , Heggunda , and so on ...