Mulbagal Fort

    Mulbagal/Muluvayi/Moodalabagilu/Mudalabagalu is the eastern gateway of Karnataka. This town is quite popular for its Hanuman temple and Namkeens (Savories, Mulbagal Mixture). This place also boasts of a fort on the hillock, which is difficult to miss if one is travelling towards Tirupathi from Bangalore. A long time pending visit to this place finally materialized one Sunday. This place is only 35 Km from Kolar and is situated on the NH 4. A drive on this road has always been a pleasure. Being a Taluka and a developing town, this place is busy and always crowded. Without much trouble we reached the base of the hill and with no path visible, we had to make our own way to the top. Walking across the rocks and through the shrubs was quite an experience. After a few minutes of climb, we reached the first tier of the fort. 

Way thru theTunnel

Hero Stone and Small Temple

Rama Thirtha

Laxman Thirtha

   We crossed the first tier of the fort, walked a little further and found no way to the next tier. We found a   small tunnel like structure which we thought would lead us to the next tier of the fort. Without thinking much, we entered the tunnel that opened into a cave that was being used by the shepherds as a shelter from rains and the hot sun. The cave was big enough to accommodate a herd of about 30 animals. At the entrance of the cave was a ruined temple containing a hero stone? Proceeding further we found two big water ponds named Rama Thirtha and Laxman Thirtha. A few locals were enjoying a summer bath here. Walking further, we went on to explore the fort wall that was intact.  We were only left with conquering the hill. The route to the peak of the hill was quite interesting and began from a cave. We found a beautiful carving of Lord Hanuman inside the cave.

Fort Wall

Fort Wall and Ruined Structures

  

Lord Hanuman Carvings

Way to Mahadeva Gundu

Lord Shiva Temple on Mahadeva Gundu

Colorful Mulbagal Town

        There are 2 big boulders on the peak of this hill called Mahadeva Gundu (as it houses a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva at its top) and the second one is Babaiah Gundu, on which a Muslim saint regularly read his holy prayers (Namaz). We first reached the Mahadeva Gundu. Though nothing much remained inside the temple, the view from the top was simply out of this world. We descended down and looked out for a way to reach the Babaiah Gundu but of no avail, until a local present at that spot came to our help. Climbing the steep rock cut steps without any kind of the support was enthralling and awesome. At the top of Babaiah Gundu, we found two hand marks of the saint, and can only imagine how divine it would have been for someone to offer prayers at this height. We also found an Arabic inscription just at the base the Babaiah Gundu. Our descent was quick and a normal one.

Way to Babaiah Gundu

Arabic Inscriptions

Left Hand etchings of the Muslim Saint 

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