The Fort of Garudanagiri, Hassan

'Garudanagiri' is a small sleepy village about 30 km from the town of Arsikere. Long time back while  travelling on this highway, we saw a board put up by the Tourism Dept.of Karnataka showcasing the history of this place, Garudanagiri. Though immediately it was in our to-explore list on our next visit around this place, it rather took us a lot of time for this next visit. After having lunch in Arsikere,we decided to check out this interesting place. We took a deviation towards Garudanagiri and drove until we reached the village. When we inquired the way to the fort, we got a response that there was a way until the top from right behind the temple present at the hill base.

The Garudanagiri Hill Fort 

Way to Fort 

Intact Fort Walls 

We reached the temple and started our trek. The fortification on the hill was quite visible from the start point. The weather was favorable which made our climb comfortable.We were protected from the sun's heat by the monsoon clouds and the not very warm weather. We were also excited and happy to see that much of the fortification was intact. As we entered the second tier, we found a Lord Hanuman temple and from here, passed through five more gateways. There is a temple at the top of the fort dedicated to Lord Shiva. This fort being 7 tiered is believed to have been built during the Hoysala period by the body guard of King Vishnuvardhana who carried the name Garuda, thus the name Garudanagiri. Lots of other rulers have ruled this place.

Bird's Eye View of Garudanagiri

Fort Walls 

Temple and Water Pond Inside Fifth Tier Fort Walls

Fort Gateway 

Cave Temple

 We spent some time at the top until the clouds turned dark and heavy after which there was a sudden downpour for a short while. The rain surely made our descent slippery and long as we had to watch every step. We reached our car and from here we headed towards Hire Nallur.

On the Top