Team G Square: Hosadurga Fort, Chaturbhuja Sri Ramadevara Betta Kanakapura

Monday, September 11, 2017

Hosadurga Fort, Chaturbhuja Sri Ramadevara Betta Kanakapura

Chaturbhuja Sri Ramadevara Betta, Hosadurga

On a Sunday morning during summer, we decided to trek the lesser known Ramadevara Betta of Kanakapura and started early so we could complete our trek before the day got warm. After having breakfast at our regular stopover hotel on the Kanakapura road, we raced towards our destination. We reached the village of Hosadurga without any difficulty and inquired to confirm about the route to the fort which was about 2 km hereon. Though we initially missed the route and drove on the main road, we backtracked and got into the right direction which was a bit off the main road. We reached the hill base of Sri Ramadevara Betta, parked our vehicle under the shade of a tree and began our ascent. Hosadurga fort is believed to have been built by the Palegars of Channapatna around 17th century, which later fell into hands of the Wodeyars of Mysore. Not much history is known about this fort though.

Bidadi Special Thatte Idli

Enter The Dragon, Hosadurga Fort

Trek Path

The climb being easy, we reached the first tier of the fort wall and were welcomed by a ruined doorway. We continued our climb and reached the second gateway where we found many ruined structures, indicating that this part of the fort was probably inhabited by people. It was quite interesting to find a ruined building resembling structures at the forts of Chitradurga and Nidugal. Further ahead, steps were laid which led to the entrance of the third tier of fortification. The trek path narrows down from here, with the path snaking between two huge boulders and a steep climb further took us to the summit of the hill.

Remains of Bastion

Remains of Some Building

Between the Boulders

Enclosed in a small old mandapa atop the hill is a pillar housing a beautiful carving of Lord Chaturbhuja Sri Rama on one side and Lords Hanumantha and Lakshmana on the other sides. The pillar is believed to have been installed by Vyasa Maharshi at a place where Lord Rama gave darshana and appeared before him. We spent sometime at the top, admiring the beauty of the surrounding hills. Our descent was quick, with us reaching the hill base in sometime. Thus ending another adventurous quest of lesser known places around Bangalore.