Chitradurga Fort

Chitradurga is built across a group of granite hills strewn with enormous rounded boulders, and its builders, mostly the Nayakas from the fifteenth century onward, used those boulders as part of the defence, running walls between them so that natural rock forms much of the circuit. Seven concentric enclosure walls, nineteen gateways, temples, granaries, oil pits and a rainwater system that collected and stored water across the hill make up the interior. It is known locally as Elusuttina Kote, the fort of seven circles. The story of Onake Obavva, who is said to have held a breach single-handed with a pestle, is attached to a narrow gap in the rock.

What you actually see

• The boulder walls - fortifications run between giant granite rocks.
• The seven circuits - concentric enclosure walls with angled gates.
• The water system - tanks and channels collecting rain across the hill.
• Obavva's gap - the narrow rock breach of the local story.

When to go

October to March; central Karnataka is severely hot from March to June and the granite radiates heat. Mornings are best. The fort is quiet on weekdays.

Honest expectations

The fort is large and the climb long with uneven granite underfoot and no shade. Interpretation is limited. Guides at the gate vary in quality.

Nearby

Hampi lies north; Bengaluru is southeast.