Gandikota fort situated on the banks of river Penna is one of the ancient forts of Southern India. At first, a sand fort was built by King Kapa Raja of nearby Bommanapalli Village who is a subordinate of Ahamavalla Someshwara I, the Western Chalukyan king of Someshwara in the year 1123. Later on, many dynasties have conquered this fort and made their own significant contribution.

One important dynasty among them is the Vijayanagara dynasty. Pemmasani Ramalinga Nayudu of this dynasty has built the huge stone fort replacing the old sand fort built by Kapa Raja. Each and every ruler who occupied this fort has left their own mark on this fort. We will be discussing it in the latter part of this article.

Places to visit in and around Gandikota:

Gandikota is a small village inside the fort which is 15kms away from Jammalamadugu, a town in Kadapa dist. We are giving you the best possible routes to reach gandikota as follows.

Gandikota by Road:

The roadways department has constructed a new road so that tourists can reach gandikota in private vehicles. There is also a bus for every 2hours from Jammalamadugu bus depot. A lot of corporate employees travel on the bike from various cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, etc. to gandikota for weekend rides.

Gandikota by Rail:

When it comes to the rail route, yerraguntla is the nearest option for those who would like to reach gandikota by train. The yerraguntla railway station is approximately 40 km away from gandikota. After that, you need to take a bus via muddanur to Jammalamadugu and then reach Gandikota.

Gandikota by Air:

If you are planning to reach gandikota by Air then Kadapa Airport is the nearest option to gandikota. Gandikota is approximately 100kms away from Kadapa. You need to take a bus via proddatur, jammalamadugu to reach gandikota. Renigunta international airport will be the second-best option to reach gandikota by air. It is approximately 250 km away from gandikota.

Here are some of the places to see in gandikota once you reach this place.

1) The Fort Entrance: Two hugely built gates with Iron doors will always be left open to welcome tourists across the globe.

2) Madhavaraya Temple: Madhavaraya temple is believed to be built during the Sri Krishna Devaraya reign of Vijayanagara empire. The architect inside the temple resembles as of Hampi temple. People used to worship Lord Krishna in the temple. But the Idol seems to be missing in the mandap. It is said that the britishers might have taken the Idol.

3) Katula Cheruvu or The Big Tank: It is believed that soldiers used to wash their swords in this tank. It’s water used to satisfy the thirst of Gandikota people earlier days but now the water has become dirty and it cannot be used for daily needs.

4)Juma Masjid: Juma masjid believed to be built by the Qutubshahi’s. It is rumored that there is a secret opening from Juma masjid to the rayala cheruvu which is at the entrance of Gandikota Village. Muslims used to perform namaz during the Qutub shahi time but now the masjid is left open for the tourists. There is a Charminar built inside the masjid.

5) Granary: There’s a granary where the king’s used to store their food and other grains. Whenever there’s an invasion upon the kingdom this is the first to be looted in Gandikota. The tall structure with a roof will leave you astonished.

6) Ranganatha Swamy Temple: Yet another old temple built by the kakatiyas and is believed to be 500 years old. The temple is of importance due to its attractive architecture and design. It is believed to be one of the most ancient temples along with the madhavaraya temple in gandikota.

7) The gorge: As you walk past these ancient monuments you will end up seeing the gorge. Penna rivers flows between the gandikota mountains and the fort itself making a steep valley. Gandikota is also known as the grand canyon of India as the scenery resembles the grand canyon of Arizona. People used to climb rocks present on the fort and take selfies there.

we are sure that no matter how tired you are the scenery will make your tiredness go away and you will be awestruck when you have a look at the scenery.

Apart from these, there are many awesome places to visit in and around gandikota one such location is Belum caves which are 50km away from gandikota. The beauty of these caves cannot be described in this post one should visit and have a look at these naturally formed caves.