CHANNARAYANA DURGA

At a distance of 10 km from Madhugiri, 36 km from Tumkur and 100 km from Bangalore, Channarayana Durga is a hilltop fort near Madhugiri in Tumkur district of Karnataka. There are few temples and old structures inside the fort. Though most of the place is in ruins without any care, few monuments are still intact. This is one of the ideal sites for trekking near Bangalore.

Situated at an altitude of 3734 ft, Channarayana Durga was strategic fortress during medieval times and many battles were fought for its possession. The fort was originally built by Channapa Gouda in the 17th century, a feudal lord from Madhugiri. Later the fort fell into the hands of the Marathas. But in subsequent year's control of the fort changed several times between Marathas and Mysore Wodeyars. The British took over the fort during third Mysore war and then abandoned it.

Channarayana Durga trek can be classified as moderate. The starting point of this trail begins from the small village of Channarayana Durga situated at the foot of the hill. The fort has three stages, while the lower part of the hill is covered with the steep rocky patches, the upper part consists of vegetation and a pond filled with water. This pond would have served as water source for the people in the fort. There is a small temple next to the pond. During the monsoons, this initial trek would be difficult as the smooth rock would become slippery.

The second stage of the fort was damaged by treasure hunters who dug up and destroyed several structures. There were few structures which were probably used for the storage of ammunition and food grains. At the peak of the fort was a small structure which might have been used as the watch tower. The view from this hill is astounding with dry green shrub, villages and hillocks.

The trek to Channarayana Durga is quite interesting and there are no signboards with very few tourists visiting. It takes about half day to trek to the top and explore the fort. Visitors have to carry their own food and water. Villagers can be hired as guides to explore the fort once you reach the village at the foothill.

Plenty of buses operate between Tumkur and Koratagere, Madhugiri. But the number of buses going to Channarayana Durga village is very limited. One has to take a deviation towards left after 2 km from Koratagere on the way to Madhugiri.

The best time to visit Channarayana Durga is from September to December.