WEAVER'S WORLD / DHARMAVARAM / PLACES TO VISIT -2
WEAVER'S WORLD / DHARMAVARAM / PLACES TO VISIT -2
The place is full of visual treats - the fort walls, the wells, natural springs, flower motifs on turrets, the jail, stables, doorways with carved columns. From the top you can see the 'escape route'. The view is beautiful. The road going up to the fort, the cemetry etc. There is a well-kept cemetry with its tombstones - with beautiful verses for children who had died of cholera - certainly a fort worth visiting.
The historical Gooty fort is around 50 Kms from Anantapur, situated at a height of 300 meters above the sea level. The fort was built during the Chalukyan times. Major part of this fort was fortified and strengthened during the Vijayanagara era. The Fort has been granted the title of ’World Heritage Site’ by UNESCO. The exact construction date of the fort is not known, according to the historical records the earliest inscriptions found in the structure date back to the 7th century. The fort was captured by Mir Jumla and then came under the sway of Qutub Shahi chiefs.
In 1773, it was captured by Haider Ali & Tippu Sultan and later fell into the British hands. About 10 Km away from Gooty Fort, archeologists have discovered a stone on which institution belonging to Ashoka is written. The Fort was build primarily from Security point of view. The fort is built in the shape of a shell and has 15 inner forts with 15 main doors in an area of approximately 25 acres. The fort of Gooty is an amalgamation of Hindu-Islamic architecture.
The fort has numerous temples, including Nageswara Swamy Temple, Lakshminarasimhaswamy Temple and Ramaswamy Temple. On the top of the fort a small pavilion made in polished lime stone is known as Morari Rao’s seat. It offers a panoramic view of the town below and is believed to be the favorite resort of Maratha ruler Morari Rao. Sitting on the top of the fort & watching the sunset, beautiful landscape & a walk in the evening is probably the best activity to do. It takes approximately thirty minutes to climb the fort but for photography enthusiast it may take little more time to climb the fort as there’s lots of stuff to be photographed. Gooty Fort is one of the must-visit attractions of Anantapur. People visit Gooty Fort near Anantapur for study tour, picnic or a social event.
From outside it looks like a casual temple, but the opinion changes on going inside. The temple has existed from the period of the Vijayanagara kings. Its small temple, decent architecture is definitely worth a visit.
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