When a western reference is used to market a place, it not only raises eyebrows and curiosity, but also motivates people to explore and compare. When my friend uttered Gandikota, it sounded like an exotic Naxalite area and failed to excite me. But when he referred to it as the Grand Canyon of India, I was half sold and instantly jumped online seeking more information to feed my curiosity and draw my conclusions on the comparison. A French traveler Tavernier has also referred to this place as the second Hampi. Do we really need western references to enjoy the geographical territories with historical significance in the Indian Peninsula?
14.8134° N, 78.2848° E
Gandikota is a small village on the right bank of the river Pennar, 15 km from Jammalamadugu in Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh.If you are traveling from Chennai set aside 6-7 hours for a comfortable travel. Get on to Chennai-Tirupathi highway and proceed towards Cudappah. At Cuddapah, take the by-pass road to Jammalamadugu. Though it is just 85 km from Cuddapah it takes roughly 2 hours to travel due to single-track and winding road.
My friend and I left Chennai at 8.00 am and reached Gandikota at around 4.30 pm. We checked in at a Government accommodation run by Andhra Tourism. Racing against the setting sun, we hurriedly dumped our bags in the room and up picked up our camera equipment and swiftly marched towards the fort to only capture its raw beauty and real history unlike our ancestors.
A bit of history (From Wikipedia)
Gandikota was founded in 1123 by Kapa Raja of nearby Bommanapalle village and a subordinate of Ahavamalla Someswara I, the Western Chalukyan king of Kalyana. The town played a significant role during the Kakatiya, Vijayanagara and Qutub Shahi periods. Gandikota was one of the greatest forts of south India in its heydays and so were the kings who ruled the region. Geography and terrain
Today, the treacherous terrain and scenic location makes it a photographer’s paradise, but in those days it prompted the Chalukya Kings to build a fort on top of the hill and guard the region. But what surprises me is that the wild forest and abundant natural resources hasn’t attracted the interests of political community.
Exploration
One has to go through the fort area to enjoy nature at its best. But the structures enroute: temples, mosques, ponds, wells, and granaries definitely reminds you of the ruins of Hampi and make you contemplate on life of royalty and what could have possible led to demolition of the two temples: Madhava Swamy and Ranganatha Swamy and sprouting of a mosque between them. Was it a peaceful coexistence of religious faiths or did religious intolerance lead to the demolition of the two temples? I leave this battle to the history buffs and saffron brigades.
Two sides of nature
Though every step we took looked dangerous, but it was getting us closer to nature. The locals had drawn white lines to mark the path to the cliff, but even from a distance we heard and spotted other travelers who had come to enjoy the wild beauty of nature. We climbed on the rocks, jumped from one to another like our distant ancestors. As a precaution, we banned each other from taking selfies while on the cliff. On our way to the peak our cell phones started to tinkle, yes, that was only place we had reception in this small town.
Though it would have been nice to have a chopper ride similar to the one in the Grand Canyon to savor the beauty of the terrain from the sky, but a short trek to the edge of the hill and peek down at the valley made us both speechless and breathless.
The fast descending evening sun was behind us and its soft light illuminated the red granite hills making the setting both surreal and shade of pink in the sky made it poetic. After safely feeding our shutterbugs, we both settled on a rock and enjoyed looking down at the gorge and visually tracing the origins of the Pennar River.
Finally, as the night descended, trace of lingering clouds vanished, shades of pink turned black and the stars studded sky against the background score by crickets brought out the romantic side of nature.
One last walk
We got up early the following morning and walked back to the same spot where we went last evening. Both nature and photo enthusiasts were already ahead of us, one waiting to get their shots before the rising sun, while the other waiting to enjoy the new dawn. We silently sat on the rock to say our thank you and good bye to Mother Nature, while our minds turned blank and leaving behind silly comparisons and references.
A real traveler discovers his depths, while he explores the world. Though our intention was not to popularize such places and turn them into noisy touristy hubs, but we couldn’t refrain from discovering and sharing the contrasting sides of nature. Hope you will travel your depths.
For accommodation visit: http://www.aptdc.gov.in/accommodations.html
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