Off on Solo Drive - The Impregnable Naldurg Fort

 This fort falls on the Hyderabad and Pune route and for years I have been thinking of stopping and exploring it. But it never happens because we are midway in a tiring journey and do not feel like stopping to sight see. This time I had time - simply because I decided to go early to Pune and get the house cleaned up before the first anniversary get together of Shobha's mom and my mother in law Dr Nalini Nargundkar. I decided to start out on the 16th and check out two places I always wanted to - Naldurg and Bijapur. Naldurg was the first stop.

Entrance to the fort

Luggage room 

Narrow and low - not easy to enter by force

I started early at about 6ish and drove at a comfortable speed. I had about 250-270 kms to do before I hit Naldurg fort which looms on the highway. A cup of chai, some sandwiches and I was there before 12. One had to take a sharp turn off an already dangerous curve on the ghat into the Naldurg village and the fort. 

Upili Buruj (or something like that) - superb structure

This is how it looks from the bottom

From the top

Towards the water body that surrounds the fort

Two loose cannons

The road is so narrow that two cars can definitely not fit in. Found the fort and asked the parking lot lad if I could hire a guide and he said there were no guides. I asked if he could be one and show me around

and I'd pay 250 bucks and he said OK. Ayaz did a good job with what he knew.

Art - old and new

Boating

It's a pretty large area and will take a lot of walking so better take the electric vehicle to get to the Upili structure which is a very interesting structure - wide stairs leading straight up to a tower with cannons on top. It's a fabulous view from there all around and one gets a perspective of how big and how well it has been designed. Then I went down towards the water body and the palace there.

Superb nimbu paani

Another view

Right now the place is being managed by a private firm under the Maharashtra government's 'adopt-a -monument scheme', and they are doing a fairly good job of it.

From the highway!

 I finished my visit with some lime juice which was heavenly. Paid Ayaz his promised fee and headed out at about 1 pm. It was a visit well worth it.