The Peninsula Tour Part 2 – Gandikota

Along the Penna river in Andhra Pradesh, lies hidden, not only a gorge , but an ancient fortress, a temple complex and a mosque.

All this, in a place called Gandikota.

It takes time and effort to reach Gandikota. The roads are good but the journey from anywhere seems long. We drove in from Hospet and it took us the better part of a day.

There are no great eating places along the way, even in the towns that we crossed. It’s a good idea to carry some. The drive takes us through hills formed by boulders with interspersed vegetation, farmlands and many cement factories.

Soon, we are travelling parallel to the Penna river and after a small climb, we eventually reach Gandikota.

Gandikota is a tiny place with a village, a few hotels and a camp site. The village has grown around the fort which is a large complex accessible through the village. Built between the 12th and 13th century, it’s stone walls have aged beautifully and most of them are intact.

The two temples lie within the fort, as does the mosque and other structures. The access to the view point of the gorge is also from within the fort.

The gorge itself, is stunning and the view from the vantage point is spectacular!

The gorge is about 4 km long and about 700 m in depth and flanks the penne river. A pathway from the fort, past some boulders takes us to a small clump of boulders that overlook a bend in the river and some amazing rock formations. From this vantage point, we can see the gorge upto a bend in the river. We reached early enough to watch the sunrise over the gorge before heading out.