Bellamkonda Fort: A Long lost Glory

Once known as the “hill of caves”, Bellamkonda is now merely tagged as a small village in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. The place that now houses the headquarters of the local administrative circle is symbolic of the fragments of the glorious reign of the Reddy kings.

Carvings on the stone walls; Image Source: Historical Adventures

Built by the Reddy Kings of Kondavid, the Bellamkonda Fort is a fortress that stands tall on a small hill in Sattenapalle taluk, a part of the Guntur district. When you take a glance at the existing structure, the remnants of a long-lost empire are likely to stall you as you delve into the details of its ruins.

A fortress that witnessed the rise and fall of dynasties

With this, the Hindu rule in southern India saw an abrogating end. Close to the beginning of the eighteenth century, the English set up a few troops in mud huts stationed at the foothills of where Bellamkonda Fort stood for ages. The wrecked stone walls and the shabby interiors are emblematic of the scores of battles and dynasties that the once magnificent fortress has been a bystander of.

Despite its enthralling history and derelict structure, the most intriguing part about the fortress is its shape. The fort resembles a shape similar to that of an equilateral triangle, bestrewing an area approximately equal to one-sixteenth of a square mile.

The Bellamkonda Fort is left in ruins but it can still be accessed through a well-paved route, followed by a series of steps. It is still visited by people who are intrigued by the history of South Indian architecture. Even though this fortress of the Reddy kings might not have a lot to offer when it comes to the architectural finesse of Southern India, it still helps you paint a picture of the charm that the Bellamkonda Fort would have exuded in its heyday.

Ruins of a celebrated past

The most perfect chunks of the surviving structure are the two bastions placed at the southeast and northwest angles, terminating at the endpoints of the façade of the fortress. Encompassed in this façade is perhaps the entrance that is carved out at a distance of almost one-third of its length from the west bastion.

During the fourteenth century, the Reddy rulers of Kondavid left the imprint of their rule in Bellamkonda with the construction of a fortress. The kingdom fell into the hands of the Orrisa dynasty in 1482, who conquered the place for a second time in 1531. The Bellamkonda Fort went on to bear witness to the golden rule of the Vijayanagar Empire.

Inundated with bushes, grass, and overgrowing plants, the interiors are as silent as a grave. The green patches, however, create a disruption while moving between the eastern and western parts of the Bellamkonda Fort. Only a couple of halls within the premises along with a mud-based Durga Temple constructed at the foothills during the reign of the Vijayanagar rulers remain intact and in good condition.

Steps to the fortress; Image Source: Historical Adventures

The remaining portion of the bastions; Image Source: Historical Adventures

Dilapidated structure of the Bellamkonda Fort; Image Source: Youtube

The Durga Temple at the foothills of the Bellamkonda Fort; Image Source: Historical Adventures

 Watercolor painting of Bellamkonda hills; Image Source: Historical Adventures