Gudibande Fort turned out to be a great option not too far from home for a short trip out for the family during “Corona times”.

For a lot of people, the year 2020 is going to be remembered as the year of COVID-19 or the Corona virus. Some new definitions are also being coined around by this, like BC (Before Corona) and AC (After Corona) 😀 . Well, I cannot claim that our lives too were not impacted by it with so the many lockdowns, travel restrictions, social distancing norms etc. But we had a lot of positive aspects from it as well 🙂 . One of them was looking to explore places that were not far from where we lived. And Gudibande Fort was one such place.

First a bit about Gudibanda and the fort. It is a town in the Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka. The fort has been built by the local chief Byre Gowda in the 17th century. It is said to be a smaller replica of the famous Madhugiri Fort. The fort has seven levels. So to reach the top, we have to go up these seven levels. At the top is a temple called Sri Rameshwara temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Byre Gowda himself was considered to be a “Robin Hood”; taking from the rich and aiding the poor.

Gudibanda Fort was around 125 kms from my house. So almost a perfect place for a short day trip. It was even more enticing as well as apt in these COVID times. So the plan was decided. Given that it was not too far we decided not to start super early. However we also did not want to be reach late morning so to avoid possible crowds; something definitely to be avoided given social distancing guidelines.

The drive to the fort was smooth almost all the way. Only a few kilometres when getting close to the town became patchy. Also traffic was light in the drive. We reached the fort by 8:30am. Here is the first view of the fort from below:

Oops! There are people in the picture 😀. Here is another one without them taken from the side:

Since the fort is having seven levels, one has to do with a climb to reach the the top. The climb is a mix of steps and pathways. Here is a stop almost after the first set of steps. We already got a good feeling from the place 🙂

The steps then lead you to a kind of flat-ish section. From here you get the first panoramic views of the surrounding areas. One also gets to see the Gudibanda town. It is also a good place to catch you breath if one is not used to climbing stairs 😁 .

We then headed on towards the top. Steps gave way to a pathway which had overgrown plants around it. The recent rains had done their magic. Interestingly my wife’s attire perfectly matched the surrounding colours; don’t you think so?

The next stretches were a bit more narrow. We crossed a mini temple and several gateways enroute.

We finally reached what we think is the 6th level. Here we noticed on our left what looked a lookout or observation tower.

We decided to explore it on our return journey. As we looked up we saw the final set of steps that would lead us to the top. It felt like we were about to summit the peak 😜

The top gave some spectacular views of the area. Thankfully as we had reached reasonably early in the day, there were not many people. The place itself is fairly well spread. So there was plenty of space to find our own spot and enjoy. Here are some views that I captured around the top as we explored.

We of course could not leave without taking pictures of ourselves. So here is us 😊

After spending enough time at the top to satisfy us, we started our way down. But we had to explore the lookout tower section that we had seen on our way up, before we descended. And that is what we did. Here are the views from there:

I found a few interesting and colour shrubs around the tower. I could not resist clicking them 😀

Summary

The place is definitely worth a visit. The place, especially at the top, is large enough to give good spaces to maintain social distancing. If you live around Bangalore, it can be done as a day trip. Though it is a fort built on the top of a hill, the climb is moderate. It can be done by almost anyone if climbed slowly.

Some tips in case you are planning a visit:

  • Get there early. Aim to be there around 8am. It will do you good in at least two ways. There is limited parking. So getting a spot will be easier. Also it will be easier to climb and enjoy the views with not many people around. It will also be cool
  • Take a hat and possibly a pullover. It gets pretty windy on the top
  • Carry some water. And remember to get the bottle back with you 😀
  • Some sections have overgrown shrubs. So wearing long clothing will help prevent possible scratches
  • Wear footwear with good grip. Always helps, especially if it has rained recently
  • Stop at the various levels when climbing up and enjoy the views