Bhongir Fort is located about 45 Km North of Hyderabad in a little town called Bhongir. I orginally came through this town around 2003 and passed it by on many other occassions. Always secretly committing to myself that I'd come back someday and climb this geological marvel.
Basically its built on a massive 500 ft height and spread over 40 acres, bulbous igneous rock with sheer faces on 3 sides and a tricky approach from the main.
Today started with a rainy monsoon morning, which doesnt surprise me anymore, even though its the end of Feb ! Alisha remarked saying "Maybe its the April showers starting early this year".
An hour later we got our day-tripping gear together, some delicious cold roast lamb sandwiches, fluids and we were off. It was the perfect day for rock climbing and we made fairly good progress.
The climb I'd rate as Moderate in difficulty and risk, but we did all right.
The ramparts of the old fort still stands today, but some parts are in disrepair and potentially hazardous. Especially considering that the drop from atop is sheer.
Most material on the web states it as being built in the 12th century by some Chalukyan king; now I may not be an expert, but I've seen enough to make an educated guess that its more like 14th-15th Century, and certainly NOT Chalukyan, seeing the cannons and all.
A lot of the motifs, and stucco work on the walls as well as the classic bevelling of arches pointed more towards the Qutub Shahi dynasty. But thats my personal view, so don't quote me on that.
The Vandalism and people carving their names on monuments is still prevalent & pathetic, and in one instance some nerd called ZAFAR had carved his name, to which Armaan said maybe its Zafar the Duffer !
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