Trip : Chennai - Gingee by self driven car
Gingee is hillfort destination in Tamilnadu - 134 kms from Tambaram (Chennai). Gingee fort is popular tourist destination, to know about history of the region as well as the architecture being practiced then to win wars and protect people.
One can take the GST (Grand Southern Trunk - NH) and drive all along till Tindivanam. Around 7 kms before Tindivanam, take left and one can reach Gingee in around 35 kms.
Gingee fort has 3 hillock forts - one for the king (Rajagiri), one for the queen (Krishnagiri) and one for soldiers (Chandrayandurg). Gingee fort is well fortified and built by Anatha Kon of Konar Dynasty. It was then passed on the Marathas, Bijapur Sultans, Moghuls, Nawabs and British. The fortifications of Gingee are amazingly done and this has been a great asset of the fort - described by every ruler.
Firstly, we visited a Shiva temple before entering Rajagiri. The Shiva temple is on the left side of the road leading to Rajagiri. The Shiva temple was built in the period of Desingu Raja, who was a king of Gingee Fort for a period.
The path leading to Rajagiri takes one through few monuments as well. The entry to the place is Rs.30 per person and the open timings are 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM. However, entry to climb the hill stops at 3:00 PM; the reason primarily is because it takes close to 3 hours to climb up and down the hill. The Rajagiri fort is a towering hill and climbs of 800 feet in elevation and not an easy climb.
There are few monuments to see around. This includes Bell tower (Kalyana Mandapam), few mandapams, Gymnasium, Elephant stable, Elephant pond, Granary and Treasury. It takes around 30-60 minutes to go around and appreciate the grandeur of the place.
The hill climb to Rajagiri is around 1500 steps and definitely a difficult climb. Elders and people with physical challenges are suggested not to give a try. One needs to carry lots of water and snacks along with. There is nothing available (absolutely nothing!) to eat or drink when you are on the way to the top or no reaching there. Please be prepared accordingly. One needs to plan up to 3 hours. There are shades of trees and mandapas enroute to sit and relax, and one needs this several times through the climb.
Once you reach the top, we can get to see a bunch of mantapas, granary, and couple of temples - one for Lord Ranganatha, a small cave pond with a natural source of water. We spent around 30 minutes at the top - to relax as well as go around the place and amaze at the structures constructed.
We started climbing down the hill and it was absolutely hot and hard even in February. A strict no-no in summers! We reached down and decided to see the Lord Ranganathaswamy temple at a distance. A km ride and we reached. The temple gopuram is stunning with the rocky hillocks all around. The whole place of Gingee resembles Hampi in many ways ! We had dharshan at the fairly sculpted temple and had some prasadam as well.
It was noon and we decided to have lunch in Gingee before climbing the Krishnagiri. I had lunch at Hotel Vasantha Bhavan (local restaurant) - the veg meals was ok; decent service and value of money.
Krishnagiri - the fort is on the main road towards Thiruvannamalai on the right from Gingee. The fort is on a hillock that is smaller than Rajagiri. The hillock had 400 steps, however, it is absolutely steeper than Rajagiri. The menacing climb to the top was much more difficult because on uneven steps and the degree of steepness ! We were mentally prepared to do it very slow and did so! We took almost 1 hour to make it to the top. There are 4 stone mandapas along the route for one to sit, relax and start again !
Once we reached the top, we figured out that there are more monuments to go around than in Rajagiri. It was bit of surprise to know so. There are several mantapas around, couple of big granary spaces, and 2 temples. There is also a throne chamber amidst all these elements. The 2 temples, one for Lord Ranganatha and the other for Lord Shiva are having sculptures and well decorated gopurams.
The Ranganatha temple has ornamental sculptures and pillars too. It is a 2 tier temple and has nice views from the top. On going around the temple, we can reach the Shiva temple as well. One would need around 1 hour to go around and cherish the moments at Gingee Krishnagiri.
Our descent was complicated too given the uneven steps, lack of supporting structures by the sides of the steps and the steep nature of steps. We came down around 4 PM, had some sugarcane juice and drove back to Chennai.
A very satisfactory trip to Gingee - most importantly the place is full of amazing fortifications, history, successful reigns and of all the above, great architecture !