Savandurga

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Savandurga is a hill 60 km west of Bangalore (Karnataka, India) off the Magadi road 12.919654° N 77.292881° E, in India. The hill is famous for a temple and is also believed to be among the largest monolith hills in the world. The hill rises to 1226 m above mean sea level and forms a part of the Deccan plateau. It consists of peninsular gneiss, granites, basic dykes and laterites. The Arkavathi river passes nearby through the Thippagondanahalli reservoir and on towards Manchanabele dam.

Savandurga from the northern side
Savandurga from the northern side
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Savandurga from the western side

Contents

[edit] Origin of name

Map of the Savandurga area
Map of the Savandurga area

Savandurga is formed by two hills known locally as Karigudda (black hill) and Biligudda (white hill). The earliest record of the name of the hill is from 1340 AD by Hoysala Ballala III from Madabalu where it is called Savandi. Another view is that the name is originated from Samantadurga attributed to a Samantharaya, a governor under Ahchutaraya at Magadi, although there is no inscription confirming this. This was the secondary capital of the Magadi rulers such as Kempegowda. from 1638 to 1728, Mysore took over this place and Dalavayi Devaraja occupied this place with the palace at Nelapattana. In 1792 Lord Cornwallis captured it from Tippu Sultan and this was described by Colonel Wilks.[1] Robert Home in his Select views in Mysore (1794) shows distant views of the hill from Bangalore.[2] He called it Savinadurga or the fort of death. There were no steps to reach the hill top and it was covered by Bamboos and other trees forming a barricade.

[edit] Tourism

The Savandurga hills are frequented by pilgrims who come to visit the Savandi Veerabhadreshwara Swamy and Narasimha Swamy temple sited at the foothills. Picnickers come to spend time among the serene environs of the hill. Rock climbers, cave explorers and adventurers are among others who frequent the locale.

Along with Ramanagaram, this was also a location for the making of David Lean's movie A Passage to India.


[edit] Fauna

The hills are home to the endangered Yellow-throated Bulbuls and were once home to Long-billed Vultures and White-backed Vultures. Other wildlife include Sloth bear and leopard.

Temple at the base

Forested hillside

In the rains

Lake at base

[edit] Flora

Surrounding the area is a state forest with scrub and dry deciduous forest covering 27 sq. km. The degraded forest, which is considered as shrub and tree savanna of the Anogeissus–Chloroxylon–Acacia series is highly diverse, recording over 59 tree and 119 shrub species. Some of the plant species recorded here include:[3]


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Sunrise as seen from Savandurga
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Ruins of the Fort
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Stone Mantapa on top of Savandurga

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wilks, Mark. Historical Sketches of the South of India in an Attempt to Trace the History of Mysoor: from the origin of the Hindoo government of that state, to the extinction of the Mohammedan dynasty in 1799. Edited with notes by Murray Hammick. Mysore: Government Branch Press, 1930-1932.
  2. ^ Home, Robert. Select Views in Mysore: the country of Tippoo Sultan from drawings taken on the spot by Mr. Home with historical descriptions. First publ. London: Bower, 1794.
  3. ^ K. S. Murali, A. Kavitha, and R. P. Harish (2003) Spatial patterns of tree and shrub species diversity in Savanadurga State Forest, Karnataka. Current Science, 84(6):808-813

[edit] External links