Gooty Fort

Gooty Fort, also called Ravadurg is a magnificent fort situated at a distance of about 52 km from Anantapur district of the Indian province of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the oldest forts in the state and overlooks the town of Gooty and is located at a distance of 5 km from its railway station. The oldest inscriptions, dating back to the 7th century can be found on the walls of this fort.

Gooty Fort’s specialty is that it’s not a single fort, it’s a complex having a lot of small forts inside. This location was previously known as Gowthampuri and was subsequently renamed as Gooty. The location, according to the inscriptions, was designated as “Gadha” which means “Fort”, while the Bukkaraya’s inscription cites this place as “King of Forts”. Before the Qutb Shahi dynasty took control, this glorious fort was the Chalukyas, Mughals, Marathas, East India Company and also the Vijayanagara Empire’s stronghold.

Gooty’s Fort is a blend of Hindu-Islamic architecture. This fort was constructed with granite rocks and its domes were built with fine stones, lime and mortar to ensure longevity. Built-in the shell shape, this fort consists of 15 small-sized forts with different entrances.

At the top of the hill, several wells have been created. Inside the fort, there are several temples such as Hanuman Temple, Nageswara Swami Temple, Ramaswamy Temple, Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, and Jyothimma Temple as well as a Dargah. On the upper level of the fort, there are several ruined buildings.

The views of the city below, as well as the sunset from the top of this fort, are amazing. The fort can be accessed from the bottom of the hillock by a well-paved path. To exploring the fort, you would take about two hours.