Gooty Fort, Andhra Pradesh

Residing upon a group of hills, the citadel of the fort is located on the westernmost hill. These hills are surrounded by the Gooty town from three sides. Tourists can reach the fort through a well-paved path from the foot of the hills. The hills to fort has been made using granite rocks while its domes have been built with the combination of fine stone, mortar, and lime. At 300 meters, a small pavilion made up of polished limestone is present on the edge of the cliff. It is known as ‘Murari Rao’s seat’ and provides spectacular, panoramic scenery of the town situated below.

The Gooty fort has a shell-shaped outline, with several ruined buildings inside it. It has fortifications like the gymnasium, barracks, storerooms, and granaries which were used by the East India Company under Thomas Munro. It is surprising when one realizes that this fort actually has 15 smaller forts residing inside it and connected with each other through different gateways. At the summit of the hill, the ruined Narasimha Temple is situated. The Gooty fort also has 108 wells and many reservoirs dug on rock clefts to supply fresh water to its occupants.

The Gooty fort is located at a distance of 5 kilometers from the Gooty Railway Station, and a round trip across the destination just takes about 2 hours 30 minutes.