Udayagiri Fort

Udayagiri is one of the famous hill forts in Andhra Pradesh, along with Kondavidu, Kondapalli, Gooty, Penukonda, Gandikota located on top of a hill around 100 km from Nellore city. The fort was built around the 14th century, by Langula Gajapati, the commander of the Gajapati forces who ruled from here. The the place is believed to have got it’s name from the first rays of the sun falling on the hill where the fort is located( Udayam).

The fort was considered one of the most impregnable during it’s time, located on a steep hill, 3079 feet high, and surrounded by a very thick forest. The fort could be approached either from the eastern side, passing through very thick forest, or a steep trek from the western side. It was the site of an epic battle in 1513, when Sri Krishnadeva Raya laid siege to this fort, that lasted for 18 months, forcing the Gajapati army to surrender after reducing them to starvation and cutting off the food stocks.  In commemoration of his victory at Udayagiri,  Sri Krishna Deva Raya offered prayers at  Tirumala Balaji temple, along with his wives, Tirumala Devi and Chinamma Devi, there is a statue of the emperor there to date.

In 1540, Rayalavaaru’s son in law Aliya Rama Raya, became the ruler of Udayagiri, and after the fall of Vijayanagara, the Golkonda sultans captured the fort in 1579. In 1626, the Mughal army under the command of Mir Jumla occupied the fort and built many mosques here. And finally it came under the control of the British.

Udayagiri during the Vijayanagara era, was a flourishing trade center, and was called as Mulikinadu then, covering current districts of Nellore and Kadapa. Pushpagiri Thimanna who wrote Samirakumara Vijayam, was from Atmakur nearby, while Vennelakanti Siddhana, who wrote Vikramarka Charitam, served as a minister here. Other well known writers who flourished here include Duggana, author of Nasikethupakyanam, Mallana-Singana who wrote Prabodhachandrodayam and Dubagunta Narayana Kavi who translated Panchatantra into Telugu.

Many musicians and composers too flourished here, Rama Mahatya, who served under Achyuta Raya and Rama Raya, wrote Sarvamela Kalanidhi, on music, and was given the title of “Vaggeyakara Thodara Mallu”.

There is an old Paruveta Mandapam, now in ruins, in the fort where the wedding of Shri Krishnadevaraya with the Gajapati princess Jaganmohini took place. There is also an old temple of Balakrishna here built during Vijayanagara era.

The hill on which the fort is located is also called as Sanjeevani Konda , due to the presence of a large number of medicinal plants here. For those interested you can trek up all the way to the fort, through the hill, though it can be quite a steep route, the views from the top are worth it.

Udayagiri is also the hometown of famous movie director Singeetham Srinivas Rao, who is known for his movies like Aditya 369, Bhairava Dweepam, Pushpaka Vimana, Michael Madana Kama Rajan, Apoorva Sahadoragal, and also many classic movies with Dr. Rajkumar in Kannada like Haalu Jenu, Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma, apart from being an assistant director to K.V.Reddy in the all time classic Mayabazaar.

Udayagiri town can be reachable from Nellore city by road, via Kovvur, Sangam and Atmakur, around 1.5 hrs journey. There are no places to stay here, so you could use Nellore as the base to visit it and come back.