Kondapalli Fort, Vijayawada

Kondapalli fort is located in the fertile land in the Krishna district, Vijayawada. This is an historic fort also referred to as Kondapalli Kota. It is located on the Eastern Ghats to the Kondapalli village west that is 16kms from the Vijayawada city. This is a 14th century fort highly popular as a trekking destination in this area.

Kondapalli Fort was built by Kondavid Prolaya Vema Reddy. This was a business center and a pleasure place initially and was in association with the Guntur district, Kondavid Fort. Primarily it functioned as a military fortification place and there was a strong garrison of British in this fort.

The Kondapalli Fort is a significant artistic tourist attraction. This is because it has the colorful toys crafting. These toys are made using a light white wood and are well known as Kondapalli toys. The toys crafting include mythological figures, animals and human being figures. In Telugu toys are referred as ‘Bommalu’ and the toys are a reputed products sold as ‘Kondapalli Bommalu’.

Kondapalli Fort has three imposing entrance gates. The main gate is known as ‘Dargha Darwaza’ and is built of a granite block. Even today, the fort has many numbers of wall towers and battlements. Within the premises there is a cemetery and an English barrack.

Kondapalli fort is near Vijayawada on a hillock. It is a three-storied rock tower. The fort looks attractive and is a true attraction revealing the past history. This is one of the key attractions to receive influx of tourists throughout the year.

Kondapalli Fort passed through many rulers’ hands and this list includes the Reddys, Vijaynagaras, Bahamanis, Qutub Shahis, Gajapatis and fell ultimately to the British power. However, the top contributors with respect to the expansion and development of the fort were done by the Reddy kings.

The Kondapalli Fort Vijayawada has magnificent edifices on the hill top and these structural edifices are one of the best attractions. They were redesigned during the rule of Qutub Shahi. The fort attractions include the Dancing hall, the Rani Mahal and the Arched hall. There is a dargah of a renowned Persian saint, Gareeb Sahib, beside the Dargah Darwazah gate. Encircling the fort is the Knodapalli village famous for its bright colored toys depicting Indian motifs.

This is a treasure of the east ghat and features amazing greenery that anyone visiting Vijayawada must not miss this mind blowing fort. Best time to visit is between September and March.