Kannor kote

One of the secret entry points to the fort, perhaps used only by key people within the queen's establishment.

Once Keladi dynasty fell, people regularly vandalised this place looking for gold. Whether they found it or not, they certainly left this place in ruins. Thus it is in history: it takes generations to establish an empire and help culture and heritage to flourish; subsequent generations raze it down. Eventually future generations build some of their own.

A beautiful carving of an elephant found inside the fort.

Carvings with fine details adorn the precincts of this temple, speaking volumes of the dedication witnessed in every aspect of life.

The temple housing an Ishwaralinga which had much prominence in the heydays.

A huge stone pillar that lies in front of the temple within the fort. It is said that when this pillar stood erect under the Nayaka regime, a flame was lit on top of it and the same was visible as far as Keladi. The present state of the pillar is testimony to the neglect witnessed in these parts.

A deep well from the olden days which still carries clear and potable water.

Approaching the main entrance from downhill. It is on the verge of collapse.

Main entrance of the fort which has lasted for over 500 years. Once the Vijayanagara Empire fell, the Keladi kings made repeated attempts to subdue Chennabhairadevi. Looking at the timelines, it is also suggested that successive queens used the same name! Finally in 1592, Venkatappa Nayaka led the Keladi attack against her, succeeded in arresting her and brought her to Keladi, where she breathed her last as a prisoner. Clearly, there are different versions of this legend.

This fort was planned & built by the Pepper Queen to stash away all the gold that she earned by bartering spices. It is believed that she was more of a powerful trader than a queen in real sense, and she used to mobilize about 500 bullock cartloads of pepper to be shipped out from Gerusoppa in season. She even practiced futures trading by accepting payments in advance for the succeeding year's crop. People here insist that she had charted out a secret route for her men to reach the gold from Gerusoppa to Kaanooru Kote. They point to some specific locations en route to prove the same. We could also find a few small openings on the fort walls, that could well have been secret entry points. In any case, the strategic location of this fort at such an elevated place deep inside the forest should tell us that she had amassed tremendous wealth.

It was getting dark at Hosagadde so we had to stay overnight at the lone house in the middle of a thick forest. The simple hospitality of the family will not be forgotten for a long time. The house had no doors - our host explained it wasn't required - and the nights filled with sounds of the forest were simply memorable. The host also narrated to us the story of Rani Chennabhairadevi who built the fort, and her rifts with the Keladi kings to gain supremacy over the trade of pepper and other spices with the French, the British and traders from other countries. Facing defeat, the queen is rumoured to have jumped into the lake inside the fort, taking her golden chariot with her. This is the lake; trekkers still believe that the chariot is still resting somewhere on the bottom of the lake.

It was getting dark at Hosagadde so we had to stay overnight at the lone house in the middle of a thick forest. The simple hospitality of the family will not be forgotten for a long time. The house had no doors - our host explained it wasn't required - and the nights filled with sounds of the forest were simply memorable. The host also narrated to us the story of Rani Chennabhairadevi who built the fort, and her rifts with the Keladi kings to gain supremacy over the trade of pepper and other spices with the French, the British and traders from other countries. Facing defeat, the queen is rumoured to have jumped into the lake inside the fort, taking her golden chariot with her. This is the lake; trekkers still believe that the chariot is still resting somewhere on the bottom of the lake.

My friend Raju & I were sitting down and ticking off the places we'd already visited, over breakfast one day, when a stranger overheard us and suggested a few more. The fort at Kaanooru was one of them. Excited, we hurriedly put together a few basics and left Sagara. After travelling about 64 km we reached a place called Hosagadde beyond Kaanooru village and went looking for a senior resident who could guide us to the fort hidden deep inside the forests.