After crossing the Kali Bridge we were at the foothill of Sadashivagad Hill Fort in no time. Apart from a temple the area looked deserted. Even the temple was closed. We sat in the patio for a few minutes waiting for somebody to show up. While doing so we we read a little about the temple. And it goes something like this.
Temple History: The existence of this Durgamma Temple/Shantadurga Temple in the fort can be traced back to many centuries. Chatrapathi Shivaji visited this place twice, once in 1665 and again in 1673 with an army and captured all the coastal places of Canara including Sadashivagad. He was a devotee of Goddess Durgamma. The Durgamma temple was rebuilt and expanded in 1928 by the Bhandari community settled on this coast who have got the reputation of being the Darya Sarangas (navigators) of the old rulers.
Then few ladies carrying the water from a nearby well showed up and when asked about the fort, they directed us to a narrow stone path. We were lost because the GPS kept showing this knobs as our destination when we clearly know fort is up somewhere in the hill. We started ascending the narrow track clearing the tiny bushes. In sometime we were face-to-face with a locked gate, however, next to the gate there was enough gap allowing us to pass through it. As we neared the Lodge a man approached to tell us the estate is not open to public or tourists, and if we are eager to see the fort we could do so by booking the resort. Being born and bred in Jungle we consider ourselves Junglees (pun intended) and shelling out money to stay in one is never going to happen. Now the property belongs to 'Jungle Lodges and Resorts' of Karnataka Tourism Department.
We explained to him that we are travel bloggers and we write about the place that interests us. And Sadashivagad Fort is a historical place and people have the right to visit them. Without any argument he agreed us to show around. And what he showed is an empty space in which the famed fort once stool tall. It cannot even be called ruins. It is said most of its structures were destroyed by General Matthews of East India Company in 1783.
History: The fort was built on a old fortified site on the bank of Kali River where the river meets the Arabian sea. That is why it is called Pani Killa. It is said old Karwar fort (Cintacora) was dismantled and its materials were used to build Sadashivgad. In 1715 Basavalingraj of Sonda named the fort Sadashivagad after his father Sadashiva Lingraj. The existence of old and new fort can be chronicled between 1510 till now. The fort silently validated the power shifts between many rulers including Portugese, Marathas, Sondas, Tipu Sultan, East India Company, and finally Republic of India.
Portugese called it Forte de Piro or Pir fort because of the Dargah inside the fort, which we could not see. In its past glory fort had ramparts of 8 meter high and 2 meters wide at the top. There were watch towers and windows for the guns. A stone horse stands in the middle and a restored column of bricks. The continuous history of fort is unsorted. The chance to have it in order seems bleak as this place is now turned into a resort. You will very well understand why a historic monument turned into a commercial establishment once you take a look from the top, because it is breathtaking.
According to us it should be a protected monument and maintained by either state or central archaeological departments considering the importance of history. One argument is that because of the dilapidated condition of the fort it will be better preserved by the tourism department and will bring revenue to the state exchequer. We had so much to discuss, which we could not do in front of the caretaker/manager who was gracious enough to show us around. Thanking him profusely we started descending the hill chatting away to glory.
Tip:
Book-in Sadashivgad Sea View Resort, Karwar of Jungle Lodges and Resorts if you're an outdoorsy person.
Entry for general public is prohibited.
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