The only fort that is really interesting from the archaeological point
of view is the Jamalabad hill fort was formerly called Narasimha Ghada,
which refers to the granite hill on which the fort is built, fort built
by Tipu sultan in 1794 in honor of his mother Jamala Bi on the summit of
a lofty granite hill, 1788 feet above the sea-level four miles to the
north of the town of Belthangady.
It is also known by 'Jamalagadda' & 'Gadayikallu'. The fort is
inaccessible other than via a narrow path, with nearly 1876 steps to the
fort that are cut out of this granite hill and lead all the way to the
top through the fort to the summit. This would mean that a small but
well armed group could indefinitely block a much larger force from
entering the fort. Inside the citadel there is only one tank to store
their water. There is a remain of a single cannon on the hillock.
Nothing much of the fort is remaining but hints of the fort wall and
parapets.
The fort was captured by the British in 1799 during the 4th Mysore war.
Legend has it that those out of favour with Tipu were hurled down this
fort to their death. (Such 'Tipu drop's are a feature in most hill-top
forts built by Tipu.)
These days, Jamalabad is a trekking
destination, with the climb up to the fort being classified as 'medium
difficulty level' and the top of the fort offers good views of the
surrounding landscape and the Kudremukh range.
There is a forest
check post at the base where visitors have to pay a nominal( i dont
think so !!!) entry fee.Officially entry to the fort is restricted to
between 6am to 6pm . Overnight stay at the fort is prohibited. The
hillock has only one room on top of it. It is not tourist attraction but
is a good destination for enthusiastic trekkers.
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