4/5 R.hemanth K. 2 years ago on Google
Kondaveedu
is
the
largest
hill
fort
in
present
Andhra
Pradesh
state,
situated
about
27
kms
southwest
of
Guntur
city.
This
fort
is
in
the
Kondaveedu
hills
range.
Prolayavemareddy
started
construction
of
an
impregnable
fort
at
Kondaveedu
in
about
1335
AD,
later
his
son
Anavotha
Reddy
completed
and
shifted
his
capital
from
Addanki
to
Kondaveedu
in
the
year
1355
AD.
At
present,
there
are
so
many
monuments,
though
they
may
be
small,
but
they
are
of
immense
historical
and
cultural
value.
Kondaveedu
fort
commands
a
picturesque
view
from
Nemmalla
buruju(bastion),
south
of
Nemmala
buruju
hills
sprawling
over
three
kilometers
up
to
NH5
with
green
forest.
Apart
from
Nemmalla
buruju
there
are
22
buruju’s,
some
of
which
are
Tara
buruju
or
Chukkala
konda
buruju,
Jetty
buruju,
A.Ramanal
buruju,
Sajjamahal
buruju,
B.khilla
buruju,
Miriala
chattu
buruju,
Pamu
kuduru
buruju,
Allavari
buruju.
These
bastions
are
built
on
hillocks
connecting
with
a
long
chain
of
wall.
Of
all
the
Bastions
Taraburuju
is
most
impressive
eye
catching
and
an
icon
of
Kondaveedu
fort.
As
we
know,
that
Kondaveedu
fort
was
built
in
hills
which
are
more
or
less
in
an
oval
shape.
By
being
laid
a
ghat
road
to
this
fort,
easy
access
is
now
available,
with
this
Kondaveedu
is
going
to
be
a
popular
holiday
destination.
It
is
famous
for
lakes,
forest
with
56
kinds
of
herbal
plants,
hills
and
a
beautiful
description
of
the
fort
was
made
by
the
great
poets
like
Srinatha
and
later
in
20th
century
by
Duvuri
Ramireddy
in
their
writings.
once
we
enter
the
fort,
either
from
the
east
or
west
we
indispensably
encounter
with
enchanting
water
tanks
namely
Muttyalamma
cheruvu(Kunalamma),
Puttalamma
cheruvu,
Vedulla
cheruvu.
If
we
walk
through
this
valley
feast
our
eyes
on
the
beauty
all-round
us.
Reddy
kings
having
found
that
Addanki
was
weak
from
the
point
of
strategy,
they
at
once
shifted
the
capital
to
Kondaveedu.
Considering
the
importance
of
water
they
gave
much
stress
on
water
harvesting
and
conservation
in
this
hill
fort.
The
construction
of
three
water
tanks
within
the
fort
provides
valuable
knowledge
regarding
the
engineering
skills
available
in
14th
century.
These
three
tanks
were
naturally
formed
in
a
rough
manner
among
hills.
Reddy
kings
got
them
cut
15
to
20
feet
deep,
collecting
water
from
the
hills
around
them.
These
efforts
not
only
meet
the
drinking
water
needs
of
the
people
in
the
contonment
but
also
helped
the
survival
of
the
live
stock;
even
today
the
tourists
and
livestock
quench
their
thirst
in
these
tanks
in
mid
summer.
This
is
really
a
classic
example
of
an
ancient
ingenuity
in
designing
water
harvesting
structure
to
meet
the
needs
of
the
people
living
in
the
fort.
Reddy
kings
adopted
similar
water
harvesting
techniques
in
their
other
forts
like
Vinukonda,
Bellamkonda,
Kondapalli
and
so
on.
Hill
fortress
are
located
in
hills
and
rocky
areas,
in
such
forts
water
is
scarce
in
those
days.
Then
how
could
be
possible
for
a
garrison
of
several
hundred
men
live
at
the
top
of
these
hills
throughout
the
year
without
sufficient
supply
of
drinking
water?
If
we
observe
in
Kondaveedu
and
their
other
forts,
the
water
supply
arrangements,
the
Reddy
kings
utilized
all
depressions,
relatively
shallow,
wide
and
flat,
cavities,
deep
fissures,
fractures,
where
water
can
be
stored
were
used
and
in
the
flat
areas
the
ground
was
excavated
in
the
form
of
reservoir
and
entirely
artificial
works
were
built.
It
means
that
in
hills
water
resources
were
appreciable
and
the
said
kings
took
all
possible
steps
to
get
rid
of
the
seasonal
fluctuations.
