Anegundi Fort

About this place

Anegundi is the fortified settlement on the north bank of the Tungabhadra that is older than Hampi itself and served as an early capital of the region before the city grew on the southern shore. Its defences survive as long stretches of rubble-and-boulder rampart and several stone gateways, of which the main entrance — a tall, sturdily built arch flanked by bastions — is the most impressive. Natural granite hills and the river were woven into the fortifications, so the walls seem to grow straight out of the landscape. Exploring the gateways, old temples and quiet lanes within gives a strong sense of a place that has been continuously lived in for many centuries.