Madhugiri
Encyclopedia
Madhugiri is a Taluk Head Quarter in Tumkur district
Tumkur district
Tumkur district is an administrative district in the state of Karnataka in India. The district headquarters are located at Tumkur. The district occupies an area of 10,598 km² and had a population of 2,584,711, of which 19.62% were urban as of 2001...

 in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

.

At 3930 feet elevation, Madhugiri is a single hill
Monolith
A monolith is a geological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock, or a single piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument...

. It is the largest in Asia and second largest in the world. Nestled in its steep slopes is a fort, once credited to Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...

. Antaralada Bagilu, Diddibagilu, and Mysore Gate are the three gateways of the fort. A series of doorways leads to the hillock. The ruined temple of Gopalakrishna is located at the top.

Madhugiri is not so commercialised place; Tourists should not have any problem finding light food. It is much better to carry food and lots of water.

Madhugiri, or also known as Maddagiri, is located around 43 km north to Tumkur
Tumkur
Tumkur is one of the busiest industrial towns located in the state of Karnataka. Since 28 August 2010, Tumkur has been accorded the status of a Corporation city. It is situated at a distance of 70 kilometers north west of the city of Bangalore along National Highway 4...

 town. Madhugiri is famous for its giant rock overlooking the town and the fort nestling in its steep slopes. The giant rock is the second largest monolith of Asia. This monolith and the surrounding greenery of Madhugiri are the main attractions. The place has old temples of Venkataramanaswami and Malleshwara built by the Vijayanagara feudatories in the Dravidian style.

The highlight is the rock dome, atop which stands a fort, once attributed to Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...

. There are a series of doorways leading to the top and the climb is steep and exposed in some places.On the top is ruined Gopalakrishna temple.
•MADHUGIRI: (Tumkur dt; tq.hq;) is at about 107 km north-west of Bangalore city and about 43 km north of Tumkur. The town derives its name from a hillock, Madhu-giri (honey-hill) which is to the north of the place.

•There are two large temples dedicated to Venkataramana and Malleshvara in the town, standing side by side. These two temples stand in line, facing east and are built in the Dravidian style of architecture with lofty towers.

•The Mallinatha Jaina Basadi adjoining the fort wall has a good manasthamba.

•At the Veerashaiva Gurrammana Matha there is a tomb of a guru named Shivalingaswamy. There are some fine caves near the matha.

•The erection of the fine fort at Madhugiri is ascribed to a local chief named Raja Hire Gauda. The fort was greatly improved by Haidar Ali who also improved the trade of the place. Haidar Ali, after the conquest of Bednur, had kept the Rani of Bednur imprisoned in this fort until its capture by the Marathas in 1767 A.D.

•Several gates such as the Antaralada Bagilu, Diddibagilu and the Mysore Gate lead one to the top of the hill which has many springs.

•The place is famous for the manufacture of handloom cloth and blankets. A superior variety of rice called chinnada-salakki (golden stick) is grown in this taluk.

•MIDIGESHI: is the headquarters of the hobli of the same name is about 19 km north of the Madhugiri town known for its fine hill fort. The place is said to have been so named by a local chief Nagi Reddy of Vijayanagara times, after his wife Midigeshi who was so called because her locks (kasha) were so long that it touched her feet.

•The Venkataramana temple here is said to have been built by the chief Nagi Reddy. But the garbhagriha appears to be of Hoysala times. There is a statue near the southern door of the prakara,described as of Nagi Reddy.

•There is also a Malleshvara temple here.

•The Midigeshi hill is said to have been fortified by Nagi Reddy and it has several gates leading to the top of the hill. On a rock beside the steps to the hill, there is the statue of the woman in relief, and it is identified as of a heroic woman called Chikkamallamma. On the hill are granaries, dome-like structures for storing ghee and oil, powder magazines and springs which are called Musare-done and Kanneramana-done. On the summit is a fine mosque with two minarets at the sides and ornamental parapet all round roof. Close to the mosque there is a shrine of Hanuman. The building has flights of steps on both the sides.

(Source: Karnataka State Gazetteer 1983)

Geography

Madhugiri is located at 13.66°N 77.21°E. It has an average elevation of 787 metre
Metre
The metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units . Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole , its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology...

s (2582 feet).

Demographics

India census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Madhugiri had a population of 26,351. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Madhugiri has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77%, and female literacy is 67%. In Madhugiri, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Agriculture

The prime crops that are grown in Madhugiri are groundnut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...

, ragi
Finger millet
Eleusine coracana, commonly Finger millet , also known as African millet or Ragi is an annual plant widely grown as a cereal in the arid areas of Africa and Asia. E...

 and mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...

, sericulture
Sericulture
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the rearing of silkworms for the production of raw silk.Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, Bombyx mori is the most widely used and intensively studied. According to Confucian texts, the discovery of silk production by B...

 and coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...

. Kakada ( Flower)It is famous for pomegranate fruit ('daalimbe' in kannada).

Transportation

From Tumkur, there are two ways to reach Madhugiri. First route: Once you leave Tumkur, there is a deviation that takes you via Siddara Betta and Chennarayana Durga to Madhugiri. Second route: The other deviation takes you directly to Madhugiri via Koratagere,It is easy way to reach Madhugiri. From Bengaluru there are tow ways to reach Madhugiri First rute is via Nelamangala,Dabaspete(in Dabaspete take Right Turn),Urdigere, Koratagere to Madhugiri (102 km's)in this rute very well get KSRTC buses every 25 min from Bengaluru (Megestic) from morning 6 AM to evening 7 PM and Second rute is Via Tumkur, Koratagere to Madhugiri (114 Km's)

Tumkur is well-connected to Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

 via train and bus services. Both government and private buses ply between Tumkur and Madhugiri.

Places of special attraction

Asia's largest monolith
Monolith
A monolith is a geological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock, or a single piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument...

 is located in madhugiri city.
It is the second largest in the world. It looks differently from different directions, such as a lying elephant, Shiva Linga, honey-comb and so on.

Maidana Halli Blackbuck Sanctuary: It is 25 km from Madhugiri. It is near Kodigenahalli, one of the prominent hobli
Hobli
A hobli is defined as a cluster of adjoining villages in the state of Karnataka, India. This clustering of villages was formed mainly to streamline the collection of taxes and maintenance of land records by the revenue department of the state. Each hobli consists of several villages and several...

 of Madhugiri. You need prior permission to visit the Sanctuary.

Chennarayana Durga: Located 10 km from Koratagere on the way to Madhugiri via Tumkur, it is one of the nine Durga forts. Inside the fort, there is a small temple and one can also explore ruined and semi ruined old structures.

Siddara Betta: It is nature’s treasure trove. The place is known for its medicinal herbs. A natural spring that gushes out from the top of the hill is also believed to have medicinal value.

Madhugiri Fort: This fort is among the most beautiful hill forts built by the Vijaynagar
Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara is in Bellary District, northern Karnataka. It is the name of the now-ruined capital city "which was regarded as the second Rome" that surrounds modern-day Hampi, of the historic Vijayanagara empire which extended over the southern part of India....

dynasty. Many Jain Temples are also found at this place. This is an amazing historical place to visit for the tourists.

Timmalapura Forest: It is yet another tourist attraction not very far from Madhugiri. The forest is famous for its peacocks.
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