Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

Fort, flora and fauna

A place with a 400-year-old history, says soma basu

PHOTO: SOMA BASU

HARDLY ANY TAKERS One of the attractions at the Udayagiri Fort

Think forts and what comes to mind are imposing boundary walls, ramparts, moats, cannons and hidden passages. Though the 400-year-old Udayagiri Fort in Kanyakumari District, on the Thiruvananthapuram-Nagercoil Highway, is of historic significance, it is not frequented by tourists because of its proximity to the more famous Padmanabhapuram Palace, barely two km away.

Biodiversity Park

A green board at the entrance declares it a Biodiversity Park under the Western Ghats Development Programme. A Rs. 3 ticket gains me entry into this 970-acre plot.

Not knowing what to see and where to start, I ask the woman selling tickets at the entrance. She simply points her finger to a board, meaning I should read it.

I learn that this fort was originally constructed in 1600 A.D. and destroyed by Raja Raja Chola. Later, it was reconstructed and renovated twice by King Marthanda Varma with granite blocks, between 1729 and 1758. Major work was done when he was the Venad King from 1741-1744.

I took the cemented pavement. Not an ideal day to walk with the sun searing down, I realise it is futile to exercise my legs on this stretch. The surrounding areas look ill maintained, what with shrubs and prickly thorns growing all over. The track ends at a scrub forest behind which emerges an isolated hillock.

The road that turns left from where the board is located takes me to what is being developed as a biodiversity park.

Down history lane

The road that turns right from the main notice board takes you down history lane. I spot a caretaker on this 1.5 km long cemented pathway dotted with teak, cotton and tamarind trees. He shows me four soiled and partially torn photocopy sheets. He offers it to me for Rs. 20 but I choose to read it on the spot.

This place, with its 290-ft tall walls, served as a vital military station of the Travancore rulers when Padmanabhapuram was the capital of Travancore. One of the oldest monuments in the State, a foundry was established here for casting and storing guns, mortars, cannon balls and other military equipment and ammunition.

With every step and stone steeped in history, the Udayagiri Fort makes for a perfect educational excursion. Incidentally, an underground hidden passage was recently discovered here. There is a tomb of Dutch Admiral Eustachius De Lannoy, who was one of the 24 European prisoners taken by King Marthanda Varma when he defeated the invading Dutch Army at Colachel. History records that when the young Flemish Captain made his expedition to Travancore through the small but important port town of Colachel, his forces were annihilated by King Marthanda Varma's army.

Later the captured officer remained loyal to the Maharaja for 37 years and trained his army in modern warfare, the present 9th Battalion of Madras Regiment. So much so the Udayagiri Fort was called the `Dillannai Kottai,' where De Lannoy stayed with his family till his death.

How to get there

The Udayagiri Fort is 14 km from Nagercoil, 34 km from Kanyakumari and 55 km from Thiruvananthapuram. It falls on the Nagercoil-Thiruvananthapuram Highway in a place called Pullioorkurichi.

There is a church on the main road, by the side of which a narrow road forks. Take the right one and follow it till you hit the huge stone gate on the right.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail