With three separate hilltop citadels and a 6km perimeter of cliffs and thick walls, the ruins of enormous Gingee Fort poke out of the Tamil plain, 37km east of Tiruvannamalai, like castles misplaced by the Lord of the Rings. It was constructed mainly in the 16th century by the Vijayanagars and was later occupied by the Marathas, Mughals, French and finally the British before being abandoned in the 19th century.
Today, few foreigners make it here, but Gingee is popular with domestic tourists for its starring role in various films. The main road from Tiruvannamalai towards Puducherry slices through the fort, just before Gingee town. Of the three citadels, the easiest to reach, Krishnagiri, rises north of the road. To the south are the highest of the three, Rajagiri, and the most distant and least interesting, Chakklidurg. There are two ticket offices, at the foot of both Krishnagiri and Rajagiri.
Remains of numerous buildings stand in the lower parts of the site, especially at the bottom of Rajagiri, where the main landmark of the old palace area is the white, restored, seven-storey Kalyana Mahal (Marriage Hall). Just east of the palace area is an 18th-century mosque, and southwest of that is the large, abandoned, 16th-century Venkataramana Temple.
It’s a good hike to the top of Krishnagiri and even more so to the top of Rajagiri (more than 150m above the plain) and you need at least half a day to cover both hills. Most visitors climb Rajagiri, which makes Krishnagiri a much quieter walk. Start early and bring water; hill-climbing entry ends at 2.30pm.
Gingee is on the Tiruvannamalai–Puducherry bus route, with buses from Tiruvannamalai (₹23, one hour) running about every 15 minutes. Get off at the fort to save a trip back out from Gingee town.
