Gurram Konda

Andra Pradesh > Chittoor > Gurram Konda

Gurramkonda is located in between Madanapalli - Rayachoti - Cuddapah road at a distance of 29 km from Madanapalli and 12 km from Vayalpad. This place was ruled by Lieutenants of Tippu Sultan of Mysore and they built a Fort on a huge hill and the Ragini Mahal and used to go to the Fort on Horses. Hence this place is called Gurramkonda, which has got historical and archaeological importance. The Ragini Mahal and Maqbara Tomb and the Fort are worth seeing here.

History of Gurram konda

Gurramkonda is a Hill-Fort town. The historical name for gurramkonda was Zafarabad. It has more than forty mosques within it. But now all are ruined and extinct. One Sufi saint name Hazrath Shah Kamal came from Kirman of Old Persia and settled here. He taught about Islam to the locals and thus islam spread over this village and surroundings. In the sequence of political history it was one of the fort town for Vijayanagara kingdom. It was ruled by Vijayanagara kingdom, its king was wise Sree Krishna Deva Raya.The name Gurram + Konda ( Which actually means HORSE + HILL) was given to this place because the rulers of this kingdom travelled on horses to reach the top of the steep hill where they had their palace. Also the Name Gurram Konda is thought to be derrived from the famous two words that are associated with this historic place, KONDA which means Hill and Gurram which means Horse. The top of the hill looks like one huge rock and very fascinating. One can climb the steps and have a fantastic view of the surroundings.

Though the palace is pretty much in ruins, it's an interesting visit. This place also has a tomb for Tippu Sultan's maternal uncle (his mother's brother) called Maqbara. This is similar to all Islamic tombs built in India, and second largest dome(gumbaz) after the Gol gumbaz of Bijapur.

Another place to visit in Gurramkonda is the Ranginimahal. This has a very interesting architecture and is located at the foot of the hill.