Sandur

Karnataka > Bellary > Sandur

Sandur is a taluk headquarters in Bellary district. It is in a valley surrounded by hills, and the hills abound in quality iron and manganese ore. Sandur is derived from 'sandu' in Kannada, meaning a 'pass'. It was formerly under the Maratha rulers called the Ghorpades till 1947 and the palace surrounded by a fort is an attractive building. The town has a Vithoba temple with impressive pillars. One of the hill ranges has the attractive Kumaraswamy temple and also the Parvati temple. The Parvati temple perhaps was the original Kumaraswamy temple of Badami Chalukya times which now houses a recent Parvati figure and the Shanmukha {Kumaraswamy) temple is a Rashtrakuta structure with a modern image. The twin temples are excellent pieces of art and are in a sarene place, and are surrounded by rose gardens. The place is 12 km. from Sandur town. Not far away from here is the Nandihalli Post-Graduate Centre of the Gulbarga University and 16 km. away from Sandur is Ramanadurga or Ramgad. There is a Rama temple on this cool hill resort, commemorating Kumara Rama, a historical figure who died fighting against Delhi Sultan's army.