Huttaridurga Fort is a historical fort located in Kunigal taluk of Tumkur district in the state of Karnataka. The fort is situated at an altitude of about 3712 feet above sea level. It was built in the 16th century during the reign of Yelahanka Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, a vassal of the Vijayanagara kings (1534 AD).
This fort is located 87 km from Bangalore and 58 km from Tumkur city. It is also just 19 km from Kunigal city and 5 km from Huttaridurga village.
This fort is one of the nine forts (Nava Durgas) around Bangalore. This fort is a seven-tiered fort. This fort has seven gates.
The main fort area of Hutridurga is the Doddabetta Fort, located on the southern edge of the fort, which is a large hill 300 meters above ground level. To provide protection from enemies, about eight walls have been built from the base of the hill to the top. The walls are three to four meters high and one to two meters thick.
The Shankaralingeshwara Temple, located on the top of the Doddabetta hill, faces east. It consists of a sanctum sanctorum and a navaranga. The sanctum sanctorum is small and has a Shivalinga Peetha inside. A sculpture of Mahishasura Mardani is placed on the inner wall. The navaranga is square in shape with four pillars arranged in the middle. There is a Nandi idol in this navaranga.
The fort of Hutridurga has three main gates. These gates are the entrances to the fort, namely Eliyur Gate, Magadi Gate and Balikatte Gate.
There is a water tank in the middle of the rocks in front of the Shankaralingeshwara Temple at the top of the hill. The water flowing down the slope of the hill is collected here. This open space is covered with long slabs of stone. This space acts as a pushkarani for the temple.
To the left of the temple is a small rectangular building. It is called Maddina Ghina by the locals. It is a building measuring six meters long and two meters wide. Its base, which has a small entrance, is built of stones and the walls are built of bricks.