Savandurga

Savandurga is a hill 33 km west of Bangalore (Karnataka, India) off the Magadi road coord|12.919654|N|77.292881|E|region:IN_type:landmark, in India. The hill is famous for a temple and is also believed to be among the largest monolith hills in the world. The hill rises to 1226 m above mean sea level and forms a part of the Deccan plateau. It consists of peninsular gneiss, granites, basic dykes and laterites. The Arkavathi river passes nearby through the Thippagondanahalli reservoir and on towards Manchanabele dam.

Origin of name

Savandurga is formed by two hills known locally as Karigudda (black hill) and Biligudda (white hill). The earliest record of the name of the hill is from 1340 AD by Hoysala Ballala III from Madabalu where it is called "Savandi". Another view is that the name is originated from "Samantadurga" attributed to a "Samantharaya", a governor under Ahchutaraya at Magadi, although there is no inscription confirming this. This was the secondary capital of the Magadi rulers such as Kempegowda. from 1638 to 1728, Mysore took over this place and Dalavayi Devaraja occupied this place with the palace at Nelapattana. In 1792 Lord Cornwallis captured it from Tippu Sultan and this was described by Colonel Wilks. [Wilks, Mark. Historical Sketches of the South of India in an Attempt to Trace the History of Mysoor: from the origin of the Hindoo government of that state, to the extinction of the Mohammedan dynasty in 1799. Edited with notes by Murray Hammick. Mysore: Government Branch Press, 1930-1932.] Robert Home in his "Select views in Mysore" (1794) shows distant views of the hill from Bangalore. [Home, Robert. Select Views in Mysore: the country of Tippoo Sultan from drawings taken on the spot by Mr. Home with historical descriptions. First publ. London: Bower, 1794.] He called it "Savinadurga" or the "fort of death". There were no steps to reach the hill top and it was covered by Bamboos and other trees forming a barricade.

Tourism

The Savandurga hills are frequented by pilgrims who come to visit the Savandi Veerabhadreshwara Swamy and Narasimha Swamy temple sited at the foothills. Picnickers come to spend time among the serene environs of the hill. Rock climbers, cave explorers and adventurers are among others who frequent the locale.

Along with Ramanagaram, this was also a location for the making of David Lean's movie "A Passage to India".

Fauna

The hills are home to the endangered Yellow-throated Bulbuls and were once home to Long-billed Vultures and White-backed Vultures. Other wildlife include Sloth bear and leopard.

Flora

Surrounding the area is a state forest with scrub and dry deciduous forest covering 27 sq. km. The degraded forest, which is considered as shrub and tree savanna of the Anogeissus–Chloroxylon–Acacia series is highly diverse, recording over 59 tree and 119 shrub species. Some of the plant species recorded here include: [K. S. Murali, A. Kavitha, and R. P. Harish (2003) Spatial patterns of tree and shrub species diversity in Savanadurga State Forest, Karnataka. Current Science, 84(6):808-813]

* "Abrus precatorius" L. Liana
* "Abutilon indicum" (L) Sweet. Shrub
* "Acacia aurculiformis" A. Cunn. (Ex Benth.) Tree
* "Acacia catechu" Willd. Tree
* "Acacia chundra" (Roxb.) Willd. Tree
* "Acacia concina" (Willd) DC. Liana
* "Acacia farnesiana" (L.) Willd. Tree
* "Acacia ferruginea" DC. Tree
* "Acacia leucophloea" (Roxb.) Willd. Tree
* "Acacia nilotica" (L.) Del. Tree
* "Acacia sinuata" (Lour.) Merr. Liana
* "Acacia torta" (Roxb.) Bran. Shrub
* "Adina cordifolia" (Roxb.) Bran. Tree
* "Alangium lamarckii" Thw. Tree
* "Alangium salvifolium" (L. f.) Wang. Tree
* "Albizia amara" (Roxb.) Boiv. Tree
* "Albizia lebbeck" (L.) Willd. Tree
* "Albizia odoratissima" (L.F.) Benth. Tree
* "Albizia polycantha" Tree
* "Annona reticulata" L. Shrub
* "Annona squamosa" L. Shrub
* "Anogeissus latifolia" (Roxb.) Wall. Tree
* "Aristolochia indica" Juss. Shrub
* "Azadirachta indica" Juss. Tree
* "Bambusa arundinacea" Retz.
* "Barleria involurata" Nees. Shrub
* "Bauhinia purpurea" L. Tree
* "Bombax ceiba" auct. Tree
* "Boswellia serrata" Coleb. Tree
* "Bridelia retusa" Spreng. Tree
* "Buchanania lanzan" Sprengel. Tree
* "Butea frondosa" Roxb. Tree
* "Cadaba indica" Lam. Tree
* "Caesalpinia bonducella" flem. Shrub
* "Calotropis gigantea" (L.) Dryand. Shrub
* "Canthium angustifolium" Roxb. Tree
* "Canthium dicoccum" (Gaert.) T&B. Tree
* "Canthium didymum" auct. Tree
* "Canthium parviflorum" Lam. Tree
* "Capparis sepiaria" L. Liana
* "Careya arborea" Roxb. Tree
* "Cassia angustifolia" Tree
* "Cassia auriculata" L. Shrub
* "Cassia fistula" L. Tree
* "Cassia montana" Roth. Tree
* "Cassia occidentalis" L. Shrub
* "Cassia siamea" Lam. Tree
* "Cassia surattensis" Burm. Shrub
* "Cassia torta" L. Shrub
* "Cassine paniculata" (W&A) Romam. Tree
* "Celastrus paniculata" (Willd.) Shrub
* "Chloroxylon swietenia" DC., Prodr. Tree
* "Chromolaena odoratissima" Shrub
* "Cocculus villosus" DC. Shrub
* "Cycas religiosa" Tree
* "Daemia extensa" (Jacq) R, Br. Shrub
* "Dalbergia latifolia" Roxb. Tree
* "Dalbergia sissoo" Roxb. Tree
* "Dendrocalamus strictus" (Roxb.) Nees.
* "Diospyros montana" Roxb. Tree
* "Dodonaea viscose" Jacq. Shrub
* "Erythroxylon monogynum" Roxb. Shrub
* "Eucalyptus glabulus" L. Tree
* "Eugenia jambolana" Lam. Tree
* "Euphorbia antiquorum" L. Shrub
* "Euphorbia thirukalli" L. Shrub
* "Feronia elephantum" Corr. Tree
* "Ficus benghalensis" L. Tree
* "Ficus religiosa" L. Tree
* "Ficus tinctoria" Forst. Tree
* "Glycosmis pentaphylla" (Roxb.) DC. Shrub
* "Gmelina arborea" Roxb. Tree
* "Grewia hirsuta" Vahl. Shrub
* "Grewia orientalis" L. Shrub
* "Gymnema sylvestre" (Retz.) Schultes. Shrub
* "Helicteres isora" L. Shrub
* "Hyptis suaveolens" (L.) Poit. Shrub
* "Holarrhena antidysenterica" (Roth.) DC. Tree
* "Holoptelea integrifolia" (Roxb.) Planch. Tree
* "Ipomoea carnea" Jace. Shrub
* "Ipomoea repens" auct. Shrub
* "Ixora polyantha" Wt. Shrub
* "Jasminum pubescens" Willd. Shrub
* "Justicia montana" (Nees.) & ess. Tree
* "Kirganelia reticulata" (Pior.) Baill. Tree
* "Lantana camara" L. Shrub
* "Leptadenia reticulata" (Retz.) W&A Shrub
* "Limonia acidissima" auct. Tree
* "Murraya koenigii" Tree
* "Murraya paniculata" (L.) Jack. Tree
* "Ocimum sanctum" L. Shrub
* "Olea dioica" Roxb. Tree
* "Opuntia dillenii" (K.G.) Haw. Shrub
* "Paramignya monophylla" Wt. Tree
* "Passiflora foetida" L. Shrub
* "Phyllanthus emblica" Tree
* "Plumbago zelyanica" Willd. Shrub
* "Plumeria alba" Vent. Tree
* "Polygonum glabrum" Willd. Tree
* "Pongamia glabra" Vent. Tree
* "Premna tomentosa" Willd. Tree
* "Pterocarpus marsupium" Roxb. Tree
* "Prosopis spicigera" L. Shrub
* "Pterolobium hexapetalum" (Roth.) S&W. Shrub
* "Randia dumetorium" (Retz.) Poir. Tree
* "Santalum album" L. Tree
* "Sida cordifolia" L. Shrub
* "Streblus asper" Lour. Tree
* "Strychnos potatorum" L.F. Tree
* "Tamarindus indica" L. Tree
* "Tarenna asiatica" (L.) Schumann. Shrub
* "Tecoma stans" (L.) Kumth. Shrub
* "Tectona grandis" L.F. Tree
* "Terminalia arajuna" (Roxb. ex DC.) W&A. Tree
* "Terminalia bellerica" (Gaertn.) Roxb. Tree
* "Terminalia chebula" (Gaertn.) Retz. Tree
* "Terminalia paniculata" Roth. Tree
* "Terminalia tomentosa" (DC.) W&A Tree
* "Tinospora cordifolia" Tree
* "Toddalia asiatica" (L.) Lam. Shrub
* "Tylophora pauciflora" Shrub
* "Vitex altissima" L.F. Tree
* "Wrightia tinctoria" R.Br. Tree
* "Wrightia tomentosa" R.&S. Tree
* "Ziziphus mauritiana" Lamk. Tree
* "Ziziphus oenoplia" Miller. Shrub
* "Ziziphus xylopyrus" Willd. Tree
* "Ziziphus zizyphus" (L.) H.Karst. Tree

References

External links

* http://www.mapability.com/travel/p2i/marabar_2.html