The hill region surrounding the Kalinjar Fort in Banda was officially declared a National Geo-Heritage Site by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) recently.
About Kalinjar Fort:
It is located in the Banda district of Uttar Pradesh.
It is situated on an isolated hilltop, surrounded by the Vindhya Mountains and the Ken River.
It is one of the oldest and most impressive forts in the country.
Many decisive battles were fought for the possession of this strategically located fort in ancient, medieval, and modern times.
History:
Historical documents and inscriptions indicate that a strategic fort was established during the Gupta period (4th-6th century).
Later, Kalinjar came under the Chandela dynasty (9th-13th century) and became one of their capitals.
During the rule of the Chandela kings, the fort developed into a military fort on one side and a religious centre on the other.
Mahmud Ghaznavi, Qutubuddin Aibak, and Humayun attacked it and wanted to win it but could not succeed.
Finally, in 1569 AD, Akbar won this fort and gifted it to Birbal. After Birbal, this fort came under the Bundel king Chhatrasal.
After them, the fort was occupied by Hardev Shah of Panna.
In 1812, this fort became under the British.
The fort also houses mosques, temples, palaces, and stepwells.
One of the main attractions of Kalinjar is the Neelkanth Temple.
It was built by Chandela ruler Paramaditya Dev.
The Shiva lingam is of blue stone in addition to the giant 18-arm statue in the temple.
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