Kondapalli Fort

Kondapalli Fort కొండపల్లి కోఁట
Part of Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh
Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India
Palace view at Kondapalli Kota or Fort
Forecourt of the fort
Kondapalli Fort కొండపల్లి కోఁట
Coordinates	16°37′31″N 80°31′50″E / 16.625283°N 80.530667°E / 16.625283; 80.530667Coordinates: 16°37′31″N 80°31′50″E / 16.625283°N 80.530667°E / 16.625283; 80.530667
Type	Fort
Site information
Controlled by	Government of Andhra Pradesh
Condition	Ruins
Site history
Built	13th century
Built by	Reddi Dynasty
Materials	Granite Stones and lime mortar
Battles/wars	Reddy dynasty, Gajapati Kingdom of Orissa, Qutubshahi dynasty, Vijayanagara Empire, Sultans of Golconda (Nizams) and the British

Kondapalli Fort, also locally known as Kondapalli Kota, is located in the Krishna district, close to Vijayawada, the second largest city of Andhra Pradesh, India. The historic fort on the hill (Eastern Ghats) located to the west of the Kondapalli village was built by Prolaya Vema Reddy of Kondaveedu during the 14th century, initially as a pleasure place and a business centre, along with the Kondaveedu Fort in Guntur district. In later years, it was used as a military fortification and the British placed a strong garrison here.

Apart from the fort, which is a major tourist attraction, another important artistic rural product of Kondapalli is the crafting of colourful toys, called the Kondapalli toys. A very light white wood (see image in gallery) is used to make the lively painted toys, including mythological figures, women and animals. This handicraft product has been given a Geographical Indication under the name కొండపల్లి [కొయ్య] బొమ్మలు "Kondapalli [Koyya] Bommalu" (['Koyya' కొయ్య in Telugu means "Wooden"], ['Bommalu' బొమ్మలు in Telugu means "Toys"]), as protection given to a reputed product.

The fort is located to the west of Vijayawada city in the main hill range known as Kondapalli in the Krishna district. The hill range, about 24 kilometres (15 mi) in length, extends between Nandigama and Vijayawada. The forest area in this hill range abounds in a type of lightwood known as 'ponuku' పొనుకు కఱ్ఱ (Gyrocapus jacquini), which is used exclusively for the manufacture of the famous Kondpalli toys. The forest vegetation around Kondapalli fort and the nearby hills are also well known for medicinal plants and trees such as Phyllanthus amarus (Telugu local name "nela usiri" నేల ఉసిరిక చెట్టు), Phyllanthus, Andrographis paniculata (local name: “adavi mirapa” అడవి మిరప or “nelavemu” నేలవేము), Thedlapala (Wrightia tinctoria), Tephrosia purpurea, Albizia amara, Streulia urens and Chloroxylon swetenia. The hill range is mainly made up of charnockites, with some pyroxene granulites, granites, khondalites, pyroxenites and dolerites.