Kalinjar Fort:
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.
- 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.
- Historical documents and inscriptions indicate that a strategic fort was established during the Gupta period (4th-6th century).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.
