The sprawling Gingee Fort in Villupuram district should have been an ideal must-visit tourist destination in the northern part of Tamil Nadu. However, the fort has not found the place it deserves on the tourism map of the State, mainly owing to the lack of basic tourism amenities.
Known as the ‘Troy of the East’, the fort located atop three hillocks – Rajagiri, Krishnagiri and Chandragiri – was considered impregnable and was a symbol of the State’s glorious past. It had witnessed the rise and fall of successive empires spanning centuries.
Built by Ananta Kon of the Konar Dynasty in 1,200 CE, the ownership of the fort changed hands many times. It was under the possession of several empires such as the Vijayanagar Nayaks, Marathas, Mughals, Nawabs, the French and British.
