This tour has 10 nodes/spots in all. To view each of the spot, please hover the mouse over the thumbnails and click on it in the bottom middle of the tour window. If you wish to view this spot on the map, click on the co-ordinates.
Co-ordinates: 15°19’48.6″N 78°09’45.7″E
Nawab Palace, Yaganti
Banganapalle is located at 15.3167°N 78.2333°E. It has an average elevation of 209 metres (688 ft) and is approximately 80 kilometres from Kurnool the first capital of Andhra State of 1953.
In 1601, Sultan Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur conquered the fortress of Banganapalle from Raja Nanda Chakravathy. The fort and surrounding districts were placed under the control of his victorious general, Siddhu Sumbal, who held them until 1665. Muhammad Beg Khan-e Rosebahani was granted Bangangapalle and the surrounding jagir in perpetual fiefdom but died without a male heir, leaving the jagir of Banganapalle to his grandson and adopted son, Faiz Ali Khan Bahadur. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb conquered the Sultanate of Bijapur in 1686, but Faiz Ali Khan’s fief was secured by the intervention of his maternal uncle Mubariz Khan, who served as Aurangzeb’s viceroy of the Deccan.
Apart from the above lines from history, The dates of the fort’s construction and who built it are vague. As the size of the fort itself tells that nothing much historical attached to this but history begins the story from the 17th century and all that revolves around Banagana Palle Kingdom & Fort which are a bit far from this place.
Nawab Palace in Banaganapally was believed to be built in 1865, by Mir Fazal Ali Khan. Built with locally available popular stone, the palace stands atop a little hill. Its exquisite, intricate construction attracting attention from far and wide. The Palace, popularly known as summer palace or resort of the Nawabs of Banaganapally was also said to be used as a party hall or like a club house to entertain visiting guests of the then Nawabs in the outskirts of the town 3 miles away.
The palace above a small hillock and gives a vast view across many kilometers of open stretch of land. Though it maybe crumbling from inside, the exteriors of this imposing structure, has withstood the ravages of time and is still in impressive shape. A very well made structure which didn’t develop any cracks even after a long time. Though no one lives here, a sole caretaker resides here.Most of the time the neighboring villagers can be seen having lunch or just lying down for rest as the porch of this bungalow is real cool.
Though the inside of the palace is closed for visitors due to damages by over whelming creativity called “graffiti” over times, take some time to walk around the structure and admire the beautiful details. Apart from the lovely view of the Banaganapalli village and the rolling fields around, one can make this visit a pit-stop to just sit down and relax under the cool porch of this bungalow.
The iconic palace shown in the 2009 Tollywood hit “Arundathi” starring Anushka Shetty was shot here! The abandoned bungalow may just have been forgotten if the movie didn’t generate a renewed interest in it.
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