A great dome of granite rises right behind the bus stand. Climb its boulders and the town opens out below, ringed by rocky hills, with the gleam of the reservoir beyond.

Gateway of Tamil Nadu

Krishnagiri lies at the foot of the Krishnadevaraya Hills, surrounded by rocky hills, 90 km from Bengaluru and 250 km from Chennai. The region served as the 'Gateway of Tamil Nadu', and the fort was its first line of defence. The fortress on Krishnagiri hill was built by the Vijayanagara emperors. In the First Mysore War, British troops passed through Krishnagiri to attack Hyder Ali's forces at Kaveripattinam. After the Treaty of Srirangapatna the region passed to the British, and in 1792 Captain Alexander Reed became its first collector.

Syed Basha Hill

When Tipu Sultan took the area, he renamed the hill Syed Basha Hill and built a mosque on top. The hill honours two Sufi martyr saints, remembered every year on the tenth of Shawwal. The town below is known as the 'Mango Capital of India', and the Krishnagiri Dam was built in 1967.

• ✓
  Fort walls On the granite hill.
• ✓
  Hilltop mosque Built under Tipu Sultan.
• ✓
  Town views Over Krishnagiri and the hills.