Motorcycling to Kalpi and Fort of Beri Hamirpur

Hi There
   After resting for few days and getting the bike serviced it was time to mount the saddle again,and this time the destination was Kalpi and Fort of Beri Hamirpur.
  
   Route                                Jhansi-Orai-Kalpi-Beri Hamirpur-Jhansi

   Road side assistance       Ample

   Road Condition                Excellent

  Food                                  Number of dhabas along the road I did not have food at any                                                    place.

  Kalpi

   It is located at a distance of 150 from Jhansi , on the mega highway going to Kanpur from Jhansi. Kalpi was also known as Kalap dev ki Kalpi later on abbreviated to Kalpi. The town was formed in in 4th Century by King Vasudeva of Kannauj. Subsequently it changed hands and went to Mughals,however with rising dominance of Marathas in Central India this town came under the Maratha's.

    In 1858 a massive fight took place near Kalpi between british and Rani laxmibai. After the capture of Kalpi the british blasted its fort since it was headquarter of Rani laxmibai's forces. 

    The town is also famous for the birth place of Maharishi Vedvyas the prolific writer who organised the Vedas and wrote many Puranas including Srimad Bhagwat and the grand epic Mahabharat.  Gem in  Emperor Akbar’s court,   Birbal was born near Kalpi . 

   On the way to Kalpi astride the highway one comes across this magnificent tomb  of Lodhi Shah known as 84 gumbaz.the tomb has been restored quite beautifully and it cannot escape eye of rider due its massive size.

 The main Tomb

     There is another epic monument in the town known as Lanka Minar it was build by in 1857 by Mr Babumathura Prasad Nigam a prominent lawyer of the town.The height of minar is 225ft and it took 20 yrs and 2 lac rupees to construct it.Complete epic story of incident in lanka is depicted on it .From the top an area of 10km can be seen.As of now it is in bad shape and requires restoration.

    The birth place of Vyas muni is located a little bit away from the town,its a quite and peaceful place.The temple is very simple and behind the temple is a neem tree with shape of Ganesha.

  Just outside the temple is a private temple of Vyas Muni build by a trust from South India,this temple has typical architecture of a South Indian temple.

Main temple

Ganesha tree

New Vyas Temple

Fort Of Beri Hamirpur

   The fort of Hamirpur lies at a distance of about 45 kms.It was bright hot day by the time I finished visit to lanka Minar it was already 1030am and the sun was so bright as if it was mid day.As I rode towards Fort of Hamirpur the congested roads of town gave away to a new well laid 4 lane highway.It was fun to ride on it ,the traffic was very less,the road to the fort is very well marked and one can easily reach it.

  The fort of Hamirpur is a living fort ie it is being used by the principality as residency.A lot of modifications have taken place and nothing much to see accept a old british Cannon at the main entrance .The prince was not at home ,therefore I was not able to see it from inside.

   

The fort of Beri Hamirpur

The main entrance courtyard

Old hunting guns

The Royal Colours

Marking on old cannon

Marking on old cannon

 

  It was all most 1230 noon by the time I decided to ride back home,it was very warm and the roads were almost empty, it was a great pleasure riding the hot sun,with frequent stops to hydrate oneself and I comfortably reached Jhansi .

  A visit to Kalpi along with lanka Minar   ,84 gumbaj will be great experience,Fort of Beri Hamirpur can be skipped.

Until my next blog ,Adios.