Kalinjar Fort is a historical fort situated at Kalinjar in
Banda District, (Uttar Pradesh). It is one of the eight famous forts built by Chandela kings. It abides on an isolated flat-topped hill in the
Vindhya Range, with a height of 244 meter above the plain.
The main body of the fort is oblong shaped and lies from east to west with nearly 1.6 km in length and 0.8 km in breadth. The fort has a height of 30-35 meter and 8 meter wide. Big sand stone and granite pieces are used to build the fort.
The word Kalanjar was used to represent Lord Shiva, who rested here and destroyed (Jaran) the time barrier (kala). People believe that Lord Shiva always remains here. The Neelkanth Temple is in the middle of the west face of the fort.
The rare stone images related to Lord Shiva, Shakti, Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesh, Bhairava and Bhairavi are very attractive. The stone-carvings of animals, birds, apsaras and mithuna are also found here.
There are two entrances to the fort, one on the north side towards the town and the other at the south-east angle leading towards Panna, Madhya Pradesh.
Kalinjar is about 53 km south of Banda.
