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Ita Fort In Arunachal Pradesh

Written by Sudhir Kumar

The Ita fort is the contribution of Ahom dynasty, who have left the evidences of their existence in form of this fort.For entrance, there are three gates that are on western, eastern and the southern sides of the fort.

About Ita Fort :

 ITA Fort is situated at the heart of the capital city in Papum Pare district. It is a historical fort of an irregular shape, built mainly with bricks, dating back to the 14th -15th centuries . The total brickwork done on the fort comprise of 16,200 cubic mtr. length. There are also three gates on three sides viz Eastern, Western and Southern, which is said to be built by Ahom rulers. The name Itanagar is believed to be derived from the name of this fort.

The Buddhist Temple This is a new but beautiful yellow – roofed shrine. It rises from well-rnaintained grounds behind a stupo tree planted by His Holiness The Dalai Lama. The grounds of the temple offers a beautiful view of the Itanagar Town.

Attractions Of Ita Fort In Arunachal Pradesh :

The capital city of Arunachal Pradesh, Itanagar has derived its name from the famous Ita Fort. The Ita fort of Itanagar is of ample historical importance and is located at the heart of the capital city in Papum Pare district of Itanagar. This historical monument the Ita Fort of Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh was established by the rulers of the Ahom dynasty, somewhere between 14th and 15th century. The excavated ruins of this historical fort are one of the major tourist attractions in Itanagar and being imposing it was highly irregular in shape.

The stone work of the Ita Fort at Arunachal Pradesh covers an area of 45 cubic meters and around 80 lakhs of bricks were required to erect the structure of the fort during that era. The volume taken up by the brick structure is about 16,200 cubic meters. Interesting facts about the fort is that almost 45,000 man days were used to build this fort. The fort has three different entrances at three different sides, which are western, the eastern and the southern sides.

For visiting the prestigious Ita Fort in Arunachal Pradesh, visitors need to travel to Itanagar. For the aerial route the airport closest to Itanagar is at Lilabari which is another north-eastern Indian state, Assam. The distance between this airport and Itanagar is 67 kms. Regular trains also travel from Guwahati to Harmuti and vice versa, which is at a distance of 33 kms from Assam.

History :

Ita Fort is one of the main tourist attraction and one of the most important historical sites of Arunachal Pradesh. The fort was built under the rule of Ahom Dynasty and the construction dates back to as early as the 14th and 15th century. It is centrally located in the middle of Papum Pare district in Itanagar.

The impressive but highly uneven structure of the fort is said to be built with over 8 million bricks, 45 cubic meters of stone and is known to have been made by 4600 man-days. The area is not very construction friendly, which gives Ita Fort an even greater distinctiveness. The fort has three entrances with gates located on the eastern, western and southern fronts.

It is a pride and one of the most important historical structures of Arunachal Pradesh, so much so that the capital Itanagar also has its name derived from Ita Fort. ‘Ita’ (literally means ‘brick’ in Ahom dialect), and Ita Fort translates to Fort of Bricks.

Location :

Itanagar derives its name from the Ita fort which is located right at the center of the capital complex in Papum Pare district. The fort dates back to the Ahom rulers who constructed it somewhere between 14th and 15th century. The imposing but highly irregular fort which has been constructed with the help of more than 8 million bricks stand guardian to the capital city. The figures are immaterial today but still it is interesting to know that almost 45,000 man days were utilised to build this fort which has 3 gates, the Eastern, the Western and the Southern Gates. It is a unique fort in a land where such constructions are not very common.

About the author

Sudhir Kumar

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