Uperkot, located In Junagadh city of Gujarat state, is believed to be built by Yadavas. It was considered to be extremely impenetrable fort of that time. Enclosed by a wall which is over 20 metres at some places, really made it secure & protected place.
The fort has many attractions, among which are two cannons ‘Neelam’ & ‘Manek’ kept on western side of the fort. These were left back here by the Turks who fought for the Sultan of Gujarat against the Portuguese in 1538 A.D. These are believed to be cast in Egypt in 1531 A.D. The Bigger one Neelam is 5 m long. In the southern side of the fort is third cannon ‘Kadanal’, which is delicately ornamented in front & at the rear inscribed in Arabic is the name of ‘Ali Bin Sarja’ who possibly is a Egyptian gunsmith. Like Neelam & Manek, this was also left by The Turks.
Then there is Ranakdevi’s Mahal near which Neelam & Manek are installed. It depicts a good example of stone carving. It has three large openings in the roof.
There are also two large stepwells(vav in gujarati) namely ‘Adi Kadi Vav’ & ‘Navghan Kuvo’. 11th century Navghan Kuva has circular steps which go down till 50 m and it is named after the king Ra’navghan who ruled here during 11th century A.D. Openings in side walls which let in light. 162 stepped Adi Kadi Vav is cut in virgin rock. Its location in such geological strata shows the skills of water diviners of its period.
Buddhist caves are among the other places in the Uperkot. These date back to 2nd century A.D. It depicts the Satvahana art traditions as well as the exotic Greco-Scythian trends. Amongst the art form is a typical Buddhist decorative theme from Gandhara & Andhra.
It also has a large storage which was used for storing grains which is known as Anaj Kothar and also a big water storage. This place is of great importance in the history of Junagadh city. It is easily reachable through city roads passing through old markets.