Keoti Fort

Keoti Fort (also Keonti Fort) is an Indian fortress (qila) situated on the Rewa Plateau about 53 km north-east of the city of Rewa, in Rewa district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

History
Keoti Fort is mentioned in an account of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Thakur Ranmat Sinha, a leader in the Rebellion in Rewa State, went into hiding near Keoti Fort. In an encounter at the fort, he killed a British officer who had come to arrest him. Eventually, he surrendered at the urging of the Maharaja Raghuraj Singh who supported the British. He was hanged in 1860 for the murder of the British officer.

Geography
Keoti Fort is situated on the Rewa Plateau near the northern end of the Vindhya Escarpment. The fort is built on the right bank of a ravine that the Mahana River has cut into the escarpment. The 98 m high Keoti Falls is on the opposite side of the ravine, visible from the northern part of the fort. The elevation of Keoti Fort is 280 m above mean sea level.

Keoti Fort is about 53 km from the city of Rewa. The nearest airport is located at Prayagraj (Allahabad) in Uttar Pradesh, a distance of 114 km.

Architecture
The west wall of the fort runs along the Mahana ravine for about 200 m. The south wall extends about 100 m east from the ravine. The east wall with the main entrance is about 40 m long. There after, the fort depth narrows to about 25 m at the northern end of the fort. The total area enclosed by the walls is about 1.0 ha. Towers are located at the corners of the outer walls.

The construction material is stone and clay mortar. Loopholes with three angles of fire are built into the outer walls at regular intervals and at various heights. These are useful for defense against enemy coming across the flat plateau.

Tourism
The fort is open to the public. Entrance is free (January 2024).