Why Gagron is worth the long road
A different kind of fort: not perched on a high hill, but set low where two rivers meet, using the water as its first wall.
One of six: UNESCO listed it in 2013 with Chittorgarh Fort, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore, Amber and Jaisalmer.
- Fort type
- Water fort, on a low rock ridge
- Its sisters
- Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore, Amber, Jaisalmer
- Best hours
- Sunrise, or the last two hours of light
- Allow
- Two hours for the fort
- Shade
- Very little; carry water and a hat
- Almost empty: it sits well off the classic circuit, so you can walk its walls in near silence.
- A whole day's worth: within about fifteen minutes of Jhalawar town lie Gagron, the temples of Jhalrapatan and the seventh-century shrines on the Chandrabhaga.
- For collectors of forts: our guide to the UNESCO forts of Rajasthan sets all six side by side.
How a fort uses a river
Water on three sides: the Ahu and the Kali Sindh wrap the ridge, so an attacker could approach dry-shod from only one direction.
A moat for the fourth: a ditch was cut across the landward side to close the gap.
- A double ring of walls: behind the water rise two lines of walls with gates and bastions, so a breach of the first left attackers in a killing ground.
- Low, not high: the fort hugs the ridge rather than towering over it, which made it harder to bombard from the far banks.
- Built over centuries: parts are thought to be very old, and most of what you see was built and rebuilt between the twelfth and the eighteenth centuries.
- Water inside: tanks within the walls kept the garrison supplied through a siege.
- Its weakness: like every fort, it could be starved. That is how its most famous siege ended.
The siege of 1423 and the fall of Gagron
Why Gagron mattered: whoever held it controlled the river crossings between Malwa to the south and Hadoti to the north.
The Khichi Chauhans: a branch of the great Chauhan clan, who held Gagron for several hundred years.
- The defender
- Achaldas Khichi
- The besieger
- Hoshang Shah, Sultan of Malwa
- First fall
- September 1423
- Taken again
- By Malwa, in 1444
- Later rulers
- The Mughals, then Kota, then Jhalawar
- The siege: in 1423 Hoshang Shah of Malwa surrounded the fort, held by Achaldas Khichi.
- The end: when it was clear no help would come, the women performed jauhar, the Rajput rite of self-immolation to avoid capture, and Achaldas and his men rode out to die fighting.
- Remembered in verse: the siege is the subject of a celebrated early Rajasthani poem, told in the bardic style of the Charans.
- Again in 1444: Malwa besieged and took the fort a second time.
- Later centuries: Gagron passed through Mughal hands, then to the rulers of Kota and finally to Jhalawar.
Walking Gagron, gate by gate
The river approach
- Arrive by the bridge: cross the Kali Sindh at first light, when mist lifts off the water around the walls.
- Look back: from the far bank, the whole fort seems to float.
The gates and the double walls
- What to look for: the line of gates and bastions, and the space between the two rings of walls.
- Ask your guide: how an attacker who crossed the moat would have been trapped between them.
The palace rooms and tanks
- Inside the walls: palace rooms, courtyards and water tanks, some restored, some open to the sky.
- Mind your step: the stone is uneven and there are open drops. Wear good shoes.
The ramparts over the confluence
- The view: down to the meeting of the waters, with fishermen in small boats and herons in the shallows.
- In the monsoon: both rivers run full and brown around the walls, and Gagron is transformed.
A saint king and a sweet saint
Sant Pipa, the king who became a saint
Who he was: Pipa, a Khichi ruler of Gagron, remembered as a king who left his throne to follow the bhakti path as a disciple of Ramananda.
- His hymns: sung across north India, and one appears in the Guru Granth Sahib.
- The place: a monastery associated with him stands near the fort, a moving stop after the story of the siege.
The dargah of Mitthe Shah
Who he was: a Sufi saint known as Mitthe Shah, the sweet saint.
- Today: a living shrine just outside the fort, with an annual fair during Muharram.
- Etiquette: cover your head and remove your shoes before entering.
The parrots of Gagron
The bird: the Alexandrine parakeet, the large parrot locals call hiraman.
The local name: people here still call it the Gagroni parrot, once prized because it learned to speak so well.
- Rarer now: trapping for the pet trade has made it far less common.
- If you see a flock: in the trees by the river, count yourself lucky and leave them be.
- Never buy one: caged parrots sold in markets are protected birds. Our ethical animal encounters page explains why we avoid captive wildlife.
Jhalrapatan, the town of bells
The Surya temple
Also called: the Padmanabha temple, usually dated to the tenth or eleventh century.
- What to see: a tall curving shikhara that dominates the town, and walls carved with gods, dancers and musicians.
- A living temple: dress modestly, remove shoes and be ready for a priest's blessing. Look up at the hall ceiling.
The Shantinath Jain temple
Date: the eleventh century, dedicated to Shantinath, the sixteenth tirthankara.
- What to see: two stone elephants at the gate and a standing image about twelve feet tall.
- Don't walk past: the modest modern entrance hides the old carved sandstone within.
The Chandrabhaga temples
Where: on the riverbank just outside town, cared for by the Archaeological Survey of India.
- Age: some inscriptions date to the seventh century, and most temples were built between the seventh and tenth.
- The largest: Sitaleshwar Mahadev, with fine early carving around its doorway.
- When: late afternoon, with soft light on the river.
The Chandrabhaga fair
When: around Kartik Purnima, the full moon of Kartik, usually in November. We confirm the dates each year.
- What happens: pilgrims bathe in the river and farmers trade Malvi cattle, buffaloes, horses and camels.
- The feel: a real rural fair, not a tourist event.
How to read a Jhalrapatan temple
The tradition: Jhalawar's temples belong to the northern, or nagara, style.
Start at the base: a raised plinth, often carved with bands of elephants, lotus scrolls or geese.
- Read the walls: niches with the main gods facing outwards, guardians of the directions at the corners, and graceful surasundaris, celestial women, in between.
- Look up: the shikhara, the curved spire, evokes Meru, the cosmic mountain. At the top sits the amalaka, a ribbed stone disc like a giant fruit.
- Step inside: the mandapa, the pillared hall, often with a carved ceiling of concentric rings or a hanging lotus.
- The heart: the garbhagriha, the womb chamber, a small dark room holding the deity beneath the tallest point of the spire.
- Compare the centuries: the older Chandrabhaga shrines are smaller and plainer. The Surya temple is taller and busier, its spire built from many smaller spires.
- Go further: our guide to reading Rajasthani architecture and our page on temples and pilgrim towns.
Jhalawar, the youngest princely state
Zalim Singh Jhala: the all-powerful regent of Kota in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, from a Jhala clan rooted in Gujarat.
A new state: in 1838 the British settled a family quarrel by giving about a third of Kota's territory to his grandson, Madan Singh, the first Maharaj Rana.
- Founded as a state
- 1838, carved out of Kota
- Rulers
- The Jhala Rajputs, as Maharaj Ranas
- First ruler
- Madan Singh
- Theatre built
- 1921, Bhawani Natyashala
- Joined Rajasthan
- 1948
- The Garh Palace: the nineteenth-century fort-palace in the middle of town, with painted rooms and a museum of temple sculpture, inscriptions, coins and manuscripts. Which rooms are open changes, so ask.
- Bhawani Natyashala: a public theatre built in 1921 by Maharaj Rana Bhawani Singh after he had seen the opera houses of Europe. Its facade is worth a stop.
- A scholar prince: Bhawani Singh also collected books and manuscripts and founded schools.
- Orange country: from December to February the district's oranges, especially around Bhawani Mandi, are sold from carts on every road.
Caves and forests further out
The Kolvi caves: a laterite hill honeycombed with around fifty rock-cut Buddhist caves, cells and a stupa, a long drive south-west of town. Go with a guide and take water.
- Mukundra Hills: part of the tiger reserve reaches into the district, with dry forest, gorges and plateaus. Tigers are rare, but leopards, sloth bears and birds live here.
- The rivers: the Kali Sindh, Ahu and Chandrabhaga are good for birds, especially in winter.
- Into Hadoti: Kota's painted palace and the Chambal are about an hour and a half north, and Bundi beyond. Together they make Hadoti.
A perfect day around Gagron
Sunrise at Gagron
Arrive early: walk the walls while the river mist lifts.
- On the way out: the dargah of Mitthe Shah and the monastery of Sant Pipa.
- Breakfast: poha, flattened rice with peanuts and turmeric from neighbouring Malwa, with oranges in winter.
Midday in town
- See: the Garh Palace museum and the facade of Bhawani Natyashala.
- Rest: through the hottest hours.
Dusk in Jhalrapatan
- Late afternoon: the Chandrabhaga temples by the river.
- As the lamps are lit: the Shantinath temple, then the Surya temple as the bells begin.
The food and people of the borderland
Two languages: local speech mixes Hadoti with Malvi, the language of the Malwa plateau to the south.
A greener land: black cotton soils grow wheat, soybean, coriander, garlic and oranges, and village roofs are tiled because it actually rains here.
- Breakfast: poha with jalebi and kachori, a habit that came up from Malwa.
- Lunch at home: dal baati, maize rotis, a curry of fresh garlic shoots in winter and plenty of buttermilk.
- Try bafla: a boiled-then-baked cousin of the baati, eaten across Malwa.
- In season: you will be offered oranges at every stop. Don't refuse.
- Greetings: a ram ram sa and a cup of tea accepted go a long way. People are curious, unhurried and still a little surprised to see visitors.
- More dishes: our Rajasthani food guide.
What most visitors miss
The far bank: the best view of the fort is from across the river, not from inside it.
The fishermen: small boats work the confluence at dawn, and the herons follow them.
- Evening aarti in Jhalrapatan: the reason the town has its name. Arrive before the lamps are lit.
- The Shantinath interior: most people walk past the plain modern gateway and never see the eleventh-century carving inside.
- The monsoon: almost nobody comes in August, which is when Gagron is most itself.
- The orange carts: in winter, stop by the roadside for fruit picked that morning.
Photographing Gagron and Jhalrapatan
Sunrise from the bridge: mist on the Kali Sindh and the walls catching the first light.
From the far bank: the classic floating-fort view, best in soft morning light.
- Monsoon skies: heavy clouds over brown rivers make the most dramatic frames of the year.
- Jhalrapatan at dusk: lamps, bells and the spire of the Surya temple against the evening sky.
- Ask first: before photographing worshippers or priests, and never photograph inside a sanctum unless invited.
- More ideas: our photography tips for Rajasthan.
Getting there, staying and the seasons
By road: from Kota through farmland and low hills. From Jaipur, we break the journey in Bundi or Kota.
By train: Kota Junction is on the Delhi to Mumbai line. Jhalawar Road station is about forty minutes from town, with fewer fast trains.
- From Kota
- About an hour and a half
- From Jaipur
- About six hours; break in Bundi or Kota
- Main-line station
- Kota Junction
- Best months
- October to March
- Monsoon
- July to September, rivers in flood
- By air: no regular flights to Jhalawar or Kota at present. We fly guests into Jaipur or Udaipur and drive.
- Where to stay: Prithvi Vilas Palace, a former hunting lodge of the Jhalawar rulers and the family's home, has only a handful of rooms. Otherwise we base guests in Kota or a Bundi haveli. See heritage havelis.
- October to March: warm clear days and cool nights, with the Chandrabhaga fair in November and oranges from December.
- April to June: very hot. Sightseeing only at dawn.
- July to September: Gagron's season, with the rivers full and the land emerald. Keep plans loose, because roads can flood.
Who will love Gagron, and who won't
History lovers: a UNESCO fort, a seventh-century temple group and an Edwardian theatre in a single day, with nobody else around.
Photographers: Gagron in the monsoon and Jhalrapatan at dusk.
- Repeat visitors: guests who have seen Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur often tell us Hadoti was where they finally left the tourist trail.
- Not for you if: you need polished luxury every night, a choice of restaurants or a list of famous names.
- Our answer: combine the two. Palace hotels for most of the journey, and two or three days in Bundi, Kota and Jhalawar between. Our offbeat Rajasthan journey does exactly that.
- Before you go: dress for temples, carry water and snacks, carry cash, and read our temple etiquette guide.