Why we take guests to the quieter forts
Every fort has a reason: a river crossing, a trade road, a border with a rival kingdom. Knowing the reason turns a ruin into a story.
Every kind of ground: Rajasthan built forts on hills, in forests, beside rivers, in the desert and even out of earth on the plains. The quieter ones show the whole range.
- Kinds of fort
- Hill, river, forest, desert and plains
- Condition
- From restored palaces to open ruins
- Best hour
- Early morning or the last two hours of light
- Bring
- Good shoes, water, a hat, a torch
- Guides
- Essential at ruins without signs
- You meet the people who care for them: caretakers, priests at the fort temple, shepherds on the ramparts.
- They make sense of the famous ones: after a morning on a broken rampart with no one else, Amber's crowds feel easier to understand.
- Some are hotels: a handful of family forts now welcome guests, so you can sleep inside the walls.
- The UNESCO six: if you want the listed forts, our guide to the UNESCO forts of Rajasthan covers them. This page is about the rest, and about one of the six that hardly anyone visits.
Hadoti, the river and the ridge
Gagron, the fort that floats
Where: at the meeting of the Ahu and Kali Sindh rivers, a few kilometres from Jhalawar.
What makes it different: built on a low ridge rather than a high hill, defended by the rivers on three sides and a moat on the fourth.
- Its great chapter: in September 1423 Hoshang Shah of Malwa besieged the fort, held by Achaldas Khichi. The women performed jauhar, the men rode out to die, and Gagron fell.
- Its saint: Pipa, a Khichi ruler of the fort, gave up his throne to follow the bhakti path. One of Sant Pipa's hymns appears in the Guru Granth Sahib.
- The surprise: it is one of the six UNESCO Hill Forts of Rajasthan, and still one of the least visited forts in the state.
Taragarh, the star fort of Bundi
Built: traditionally in 1354, by Rao Bar Singh Hada, on the ridge above the town.
What to see: the great bastion of Bhim Burj, rock-cut reservoirs that held water through sieges, and the view over the blue town and its lakes.
- The climb: steep, twenty to thirty minutes up from the Garh Palace.
- Mind the macaques: carry nothing that looks like food and keep sunglasses zipped away.
- Best hour: first light, when the valley is still in mist.
Bhainsrorgarh, above the Chambal
Where: in Chittorgarh district but well east of the great fort, where the Chambal runs between cliffs.
- What it is now: a small heritage hotel looking straight down on the river.
- How to use it: as a stop between Chittorgarh and Bundi or Kota, rather than as a base for Chittor.
Between Delhi, Agra and Jaipur
Lohagarh, the iron fort of Bharatpur
Built: from 1732, by the Jat ruler Suraj Mal, who made Bharatpur one of the strongest states in northern India.
- Its secret: the name means iron fort, but its strength was earth. Thick mud ramparts absorbed cannon fire that would have shattered stone.
- Its fame: in 1805 it held off a British siege under Lord Lake.
- Best hour: late afternoon on the ramparts, after a morning with the birds at Keoladeo.
Bala Quila, Alwar
What it is: the ridge fort above Alwar, a princely capital founded in 1770.
- Its name: Bala Quila means the young fort, and it is not young at all.
- Practical: access is sometimes restricted, so we confirm it before you set out. Go early for the view over the city.
Bhangarh and Ajabgarh
Bhangarh: a fortified town founded in 1573 by Raja Bhagwant Das of Amber for his son Madho Singh, deserted by the late 18th century, with its palace climbing the hillside.
- Ajabgarh: a fort built in the seventeenth century by Ajab Singh, of the same Kachwaha line, above a quiet village.
- The ghost stories: folklore. The setting on the edge of Sariska is the real reason to go.
Neemrana, a fort to sleep in
Built: in 1464, and held for centuries by a branch of the Chauhan Rajputs.
- Now: Neemrana Fort-Palace, a heritage hotel climbing the hillside in terraces, halfway between Delhi and Jaipur.
- Best for: breaking the drive from Delhi with a night inside fort walls.
Marwar and the north-west
Ahhichatragarh, Nagaur
The name: the fort of the hooded cobra, dating to the early twelfth century.
- The restoration: the Mehrangarh Museum Trust has restored it since 1985, and it won a UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award in 2002.
- What to see: painted palaces and restored fountains and water channels, among the finest in Rajasthan.
- When: any cool month, or during the great cattle fair in Magh, usually January or February.
Khimsar Fort
Built: in 1523, by Rao Karamsji, a son of Jodhpur's founder Rao Jodha.
- Now: Khimsar Fort, a heritage hotel run with the family, halfway between Jodhpur and Nagaur.
- Around it: dunes, a village and blackbuck in the fields.
Rohet Garh
Held since: 1622, by the same family, and a hotel since 1990.
- Setting: a lakeside fort about 40 kilometres south of Jodhpur, among Bishnoi villages.
- Stay: Rohet Garh, with Marwari horses and village walks.
Jalore, the golden hill
Where: on a granite hill in the south of Marwar, the old fort called Songir, the golden hill.
- Its siege: in 1311 the army of Alauddin Khalji took the fort, and its Chauhan ruler Kanhad Dev died defending it. Much of the detail comes from a fifteenth-century poem, so treat it as tradition.
- Today: a steep climb to gates, temples and a shrine, with very few visitors. Best as a long day from Jodhpur or on the way south to Mount Abu.
Bhatner, Hanumangarh
Where: in the far north of Rajasthan, on the old route from Central Asia into India.
- Its history: one of the oldest forts in the region. Timur's army sacked it in 1398 on the march towards Delhi.
- Who it suits: the truly dedicated. It is a long way from anywhere else on a usual journey.
Ajmer, Mount Abu and the desert
Taragarh, Ajmer
What it is: the hill fort of Ajaymeru, the invincible hill of the Chauhan kings that gave Ajmer its name.
- What you see: remains of walls and gates on the hill above the city, and the view over Ana Sagar.
- How: a morning before the dargah, on our full Ajmer day.
Achalgarh, Mount Abu
Built: first by the Paramaras, rebuilt in the fifteenth century by Rana Kumbha of Mewar, the builder of Kumbhalgarh.
- What to see: the path past its gates, small Jain temples and the ancient Shiva shrine of Achaleshwar Mahadev at its foot.
- Pair with: Guru Shikhar, at 1,722 metres the highest point in Rajasthan.
Khaba, near Jaisalmer
What it is: a ruined fort above an abandoned Paliwal village southwest of Jaisalmer.
- Why go: quieter than Kuldhara, known for its peacocks, with wide views across the desert.
- Best hour: early morning or late afternoon, with a long lens for the birds.
How to read a Rajput fort
Pol: a gate. Forts are entered through a series of them, set at angles so no army could charge straight through.
The bends: sharp turns between gates broke the momentum of war elephants and exposed attackers to fire from above.
Spikes on the doors: iron spikes on the old wooden doors were there to stop elephants ramming them.
- Burj: a bastion, usually round, projecting from the wall so defenders could fire along it.
- Kangura: the battlement, the notched parapet along the top of the walls.
- Water: tanks, stepwells and rock-cut reservoirs. The great forts fell to breaches and treachery more often than to thirst, because the water was planned first.
- Jharokha: the projecting balcony window, where a ruler showed himself or royal women watched unseen.
- Chhatri: a domed kiosk, often a memorial to a warrior who fell defending the fort.
- Jauhar and saka: the words you will hear at every besieged fort, the women's death by fire and the men's last charge. They are spoken of with pride and grief. Please listen quietly.
- The longer read: our architecture guide and our page on forts and palaces.
The famous forts, at their quiet hour
Amber Fort, at opening
- Why then: for the first hour you share the courtyards with a few early visitors and the people opening doors and lighting lamps at the Shila Devi temple.
- Then: walk up to Jaigarh on the ridge above, which holds the Jaivana cannon, cast in 1720. See Amber Fort.
Nahargarh, at sunset
- Why then: the ramparts above Jaipur, built in 1734 by Sawai Jai Singh II, look straight down on the walled city as its lights come on.
- Read: our Nahargarh Fort page.
Mehrangarh, in the last two hours
- Why then: the day crowds thin, the light turns the walls gold and the blue city below glows.
- Look for: the panel of small handprints by a gate inside, left by royal widows on their way to sati, the last in 1843. Please be quiet there. See Mehrangarh.
Junagarh, at opening
- Why then: the morning light suits the gold-leaf Anup Mahal and the painted Badal Mahal, and the fort is rarely crowded.
- Built: 1589 to 1594, for Raja Rai Singh of Bikaner. See Junagarh Fort.
Kumbhalgarh, after dark and at dawn
- Why then: the walls are lit after the evening show, and at sunrise you can walk the rampart alone.
- Read: our Kumbhalgarh wall walk.
Sleeping inside fort walls
Family forts: at Castle Bijaipur, Rohet Garh and Khimsar, the family who owns the fort is often there, and dinner can feel like being a guest at home.
A modern fort hotel: Alila Fort Bishangarh near Jaipur sets a polished modern hotel inside a hilltop fort.
- Near Delhi
- Neemrana Fort-Palace
- Near Jaipur
- Alila Fort Bishangarh, Samode Palace
- Near Jodhpur
- Khimsar Fort, Rohet Garh
- Near Chittorgarh
- Castle Bijaipur
- Shekhawati
- Castle Mandawa
- A castle among havelis: Castle Mandawa, built in 1755, makes the painted town of Mandawa an easy base.
- What to expect: thick walls, steep stairs, rooms that are each different, and the occasional quirk. That is the charm.
- Ask about stairs: fort hotels often have many steps and few lifts. Tell us about mobility and we choose the right rooms.
- The full list: our guides to palace hotels and heritage havelis.
Staying safe on a ruined fort
Wear proper shoes: stone polished by centuries of feet is slippery, and steps are uneven.
No railings: many ramparts have sheer drops and nothing to stop you. Keep children close and stay back from the edges.
- Monkeys: macaques and langurs live on many forts. Keep food out of sight and do not feed them.
- Bats and dark rooms: carry a small torch for inner chambers and stairways.
- Leave before dark: paths are hard to follow after sunset, and some ruins close at dusk.
- Heat: most forts have little shade. Go early, carry water and wear a hat.
- Respect the shrines: many forts have working temples or dargahs. Shoes off, shoulders covered, voices low.
Planning a fort journey
Delhi to Jaipur
- A night at Neemrana, then Alwar's Bala Quila and Bhangarh the next morning.
Agra to Jaipur
- Lohagarh in the late afternoon at Bharatpur, then Fatehpur Sikri and the Abhaneri stepwell. See our Agra to Jaipur via Abhaneri route.
Jaipur to Udaipur
- Bundi's Taragarh, then Chittorgarh and a night at Castle Bijaipur, with Bhainsrorgarh or Gagron as a detour.
Jodhpur and the north
- Khimsar and Nagaur on the road to Bikaner, with Jalore as a day to the south.
Ready-made journeys
- Forts and palaces: our Forts and Palaces Grand Tour.
- Quieter roads: our Offbeat Rajasthan journey.
What most visitors miss inside a fort
The memorial stones: small carved stones by gates and tanks remember warriors who fell nearby, often with a horseman carved on them. Families still mark them with vermilion.
The fort temple: almost every fort has one, and many are still in daily worship. The morning aarti, the lamp ritual, is often the best moment of the visit.
- The water system: look for channels cut in the rock, tanks at the foot of slopes and stepwells hidden in courtyards. They are the reason the fort survived.
- The kitchens and stables: the working parts of a fort, usually ruined and ignored, tell you how many people lived inside.
- The view outward: stand on a rampart and ask your guide what a lookout would have watched for. The answer explains why the fort is there.
- The local guardians: a caretaker, a priest, a shepherd. Ask their names and their stories. Many families have looked after these walls for generations.
When to go
October to March: warm days, cool nights and clear light for photographs of the walls.
December and January: cold dawns on the ramparts. Bring a warm layer.
- Best months
- October to March
- Monsoon magic
- Gagron, Taragarh, Achalgarh
- Summer
- Dawn only, April to June
- Fairs
- Nagaur in Magh, Bundi Utsav in Kartik
- The monsoon: July to September turns Hadoti and the Aravallis green. Rivers fill around Gagron, and mist drifts over Taragarh.
- April to June: very hot. Go at first light and be back in the shade by mid-morning.
- Month by month: our guide to the best time to visit Rajasthan.
Who will love the offbeat forts
History lovers: a guide and an empty rampart give you more than any museum.
Walkers: Taragarh, Jalore and Achalgarh are proper climbs with proper views.
- Photographers: low light on old walls, with nobody in the frame.
- Families with older children: gates, tunnels, bastions and stories of sieges. Keep small children close on unrailed walls.
- Less suited to: anyone with limited mobility, or who wants furnished palace rooms. Choose Nagaur, Neemrana or a fort hotel instead.
- Next read: our list of quiet places in Rajasthan and the story of Chittorgarh in a day.