The fort of Gwalior lies in the central state of India, Madhya Pradesh, which is found on an isolated rock, from which the town of Gwalior can be overlooked and consists of various historic buildings. It is considered as one of the largest forts in the country and even a postage stamp is issued by the Postal Service of India to reveal its importance. Through historical records, it can be traced that it dates back to the 8th century. The city and the fortress are integral to the historical kingdoms of Northern part of India. There are reports that Babur, the Mughal Emperor (1483–1531) narrated it as, "The pearl in the necklace of the forts of Hind". The fort, has been given the epithet "Gibraltar of India', is a proof to the panoramic view of the old town of Gwalior which lies to the east.

The history of fort relates to two parts called as the main fort and the Gurjari Mahal along with the Man Mandir palace. The premier part was constructed during the early rule of Tomar, whereas the second part, the Gurjari Mahal and the palace, was built by Raja Man Singh Tomar for his beloved queen Mrignayani in the 15th century.

Gwalior Fort holds a distinct and unique place in the human civilization as it is the place where zero was used for the first time. Also called as 'Shunya' in sanskrit, the site is of mathematical importance because of which it is written that it was established in small 9th century on the eastern side of the plateau. Accidently, there are records that the oldest "0" in India was used here for which date can be assigned.

History

As per the legend, the Gwalior history traces back to around 1000 years. The fort of Gwalior is a witness to several battles in the tough times as well as the festivals in the times of peace. The beautiful momentous of a glorious past has been taken care of, and gives an appeal to the uniqueness of Gwalior.

The history of Gwalior traced back to a fabulous legend in 8 AD, when a fatal disease struck Suraj Sen, a chieftain. He got his cure by Gwalipa, a hermit saint, who lived on the top of the hill where the fort is located. Gwalipa provided Suraj Singh, a water drink from the Suraj Kund, still found in the fort. Suraj Singh as a mark of thanks found a city, which was named after the saint who gave him a new life. He also gave another name to Suraj sen as Suraj Pal and said until he and his descendents followed this name PAL, they would remain powerful. The new Gwalior, over the centuries, had been the cradle of various great dynasties. But his 84th descendent changed his name and also lost his kingdom.

The dynasty of Tomar came into power in 1938 in Gwalior. Man Singh was the greatest Tomar ruler, who took his throne in 1486. He also prevented the fort from attack by Sikandar Lodi of Delhi. Ibrahim Lodi, in 1516, had laid down siege on this fort. Man Singh breathed his last but his son occupied the fort for 1 more year before he surrendered. When the reign of the Lodis got over, the fort was passed into the Mughals’ hands who occupied it till the year 1754, when it was captured by the Marathas. The next 50 years saw several rulers of the fort before it was seen to be passed into the hands of Scindias. The troops revolted against British for the purpose of defiance of the king who was quite loyal to the British in 1857. It was in the close proximity of this fort that Tatia Tope got a defeat and the Rani of Jhansi was killed in a battle.

Architecture

The fort along with its premises are very well maintained and consists of several historic monuments, such as Hindu temples and Jain temples (having 11 shrines, where 7 are Hindu temples) along with palaces, among which the popular ones are the Man Mandir palace, The Jahangir Mahal, the Gujari Mahal (which has now become an Archeological Museum), the Karan Palace and also the Shahjahan Mahal.

The fort consists of a mind blowing appearance, and has been built on the narrow, long, precipitous hill known as Gopachal. This fort engrosses an area of about 3 square kilometres (1.2 sq mi). The fort has 35 feet (11 m) height, and is being constructed over gigantic sandstone rocks. The wall of the fort is constructed all across the edge of the hill, however of uniform height, and gives an irregular appearance because of the topography of the land upon which it had been built. There are two main gates accessible- one from the North East while the other on the South West side. The rampart of the fort is laid across the bottom of the hill connected through six bastions or towers. It can be approached through the north east via a lengthy access ramp. The major entrance or gate to the fort, known as Hathi Pul (meaning "elephant gate" so that elephants could pass through the gate), is accessible after passing through other six gates. Besides, the Hathi Pul gate reaching to the Palace, there is one more large ornate gate, referred as the Badalgarh Gate. The palace of Man Mandir or the citadel is situated towards the northeast end of this fort. The construction of this palace dates back to the 15th century but it was refurbished in the year 1648. The fort precincts consist of several monuments as well such as palaces, water tanks and temples. The reservoirs and water tanksformed in the precincts of the fort used to provide water supply to a 15,000 strong garrison, which had the estimated need of manpower to defend the fort. While approaching from the southern side, there are intricately carved and rock cut temples belonging to 21 Jain thirthankaras which can be made visible into the steep rock faces. There is one such statue having 40 feet (12 m) height, recognized as Parswanath, the 23 Jain thrithankara.

How to Reach

By Road

The fort is 2 miles (3.2 km) from Gwalior, and the city is well connected to different parts of Madhya Pradesh and country by road, rail and air transport services. There is Agra-Mumbai National highway (NH3) which passes via Gwalior. It lies at a distance of 321 km from Delhi.

By Rail

Gwalior is, actually, one of the rare places where narrow gauge as well as broad gauge railway lines are found operational. hence, the city is connected by trains to different parts of India including 4 metros. There are regular and direct trains to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai,Indore, Trivandrum, Ahmedabad, Jammu, Pune, Lucknow, Jaipur, Bhopal, Udaipur etc. Gwalior is a major station for various significant and long distant trains.

By Air

The Gwalior airport has airline services to Indore, Delhi and Bhopal. There is Delhi -Jabalpur line also having stoppage at Gwalior airport.

Nearby Places to Visit

Man Mandir

The prison dungeon is found below this palace where several royal prisoners of dynasty of Mughal were killed. The grounds of palace have seen brutalities committed by Mughal kings. Aurangzeb, initially, imprisoned Murad, his brother at this fort and then killed him for reasons of treason.

Hathi Pool

The Hathi Pol Gate is the major in the fort which leads to Man Mandir palace constructed by Man Singh. This is the last gate among the seven gates of the series found at the end. It was named after statue of an elephant which once had adorned gate entrance. The gate is made up of stone and has cylindrical towers which are crowned with domes of cupola.

Gujari Mahal cum Museum

Gujari Mahal is a palace constructed by Raja Man Singh for his beloved wife. Mrignayani, as she asked for a separate palace having regular water supply from a close by river source known as the Rai River. The mahal is quite maintained and has now become an archeological museum having rare artifacts for display. There are Jain and Hindu sculptures which dates back to 1st century BC and 2nd century BC.

Sas-Bahu Temple

During the 10th century, having control of dynasty of Gurjara-Pratihara of Gwalior which was declining, there was a regional dynasty known as the Kachchhapaghatas which began to have wielding power. The rule saw building of various monuments, including two temples having original name as Sahastrabahu(meaning Thousand Hands form of Lord Vishnu) Temple, it is now called as 'Sas-Bahu temple' . Initially, the temples were dedicated to Lord Vishnu. According to an inscription of the two temples, it dates back to 1093 AD. There is a different architectural feature of the pyramidal shaped temples constructed with red sandstone and having various stories solely with pillars and beams and no arches being used for it. The stylish Sas-bahu temple is considered as a carbon copy of the larger temple.

There are various other monuments found in the area of fort such as the Chhatri of Maharajas Bhim Singh along with Bhimtal, the school of Scindia, a well known institution found by the Gwalior’s Maratha Maharaja Madho Rao Scindia in 1897 etc.

Weather and Best time to Visit

Gwalior consists of a sub-tropical climate having hot summers from March-July, and humid monsoon season from June- October as well as a cool dry winter from November-February. The maximum temperature records 48 °C while minimum was −1 °C.

Summers begin in March. It peaks in May and June having average temperatures about 33–35 °C and ends in late June. Gwalior has 970 mm (39 in) of rainfall every year where most of it is found in the months of monsoon June-October. It is seen that August is the month having, maximum rain about 310 mm (12 in). Winter of Gwalior begins in late October, and is usually pretty mild having temperatures of average 14–16 °C, and usually there are dry as well as sunny conditions. January is considered as the coldest month having average temperature 5–7 °C and there are cold snaps occasionally.

Gwalior should be visited from months of late October to early March having comfortable journey but this place may be avoided during the months of April to June because of the extreme hotness. The months of monsoon see sustained, risk of disease, torrential rainfall so going during these times should be avoided.

Accomodation

The Central Park

This hotel gives a perfect platform for conducting conferences, parties, picnics and get-togethers. There is a world-class customized service for the guests and authentically reproduces the traditions as well as the heritage of India. For this reason, it has become a symbol of service and luxury. The 5 star hotel is situated centrally in the city of Gwalior on a road called as City Centre road. There is sports complex and also shopping centers found within the vicinity and are easily accessible to the hotel. The railway station of Gwalior and bus stand is found at a distance of half a kilometer while the Gwalior airport is found at a diatance of 12 kilometers.

Address

2-A City Centre,
Lashkar, Padav
Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh

Hotel Gwalior Regency

The hotel is located in the heart of the city and lies within walking distance of the railway station. The Gwalior Regency has 51 well-furnished rooms, each equipped with all modern amenities like television, telephone etc. The hotel also has a multi-cuisine restaurant and offers room service too.

Address

Link Road, New Bus Stand Road
Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh

Timing and Tickets

Timings: The fort can be visited anytime between 9:30 am to 5:30 pm.

Tickets: Citizens of India and visitors of SAARC (Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Maldives and Afghanistan) and BIMSTEC Countries (Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar) - Rs. 5 per head.

Others: US $ 2 or Indian Rs. 100/- Per Head (Free entry to children up to 15 years)

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