Rajasthan Tourism Attractions

Famous Historical Forts in Rajasthan

noreply@blogger.com (JayantS) — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 09:57:00 -0700

Rajasthan is the biggest state of India, which is known for its glorious and colourful heritage. There are several famous historical forts in Rajasthan, which all have a unique glory and story behind them. Historical places, or better say Forts are the best way to know the earlier history and culture.

Amer Palace

As Forts contains various parts or monuments shows living style in earlier period and also the collection of various archaeological things like arms, ornaments, coins etc. are various things which help you to know about history.

Types of Historical Forts

Basically Forts can be classified into 3 categories, depending on their geographical location as:

• Forts on Mountains

• Forts on Plains

• Forts surrounded by water sources

Forts on Mountains:

In this category several famous forts comes are Jaigarh Fort, Amer Fort, Chittaurgarh Fort, Mehrangarh fort, Kumbhalgarh fort, Achalgarh fort and many more forts which are situated on mountains.

Forts on Plains

In this category there are forts coming which are built on plain surfaces or say on plains. In this category forts comes like: Junagarh Fort, Jawa Mahal, Umaid bhawan palace, Lalgarh palace etc. are some of famous forts of Rajasthan situated on ground level.

Forts Surrounded by Water Sources

In this category forts comes which are along river-side or surrounded by water sources in this category forts comes like: Jal Mahal, Gajner Palace, Lake Palace, Bhensrod garh etc. are some of beautiful forts surrounded by water bodies, which gave incredible beauty to them.

Some Unique and Famous Forts

Bhatner Fort

Bhatner fort is one of most oldest fort situated in Hanumangarh, on bank of river ghaggar. This fort was built in 295 A.D. by Bhupat Bhati.

Jaisalmer Fort

This fort is one of largest fort in world was built in 11-12th century by Bhati Rajput rulers. This is also known as golden fort or sonar fort. There are several attractive places like Rajmahal, Laxmi nath ji temple etc.

Chittorgarh Fort

This fort is one of largest fort of india,on basis of area. which is famous in history for various brave rulers Rana Kumbha, Rana Pratap etc and many more brave rulers and also Vijay Stambha, Kirti Stambha, Padmini’s palace etc. famous place are there.

Jal Mahal

Jal Mahal

This palace is located in middle of Mansagar Lake in Jaipur. This is built in Rajput and Mughal style is one of most beautiful palace.

Junagarh Fort

This fort is situated in Bikaner district of Rajasthan, this fort is good example of forts on plains. There are several visiting places like Phool Mahal, Anup Mahal, Ganga Mahal, Badal Mahal etc.

There are lot of other famous historical forts in Rajasthan like Amer Fort, Chittor garh Fort, Jaigarh Fort, Bhangarh fort, Mehrangarh Fort etc famous tourist place of Rajasthan.

Mehrangarh Fort

noreply@blogger.com (JayantS) — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 12:03:00 -0700

Mehrangarh Fort is the famous and unique fort of Sun-City, Jodhpur. Jodhpur is located in western part of Rajasthan. This city is an part of Thar Desert. Mehrangarh fort is located 400 feet above the city and enclosed by thick walls.

Mehrangarh fort museum is one of well-stocked museums, in one section of the fort museum there is a selection of old royal palanquins. The museum exhibits heritage of the Rathore’s arms, costumes, paintings and decorated period rooms.

Historical Overview

Jodhpur was founded by Rao Jodha son of Rathore Sardar Ranmal, till 11th century this is a part of Gurjara-Pratihara empire and ruled by Bargujar King. After that in 14-15th Rao Jodha conquer surrounding area and founded this part as MARWAR, and shifted capital from Mandore to Jodhpur and developed this area and built Mehrangarh Fort.

Early this state became a fief under the Mughal Empire. During this period, the state furnished the Mughals with several notable generals such as Maharaja Jaswant Singh. At the time of partition, Jodhpur ruler Hanwant Singh did not want to join India, but finally due to the effective persuasion of Sardar Vallab bhai Patel, the princely state of Jodhpur was included in Indian Republic.

Mehrangarh Fort

Attractions of Mehrangarh Fort

Mehrangarh Fort can be broadly classified into 3 parts as :

• Outer court part

• Durbar Hall , maharaja’s palace

• Queen’s Palace

Mehrangarh Fort, a great mass of impregnable masonry whose soaring, windowless walls appear to have grown directly out of the enormous rock outcrop on which it stands. There are 7 gates, entrance in the fort is through Jay Pol (or victory gate), the first of seven defensive gates. The sixth of the seven gates, Loha Pol, has a sharp right-angle turn and sharper iron spikes to hinder the ascent of charging enemy elephants.

Beyond the final gate Suraj Pol, lies Shangar Chowk, where maharajas are crowned on a special marble throne. In this courtyard fantastic jali (lattice) work covers the surrounding sandstone walls. The adjoining apartments now serve as a museum showcasing solid silver howdahs (elephant seats), palanquins and assorted armaments including Akbar’s own sword. The five alcoves in the wall opposite the entrance are in fact concealed balconies where the maharaja’s wives could listen in secretly on the proceedings.Beyond the Moti Mahal is the Zenana, or women’s quarter.

There are many other places to visit like Phool mahal(Flower palace), Takhat palace, Jhanki mahal, Moti mahal, Mehrangarh fort museum and Chamunda Mataji Temple are some of wonderful places to visit.

City of Lakes: Udaipur

noreply@blogger.com (JayantS) — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 11:03:00 -0700

Udaipur is one of the most beautiful historic city of Rajasthan. Udaipur is the historic capital of Mewar kingdom. This city is also known as ‘Venice of the East’. This city is also known for its history, culture and beautiful geography. There are several tourist place in Udaipur like City Palace, Lake Palace, Jag Mandir, Lake Pichola and many more places to visit.

Udaipur

Historical Overview

Udaipur was established by Maharana Udai Singh in 15th Century, as final capital of Mewar Kingdom, located near Banas river. Chittorgarh was formly capital of Mewar kingdom. Several famous kings of Mewar are known for their bravery like Maharana Kumbha, Maharana Pratap, Maharana Sanga and many more historic personalities relate to Mewar. The title of Maharana means great warrior. The descendants of Mewar hail themselves as the descendent of Sun, Suryavanshi. Meera Bai, devotee of Lord Krishna also relate from Mewar.

After Udai Singh’s death, his son Maharana Pratap took the reins of power at Udaipur. He was successful in defeating Akbar at the battle of Haldi-ghati in 1576. With this, prosperity of Udaipur ensued, palaces were built on the shore and in the midst of the Pichola lake. Concurrently art, particularly miniature painting, also flourished.

Geographical Overview

Udaipur is situated in southern region of Rajasthan. There are several tourist places in Udaipur like:

• City Palace

City Palace of Udaipur is built in Rajasthani and Mughal Architecture Style. This palace was built during 15th century along with establishment of Udaipur. There are Badal mahal, Amar vilas, Durbar hall, Mor chok(Peacock courtyard), Manak Mahal, Rang Bhawan etc. are famous visiting places.

• Jag Mandir

Jag Mandir is another island in Lake Pichola, known for its garden courtyard. Shah Jahan took refuge here while revolting against his father. This place is made as summer resort from royal family.

• Lake Palace

The Lake Palace was built in 17th century, It is made of marble and is situated on Jag Niwas island in Lake Pichola. It was originally built as a royal summer palace, but is now a luxury 5 Star hotel, operating under the "Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces" banner, it consists of 83 rooms and built in white marble.

• Nathdwara

Nathdwara lies 48 kms from Udaipur, this great Vaishnavite shrine was built in the 17th century is a famous temple of the Lord Krishna was being transferred to safer place from Vrindaban to protect it from the destructive wrath of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

There are also several famous tourist places in Udaipur like Lake Pichola, Fateh Sager Lake, Saheliyon-ki-bari, Bagore-ki-Haveli, Shilp-gram etc. which are known for their architecture.

Mount Abu : Hill station of Rajasthan

noreply@blogger.com (JayantS) — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 10:52:00 -0700

Mount Abu is situated in sirohi district, which is a famous hill station of rajasthan. Mount abu is a part of Aravalli Range, this part in earlier history known as ‘Arbuda Mountain’. This hill station is about 1220 meters above from sea level. There are several famous tourist places in Mt. Abu are Delwara Temple (a famous jain temple), Nakki Lake, Gurusikhar point, Achal garh and many more.

Mount Abu

History

This place in ancient time is known as ‘Arbuda-anchal’. It is believed that this place is part of sage of Rishi Vashistha. There is another mythology according to which a serpent named "Arbuda" saved the life of Nandi - Lord Shiva's bull.

Mount Abu till 13^th century comes under reign of Parmars and after that in 1311 Rao Lumba attack and conquer this region, and he shifted capital to Chandravati, and again after destruction of chandravati in 1405, Rao Shasmal made sirohi as his headquater. Later it was given on lease to British Government by Maharaja of Sirohi.

Dilwara Temple

Famous Tourist Places

Dilwara Jain Temple

This is a famous jain temple known for its extraordinary architecture and marvelous marble stone carvings. This is a group of temples built during 11-13^th century A.D.

Nakki Lake

This is only artificial lake in India at height of 1200 meters. This is an holy mythological lake with a very interesting story behind its creation is done God or Devtas using their nails that's why the name Nakki Lake.

Achal Garh

Achal Garh

The fortress Achal garh is 8 km from mount abu town, this fortress is surrounded by massive basement walls. This fortress was under authority of Rana Kumbha in 15^th Century. It is situated at top of mountain peak and also famous for Achleshwar temple.

There are several more beautiful travelling place in Mount Abu like Sunset point, Mount Abu wild life century, Trevor’s Crocodile Park etc.

Glorious AMER Fort

noreply@blogger.com (JayantS) — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 10:31:00 -0700

Amber or AMER fort, is one of the famous fort of Jaipur, which is located on Aravalli range of Hills known as Cheel ka Teela (Hill of Eagles) along with an another glorious fort Jaigarh fort. AMER fort was built by Raja Man Singh I. This fort is built in Hindu Style as having series of gates, large rampats, etc.

This fort also has the 'Shila Devi' Temple and the 'Ganesh Pol' or ‘Ganesh Gate’ which is a gate that leads to the private palaces of the kings. The Amer Fort has many courtyard and halls of great interest and attractions. This fort is also famous for Elephant rides.

History

Amer was earlier known as ‘Dhundar’ and was ruled by the Kachhwahas from the 11th to the 16th century, and then they moved their capital to Jaipur. Raja Man Singh built this fort in 1592 AD and Raja Jai Sigh I expanded and renovated it later.

Architecture of fort
The structure has four different parts, each with a separate entrance.

The main entry to the fort is through the 'Suraj Pol' or Sun Gate which opens up into the main courtyard ‘Jaleb Chowk’. This gate was provided with guards as it was the main entry into the palace. It is faced in eastern direction towards the rising Sun. The 'Sila Devi' Temple, a goddess of the Chaitanya cult which was given to Raja Man Singh when he had defeated the Raja of Jessore, Bengal in 1604. is right at the entrance to the main palace grounds.

The second courtyard is famous for its 'Diwan-i-Aam' (Public Audience Hall), here king held audience to hear and receive petitions from the public.

The Third courtyard entrance is through ‘Ganesh Pol’ or Ganesh gate. In this courtyard private quarters of the Maharaja, his family and attendants were built. There are 'Sheesh Mahal' and the 'Sukh Mahal' also in this courtyard. A very famous attraction here is the Magic Flower, which is carved out of marble.

The fourth courtyard is where the ‘Zenana’ (Royal family women and their mistresses) lived. This courtyard has many living rooms where the queens resided. Jas Mandir, a hall of private audience with floral glass inlays and alabaster relief work is also located in this courtyard.

Junagarh Fort: A Pearl of Desert

noreply@blogger.com (JayantS) — Thu, 7 Aug 2014 11:09:00 -0700

Junagarh Fort, fort of Bikaner is one of the finest and strongest land laid forts in the plains. Bikaner is situated in North-west side of Rajasthan situated in heart of thar desert. Junagarh fort is one of beautiful fort, which is known for his beautiful architecture and gold leaf painting. This place was built during 15-16^th Century, during period of King Rai Singh.

Junagarh was originally known as Chintamani. Then during 19-20^th century when rulers leaved this fort and shifted to another palace Lalgarh, from there after this is known as Junagarh (an old fort). This fort is situated 1.5 km outside the main city of Bikaner.

Physical Structure of Junagarh Fort

This massive fort is basically rectangular in structure having length of approximately of 986 meters. This is surrounded by a huge border of height 12mts and 4.4mts wide. It was surrounded by a moat which was 20–25 feet deep with a base width of 15 feet and top width of 30 feet.

This fort consists of 37 bastions (burj) and seven gates to counter enemy attacks. This fort is known for his unique art work done on stones of this fort. In this fort two types of stones are used mainly are red sandstones (Dulmera) and marbles. This fort contains temples and the palaces are preserved as museums and provide insight into the grandiose living style of the past Maharanas of Rajasthan. The fort is called “a paradox between medieval military architecture and beautiful interior decoration”.

Palaces inside Junagarh Fort, Bikaner

This Fort also contains several palaces like Karan Mahal, Phool Mahal, Anup Mahal, Chandra Mahal, Ganga Mahal, Badal Mahal etc. Anup Mahal is famous for his ornate wooding ceiling, Italian tiles, inland mirrors and gold leaf painting. Ganga Mahal was built in the 20th century by king Ganga Singh, has a large durbar hall known as the Ganga Singh Hall that is now the Museum, which has exhibits of war weaponry and also a World War I aeroplane.

Junagarh Fort Museum, was established in 1961 by Maharaja Dr. Karni Singh in junagarh fort. The Museum exhibits Sanskrit and Persian manuscripts, miniature paintings, jewels, royal costumes, farmans (royal orders), portrait galleries, costumes, enamelware, war drums etc. The museum also displays armoury that consists of one of the assorted collection of post medieval arms.