Monday, June 5, 2017

The Nahar Garh Fort - Jaipur

Manaharaja Sawai Jai Singh, the founder of Jaipur built the fort in 1734. 
Among the three forts in Jaipur, the Nahargarh Fort is said to be the smallest. And yet it took us a good half day to explore it! 

It gives you a wonderful view of the Man Sagar Lake in the distance. And that is the famed Jal Mahal in the center of the lake. 

From the fort, you can also catch a sight of the vibrant city of Jaipur and its pastel buildings. 

Along with Amer Fort and Jaigarh Fort, Nahargarh provided a good defense for the city. Luckily the fort was not attacked during the course of its history.
Below are the pictures of the insides of the fort. 

Every 5 steps there is a door that opens into a room.  





The rooms are all linked by corridors and still have some beautiful frescoes on its walls.

All rooms are connected and lead to the other.


The fort was first named Sudarshangarh.


Later it came to be known as Nahar Garh which means home of tigers.


Movies such as Rang De Basanti and Shuddh Desi Romance have been shot here.













The large terrace of the fort with the domes. 

Below is the water reservoir with the steps leading down to it.
The planning that went into the construction of the fort, the years it took to complete it, the immense labour involved and the end result so majestic, and all this some three hundred years ago - it fills you with awe and admiration for the Kings who built it. As you walk around the fort, you know you are taking a little bit of history with you.

The Jal Mahal Palace, also called the Pleasure Palace. Jal means water in Hindi and Mahal is Palace.

Palace and the lake surrounding it were renovated in the 18th century by Maharaja Jai Singh. It is built in red sandstone as is common in Rajasthan. It is actually five storied but four floors remain under water when the lake is full. Only the top floor is exposed. 
Tourists can only see this pleasure palace only from far. We are not allowed to go in. It is belieevd to have two structures in the front of the mahal, in the lake, for security guards to keep watch!

The road connectivity is excellent between the various tourist attractions in Jaipur and because of the ease of access and proximity, you can cover many spots in a single day; provided you can tolerate the heat. The city is very "hot".

22 comments:

  1. Hi Sujatha, nice to meet you. You have a lovely blog.
    The pictures are beautiful, the lake looks so serene. Thanks for this small virtual tour of Jaipur, after seeing your pics I want to visit Jaipur :)

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  2. Thanks for giving an excellent tour of Nahargarh Fort. And, thanks for sharing these beautiful photos. When we were in Jaipur, we were not allowed to go in the water and visit inside the Jai Mahal Palace. We you able to do that?

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    1. No. None of us were allowed to go either. Most to tourists are keen to explore the palace which is bang in the middle of a lake. But not allowed.

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  3. Those pics are awesome ,will refer back to it when we visit the place.

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  4. Thank you for the great photo feast to the eyes along with the delectable description of the fort and surrounding spots at Jaipur

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  5. Nice to see this fort. I should visit Rajasthan Forts sometime. If four floors remain underwater on the Jal Mahal palace, can't people stay in them?

    Destination Infinity

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    1. yes try and see the forts preferably in the relatively cooler months. the heat is unbearable
      i guess the Jal Mahal was used during certain part of the year. I believe earlier there would be guard protecting the place and on the look out fr visitors or intruders. pleasure palace for a reason may be

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  6. I think you need take up photography bit more seriously because you have a artistic eye. Buy mobile which has excellent camera.

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  7. I think me and my friend missed Nahargarh Fort. But then again we were in Jaipur only for two days, so not a lot of time to explore fully.

    I am not very awed from the hard work that must have went into such construction. This is because there must have been some kind of slave labour or some other such thing going into it. Most of us here in the 21st century can barely stand our bosses, so this must have been very difficult in the labourers.

    Enough rambling on my part. One thing is for sure: your pictures and vivid descriptions take me back to Jaipur!

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    1. The labour bit...yeah that was depressing. I have never thought on those lines.

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  8. To think that these are built 300 years ago ....... its a real feat.
    That view of the Man Sagar Lake must be beautiful from the top.

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    1. Yes it was lovely from all the way up there .

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  9. Felt nostalgic and went back to my own vacation, the beautiful pictures say it all!

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