3 days trip to the Royal Jaipur and the Haunted Bhangarh!

December 2019 – The last stop of our Rajasthan trip, capital of the royal state, the Pink City of India, home to UNESCO World Heritage Sites like Amer Fort and Jantar Mantar, Jaipur was founded in 1727 by the Rajput ruler Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amer, after whom the city is named. Jaipur has 3 sections –

the oldest part is the area previously called Amer, located on a hill and famous for the forts of Jaipur
the Pink City area where all the buildings are pink-red tinged
the newest part of the city having the airport and other establishments

How to reach ?

Jaipur being the capital of the largest state of India and the 10th most populous state is well connected by air, rail and road from all parts of the country.

If you are taking a flight then Jaipur airport has both domestic and international terminus and connected to most of the major cities in India.

If you are taking a train then Jaipur has 3 railway junctions at Gandhinagar, Durgapura and Jaipur main. Indian Railways has connected this popular tourist destination with most of the major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai etc.

If you are taking the road then Jaipur is connected with NH8, NH11 and NH12. Buses are available, operated by Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) and private agencies as well.

It took us almost 12 hours to reach Jaipur from Jaisalmer by bus, booked via redBus for 1400 ₹. We reached Jaipur at around 8.30am.

Day 1

We wanted to have the hostel experience so we had already made our bookings in Moustache Hostel in the female dorm. The only thing I did not like about Moustache was that their check-in time was at 1pm. We were atleast allowed to use the common washroom and keep our bags safely till we got our allocated beds. Since we had no idea about Jaipur’s heavy traffic and we were late in booking a car for our sightseeing so we were told that we won’t be able to cover the 3 major forts of Jaipur that day. So a small tip, if you are planning to visit Amer, Nahargarh and Jaigarh forts on the same day then start before 9am to avoid the traffic.

Jaigarh Fort

Built in the 1700s by Maharaja Jai Singh II as a fort to protect the main Amer palace and the town below it. Later this fort functioned as a cannon foundry and it is home to the World’s largest Cannon on Wheels named Jaivan. The funny thing is that the cannon has never been used in battle and fired only once as a test-fire. It is claimed that it has a range of 35km. This fort is also full of ground level passages leading from one fort to the other. The fort is open between 9am and 5pm and ticket costs 35 ₹.

Amer Fort (Amber Fort)

Amer is a town with an area of 4 sq km, located 11km from Jaipur. The first palace of the Amer Fort was built by the Meena tribe, the original inhabitants of Amer town. Later the current structure was built by Raja Man Singh I. Located on a hill, this UNESCO World Heritage Site, constructed of red sandstone and marble is greatly influenced by the Mughal style of architecture. At the entrance to the palace, near the fort’s Ganesh gate, there is a temple dedicated to Shila Devi, a goddess of the Chaitanya cult, which was given to Raja Man Singh when he defeated the Raja of Jessore, Bengal in 1604. Raja Man Singh had 12 queens so he made 12 rooms, one for each queen. Each room has a staircase connected to the King’s room but the Queens were not to go upstairs, only the King could visit the queens as and when he wanted.

We had already decided to hire a guide for this majestic structure since we wanted to know all the secrets of the fort and that’s the best decision we could have taken. Our guide helped us to reach inside the fort using a different route since the main road leading to the fort was too crowded and filled with tourists.

Amer Fort absolutely blew our mind and we visited every section shown by our guide. The architecture, the engineering and the opulence made us awestruck and for the next 3 hours we absorbed as much as we could of this grand fort. He also showed us areas where the movie Jodha Akbar was shot and we enjoyed every moment spent inside the fort.

**The kadhai shown in the movie Jodha Akbar**

We had also booked the light and sound show at Amer fort from before. So after having lunch we attended the English show at 6.30pm. If you are visiting Amer fort, then please do not miss this show. The show was mesmerizing and definitely deserves a watch. It cost us 265 ₹ each. There is also a show in Hindi from 7.30pm.

Day 2

Bhangarh Fort

When I was planning the Rajasthan trip the first place I added to my list was Bhangarh, one of Asia’s most haunted places. I have always been fascinated by mysteries and spooky tales. So when I actually got a chance to visit the place which inspired so many haunted stories, how could I not keep a day just for it.

Around 80km from Jaipur, situated in Alawar district, the ancient township of Bhangarh was founded in the later half of the 16th century by Raja Bhagwant Das, the then ruler of Amer and later on, it was made capital of Madho Singh who named it after his grandfather Bhan Singh.

The Archaeological Survey of India has prohibited night stay inside the Bhangarh fort as there have been incidents of people disappearing at night, paranormal activities witnessed inside the fort premises and other such stories and anecdotes. If night stay was allowed I would have definitely signed up for it. Who wouldn’t want to come face to face with a ghost ?

There are quite a few legends based on Bhangarh. One such story is that there used to live a sage named Guru Balu Nath on the hill of the fort. He allowed the king to construct a fort on the condition that it should never stop the sunlight from coming to his own shrine. This condition of him was honoured by every descendant of the king except Aja Singh. He constructed pillars casting a shadow on Balu Nath’s shrine. Angry sage then cursed the fort to descend to ruins and since then this fort has been considered to be haunted.

Another legend tells the story of Ratnavati, the princess of Bhangarh and a tantric Singhia. Singhia, a tantric expert in black magic, wanted to marry the princess. So he devised a plan to prepare a special oil to seduce the princess. But the princess being an expert in black magic herself, realised Singhia’s plan and threw the oil on a boulder which then crushed Singhia. In his dying breath the tantric cursed Bhangarh and it’s residents.

I was disappointed that I did not feel anything spooky but be it haunted or not, Bhangarh fort is beautiful but in desperate need for some restoration. When we visited, the fort was almost deserted except a few other Indian tourists and lots of monkeys.The ticket price is 25 ₹ for Indians and 200 ₹ for foreigners. The fort remains open till 5pm.

After returning to Jaipur from Bhangarh, since we had some time we decided to visit Albert Hall Museum, Jantar Mantar and one of the cafes opposite Hawa Mahal to get the full view of the Mahal.

There are two cafes – The Wind View Cafe and the Tattoo Cafe from where you can get the full shots of the Hawa Mahal. A narrow staircase takes you up to the cafes. Even if you don’t eat there, you can just go up there for the views and photos. They are always crowded. It’s very tough to get a place there, but we were lucky that we got a place on the rooftop of the Tattoo Cafe & Lounge. The food was good.

Day 3

It was the last day of the trip and the only fort left for us to visit was the Nahargarh fort.

Nahargarh Fort

Built as the summer palace for the royal family, set on the edge of the Aravalli Hills, Nahargarh fort once formed a strong defense ring for the city alongwith Jaigarh and Amer forts. Walls extended over the surrounding hills, forming fortifications that connected this fort to Jaigarh. The main palace within the fort is known as Madhavendra Bhavan. In addition there are nine other double-storied living spaces within the fort.