There are many tourist places in Gwalior. Some of them are listed below.
The Fort
The most magnificent monument of Gwalior; the hilltop fort overlooks the city.
The fort is above 300 feet high and is about three kilometers(1.86 Miles) in length and
600 to 3000 feet wide from East to West.
Raja Mansingh Tomar built it in 15th century. The fort can be approached
from two sides, on the eastern side is Gwalior Gate which leads pedestrian path
while on the western side is Urvai Gate which is the motorable way.
The fort wall which encircles almost the entire hill is about 10 meters
high. A steep road goes upward to the fort, flanked by statues of the Jain
Tirthakaras, carved into the rock face. One of the most invincible forts in the entire
History of India, this "pearl in the necklace of the castles of Hind"
has changed many hands but has rarely been captured.
The northern end has Jhangiri Palace, Shah Jahan Palace, Karna Mahal, Vikram Mahal and
Jal Johar Kund. Jahangiri and Shah Jahan Palaces are predominantly Muslim
in their architectural styles, these are two-storied each with large audience chambers.
Karna Mahal was the palace of maternal uncle of most famous king of Gwalior Raja Man Singh.
Palace of prince Vikram, Vikram Mahal had a small Vishnu temple in it.
In the same area is the Jal Jauhar kund or the tank used for Jauhar
(mass immolation undertaken by the ladies) which took place
when Iltutmish the slave king of Delhi besieged the fort and defeated the
Parihar ruler. A cenotaph nearby is of Maharajah Bhim Singh Rana (1757-1785), the Jat chief of Gohad.
The fort is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm except on Fridays. You need to by different tickets for different
sections. First when you enter either from Gwalior Gate or Urvai Gate, you would buy Rs. 0.25 ticket for
whole fort, second one is bought on reaching the top, of Rs. 2 for Man Madir Palace.
Click here for expense details.
Man Mandir Palace
This marvelous palace was built between 1486 and 1517 by Raja Man Singh of Tomar
dynasty of Gwalior. The palace has two underground floors. It consists of two open courts
surrounded by apartments with carved stones, pillars and brackets. Six rounded towers of
singularly pleasing design crowned with cupolas relieve this 80 feet high structure. It is
further complimented by blue ceramic mosaic and petite trellis work.
Vast chambers with fine stone screens were once the music halls, and behind
these screens, the royal ladies would learn music from the maestro of the day.
Former Emperor Aurangzeb had imprisoned his brother here. Aurangzeb ordered that his brother
be killed by being put in to a big vessel containing boiling oil. This place still has black walls
for the aforesaid reason. A magnificent 'Son-et-Lumiere' brings back all this alive in the evening.
Light and sound show or 'Son-et-Lumiere' in English is from 8:30 pm to 9:15 pm.
Sas Bahu Ka Madir
This is a 9th century temple. The Sas-Bahu temple was probably called the Shashtra Bahu
(another name for Vishnu) temple. "The smaller one close to it was perhaps a Shiva temple,
but over the years this pair of temples whose carvings can be compared to any of the great
temples of India came to be known as the "Sas-Bahu temples". In local language Hindi sas means mother-in-law
and bahu means daughter-in-law.
Teli Ka Madir
This is a 11th century 70 feet high temple. The temple was probably known as the Telengana temple.
It has a South Indian influence on its architecture especially on the roof, which is Dravadian,
though it's facade remains Indo-Ayran.
Archeological Museum
It has sculptures found in Naresar, Batesar, Kherat, Ater(my maternal native place), Ranod, Surwaya, Terahi and
Padhawali. Sculptures are of Gurjar Pratihar period( 7th century AD to 10th century AD). These sculptures show
the later development of Gupta art. 17th century AD sculptures, from Ater are of Bhadoria rulers, showing Hindu and Mughal art.
Gurudwara Data Bandi Chhode
It has been built in the remembrance of sixth guru of Sikhs "Saint Hargovind Singh ji".
It is a beautiful structure completely made up of white marble. The building is decorated with color glasses.
Cupolas on domes are of gold. There are two sarowars or ponds as well in this Gurudwara. Non Sikhs are kindly requested
to keep their head covered, by some cloth like handkerchief, when going to Gurudwara. I am not exactly aware of its reason as
I am a Hindu but I follow the custom in accordance with the sentiments of the Sikh brothers. If some Sikh is reading this, please inform me about it.
Gujri Mahal
The 15th century Gujari Mahal is a monument to the love of Raja Mansingh for
his Gujar queen, Mrignayani. Today Gujari Mahal has one of the finest museums
of sculptures dating back to 1st century AD even though many of them have been
defaced by the Mughals, their perfection of form has survived the ravage of
time. Particularly worth seeing is the statue of Shalbhanjika from Gyraspur,
the tree goddess, epitome of perfection in miniature. The statue is kept in
the custody of the museum's curator and can be seen on request (timing of
this museum is from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm daily except Monday).
Tomb of Tansen
This is the tomb of the father of Hindustani classical music, the great Mian Tansen, one of
the 'Nine Jewels' of Emperor Akbar's court. It is built in the early Mughal architectural style and
is surrounded by lush gardens in typical Mughal style. Every year a national level music festival is organized here in November/December.
There is a tamarind tree near the tomb. It is believed that Tansen got fabulous voice after eating leaves of this tree so people visiting
the place also eat these leaves. Unfortunately there has been no change is my heavy voice, does any body know the reason?
Mausoleum of Ghous Mohammed
The great, Ghous Mohammed, whose mausoleum is laid near tomb of Tansen,
was a Afghan Prince turned sufi saint who had helped Babur to win the
Gwalior fort. His mausoleum is a typical Mughal architecture.
Particularly interesting are the hexagonal pillars and screens using pierced stone technique.
Sun Temple or Surya Mandir
This was Constructed in 1988. It is inspired by architecture of the famous Konark Temple
in Orissa. Red stone has been used on exteriors and white marble on interior. There is a beautiful
sculpture of Lord Surya in the temple.
Downtown Bada
This is the busiest place in Gwalior. There is a garden in the middle of which stands a copper sculpture of Maharaja of Gwalior,
Late Jiyaji Rao Scindhia. This garden is surrounded by shopping centers. There is the biggest post office and bank of, Gwalior.
Mrignayani shop for handicrafts that I mentioned for shopping on Roaming Page is also close to it.
Jai Vilas Palace
This beautiful pure white edifice patterned on the style of the 'Palais de Versailles' in France combines Tuscan, Italian and Corinthian styles of
architecture. The palace has been partly converted into a museum for Royal memorabilia. The rest of the part is the residence of Madhav Rao Scindia.
The royal Durbar Hall is a magnificent structure and taking support only from columns on four sides.
It also has the largest single piece carpet woven right there in the hall by 12 weavers who took 13 years to
complete it. The ceiling of the Hall has a pair of the largest crystal chandeliers in the world which were
built in Belgium and bought in Paris each weigh 3.5 tones. The banquet hall below has the famous Royal Gwalior
silver train, which is infect, a liquor serving trolley.
Memorial of Rani (Queen) Jhansi
This memorial stands near Phoolbagh. One of the most famous ladies in the entire History of India, Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi laid down her life
in Gwalior. Laxmibai was one of the leaders in the first freedom struggle of India.
Rani of Jhansi, Laxmibai came to Gwalior when general Huroz of British army defeated
Laxmibai in Kalpi. Maharaja Scindhia of Gwalior betrayed Laxmibai. He gave her a weak horse.
Sensing something-fishy Laxmibai decided to leave Gwalior. She made the supreme sacrifice while fighting British, on
18th June 1858.
