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22 places
Leh & Ladakh
Shey Palace and Monastery, 15 km south of Leh in the Indus Valley, served as the summer capital of Ladakh and houses a 12-metre, three-storey gilded statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, the second-largest such statue in Ladakh.
Stok Palace, about 2 km from Stok Monastery south of Leh, was built in 1820 as the summer home of Ladakhi royalty from the Namgyal dynasty and remains a residence of the royal family today.
Chiktan Fort, in Kargil district, was the capital of the Cig-tan principality, built in the 16th century by Balti craftsmen and once famed across Lhasa as an architectural masterpiece.
Namgyal Tsemo Fort (Tsemo Castle) stands at the highest point in Leh, within walking distance of Leh Palace, and is maintained today by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Tingmosgang was the capital built by King Drag-pa-Bum in the 15th century, and through his grandson Bhagan gave rise to the Namgyal dynasty, which ruled Ladakh until the 1841 Dogra annexation.
Basgo Fort and Palace, about 5 km west of Nimoo and 40 km east of Leh, was a political and cultural centre of early Ladakh, frequently mentioned in the Ladakhi Chronicles, with a monastery complex built for the Namgyal rulers in 1680.
Leh Palace is a nine-storey former royal palace overlooking Leh, modelled on the Potala Palace in Lhasa, with upper floors that housed the royal family and lower floors used as stables and storerooms.
Jammu & Kashmir
Mubarak Mandi is a 25-building royal palace complex across 12 acres overlooking the Tawi River in Jammu, blending Gothic, Rajput, Mughal, and European architectural styles, and today housing the Dogra Art Museum.
Bhimgarh Fort is a hilltop fortress in Reasi town, originally built in clay in the 8th century AD by Raja Bhimdev Rasyal and later rebuilt in stone, with major renovation under the Dogra Maharajas in the 19th century.
Poonch Fort is a roughly 7,500 sq metre fortified palace complex in Poonch town, combining Mughal, Sikh, Dogra, and European architectural influences, with red brick masonry, circular bastions, and arched openings.
Akhnoor Fort is a two-storeyed fortification on the eastern bank of the Chenab river in Jammu district, featuring corner watchtowers and river-side access, protected by the Archaeological Survey of India since 1982.
Ramnagar Fort in Udhampur district is a square-plan fort with polygonal corner bastions rising three storeys, decorated with battlements and surrounded by a moat, accessed via a narrow southeastern bridge.
Uttar Pradesh
Allahabad Fort (Akbar Fort) is a large Mughal fort on the banks of the Yamuna near its confluence with the Ganges in Prayagraj, built to enclose the sacred Akshayavat tree. Much of it remains under military use and closed to general public access.
Manipur
Kangla Fort is a historic fortified palace complex on the banks of the Imphal River in Imphal, Manipur. It served as the seat of power of Manipur's rulers until 1891 and survives largely in ruins on the western bank of the river, densely forested and nicknamed "the Lungs of Imphal."
Goa
Chapora Fort stands on a headland in Bardez, North Goa, overlooking the Chapora River near Vagator, roughly 10 km from Mapusa. A largely ruined laterite fortification, it is best known today as a filming location for the Bollywood film "Dil Chahta Hai."
Kerala
Bekal Fort in Kasaragod district, Kerala, is the largest fort in Kerala, spreading over 40 acres, with three-quarters of its exterior in contact with the sea, giving the impression it emerges directly from the water.
Madhya Pradesh
Gwalior Fort is a hill fort in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, built on a plateau rising about 342 feet, enclosing roughly 3 square kilometers. It houses the 15th-century Man Singh Palace (Man Mandir), decorated with turquoise, green and yellow glazed tile work.
Delhi
The Red Fort (Lal Qila) is a massive red-sandstone Mughal fortress-palace in Old Delhi, built as the residence of the Mughal emperors and the seat of the Mughal capital after it shifted from Agra. It is one of India's most recognized monuments, famous as the site from which the Prime Minister addresses the nation every Independence Day.
Agra Fort is a massive red-sandstone fortress-palace complex on the banks of the Yamuna River, enclosed by 2.5 km of walls, and served as the principal residence of Mughal emperors before the capital moved to Delhi. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Telangana
Golconda Fort stands on a granite hill on the western outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana, encircled by a roughly 10-km outer wall with 87 semicircular bastions. Once the capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, it is world-famous for the nearby Kollur diamond mines and its acoustic engineering.
West Bengal
Fort William is a large star-shaped fort on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River in the Hastings area of Kolkata, spanning roughly 70 hectares with a dry moat and six gates. Built by the British East India Company, it served as the seat of British administrative power in Bengal and today functions as the headquarters of the Indian Army's Eastern Command.
Reis Magos Fort occupies a headland on the northern bank of the Mandovi River in Bardez, Goa, almost directly facing the capital city Panaji across the water. Built of laterite with cylindrical Portuguese-style turrets, it is one of Goa's oldest forts, restored into a cultural centre.
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