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Bhangarh Fort
heritage site · Rajasthan
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- State
- Rajasthan
- Type
- Heritage Site
Bhangarh is less a fort than a whole town that emptied, and the Archaeological Survey of India protects it as exactly that: an "ancient site" of fort walls, bazaars, havelis, temples, royal palaces and a maqbara, among hillocks on the right bank of the Sanwan river in Alwar district. A Kachwaha ruler of Amber built it in the 1570s for his younger son, Madho Singh, and nobody has lived inside since the famine of 1783. Inside the walls, a long road runs between roofless ruins, which a local guide told The Hindu's Rana Safvi were the jauhri bazaar and the dancers' haveli. A gateway follows, and beyond it, before the climb to the palace, is the Someshwara temple with its stepwell. Gopinath, raised on a 14 ft plinth, is another temple to find. The palace sits at the far end, on the lower slope of the hill. It is said to have had seven storeys, the Satamahala; four remain, and the steps to the top are littered with broken columns. Then there is the reputation. Her 2017 column ran under the headline "the most haunted fort in India", though the local guards, she wrote, denied ever seeing anything paranormal. Rajasthan Tourism ties the rule that nobody may enter before sunrise or after sunset to the fort being thought haunted. That rule is the one part of the legend that will shape your day.
Bhangarh Fort is known for
A short history
The ASI credits the founding to Raja Bhagwan Das, ruler of Amber, in the second half of the sixteenth century, and The Hindu gives the year as 1573. The town was the capital of his son Madho Singh, younger brother of Akbar's general Man Singh, and a stone inscription on the bank of the Som Sagar talav, 5 km away, shows that Madho Singh was a Diwan at Akbar's court. Rajasthan Tourism and one of Incredible India's two pages credit Madho Singh himself, in the 17th century; the other Incredible India page names Man Singh I. Madho Singh's son Chhatra Singh ruled next, and Bhangarh declined after his death in 1630. Chhatra Singh's son Ajab Singh built the fort of Ajabgarh. Jai Singh II annexed Bhangarh by force in 1720; Rajasthan Tourism says it still had over 9,000 houses until then. It has been uninhabited since the famine of 1783. It was declared protected under Act No. LXXI of 1951, dated 28 November 1951, and appears on the ASI's list of centrally protected monuments as "Ancient site, Bhangarh".
When to go
November to February, when the long walk in and the climb to the palace are easiest; Alwar, the district town, averages 20.5°C by day in January. October and March work if you start early. From April to June the palace climb is a midday ordeal, and July and August bring most of Alwar's rain.
Why visit
If you are staying at Sariska, this is the outing to make. It is the town, not the ghost story, that repays the trip: a long street of ruined shops and houses leads on to the climb to the palace, and from the top the empty town lies spread out below you.
Cultural notes
The ascetic in the first legend changes name with the teller: Baba Balau Nath on the state tourism page, Guru Balu Nath in a guide's telling printed by The Hindu in 2017, Baba Balanath in a 1998 Tribune essay. What he asks barely changes. No shadow of the new buildings may fall on his house (on the ascetic himself, in the Tribune's version), and the state page adds that nothing may be built taller than his house. In all three it is Ajab Singh who builds high enough to cast the shadow, and the town falls. The second story belongs to the princess Ratnavati (the Tribune essay's queen Ratnavali) and a tantrik who worked a love spell into her scent. She saw through it and threw it; it became a boulder that crushed him, and he cursed the town as he died. A small stone hut on the hill, the tantrik ki chhatri, overlooks the fort and is pointed to as his. The state tourism page ends its version with Mughal forces sacking the town. The written record has a slower end: a century and a half of decline, finished by famine.
How to reach
By rail and air: Incredible India puts Dausa station (DO) about 22 km from the fort and Jaipur International Airport about 85 km. By road: the same site says the fort is reached by State Highway 29, which links Dausa to Thanagazi and Sariska, with Rajasthan Roadways buses and taxis from Jaipur, Alwar and Dausa, and the ASI names Gola-ka-Bas as the stop for buses. Rajasthan Tourism puts the fort between Jaipur and Alwar, 50 km from the Sariska sanctuary. Via Thana Ghazi, the route a Tribune writer took in 1998, Ajabgarh comes first and Bhangarh is about 15 km beyond it. Work out the drive time on a map before you set off, and count back from sunset.
Bhangarh Fort guide & itineraries
Frequently asked questions
What are Bhangarh Fort's timings?
Sunrise to sunset. Rajasthan Tourism lists that as the entry timing and says the fort is out of bounds before sunrise and after sunset. Two Incredible India pages print different clock hours, so go by daylight rather than a fixed time. Check the current ticket at the gate.
When is the best time to visit Bhangarh Fort?
October to March, the season Incredible India gives, and November to February is the easiest part of it. Summer is hard going: Alwar, the district town, averages 40.1°C by day in May. If you must go then, be at the gate at sunrise.
How do I get to Bhangarh Fort?
By bus or taxi. Incredible India says Rajasthan Roadways buses and taxis run from Jaipur, Alwar and Dausa, reaching the fort by State Highway 29, and it puts Dausa railway station about 22 km away and Jaipur's airport about 85 km. The ASI names Gola-ka-Bas as the stop for buses.
Is Bhangarh Fort really haunted?
That is its reputation, carried by two legends: an ascetic whose house must not be shadowed, and a tantrik who cursed the town as he died. Rajasthan Tourism ties the sunset-to-sunrise closure to it. In a 2017 column in The Hindu, the local guards denied ever seeing anything paranormal. The history behind the legends is duller: a slow decline, then a famine in 1783.
Who built Bhangarh Fort?
Raja Bhagwan Das of Amber, according to the ASI, in the second half of the 1500s; The Hindu gives 1573. He built it for his younger son Madho Singh, Man Singh's brother, who ruled from it first. Rajasthan Tourism credits Madho Singh himself.
What is there to see inside Bhangarh Fort?
The ASI names four temples as the important ones: Gopinath, Someshwara, Keshava Rai and Mangla Devi. Gopinath stands on a 14 ft plinth, and Someshwara has a stepwell. The royal palace at the far end keeps four of a reputed seven storeys, and the climb to it is the high point of the walk.
What is the tantrik ki chhatri at Bhangarh?
A small stone hut that overlooks the fort, named for the tantrik of the Ratnavati legend, whose dying curse is said to have emptied the town. The Tribune's 1998 telling also puts the sorcerer's chhatri on the hilltop.
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