Spellbinding culture heritage and dramatic hilltop fort, the city of Gwalior fascinates every pecking order
Known for its dominant hilltop fort, designated as the “Pearl of Indian Fortresses”, Gwalior makes an interesting stopover destination in Northern Madhya Pradesh.
The coarse history of the city with number of dynasties ruling here, cradles a beautiful city on a whole. Their influence is clearly seen in the many regal structures that dominate the cityscape.
Here is a list on all that’s magnificent in this enthralling destination.
What to see:
Gwalior Fort:
Built in the 8th- century by Man Singh Tomar, the Gwalior Fort is an adorning beauty. The historic monuments includes palaces, temples and water tanks. Spread across 3 square kilometers and rises 35 feet high the rampart is built around the edge of the hill, connected by six bastions or towers. The rambling fort has an irregular appearance due to the undulating ground beneath. One can see the ornate elephants on the main entrances named Hathi Pol, which is among the last series of seven gates. There are also a number of palaces including the Man mandir, the Gujari, the Jahangir, the Karan, and the Shah Jahan offering the visitors a unique learning experience.
Tomb of Tansen
Built in the memory of Tansen, a renowned musician, one among the nine gems of the court of Mughal emperor Akbar. The construction of the Tomb reflects Mughal style of architecture. The lush gardens surrounding Tansen Memorial offer great view for the visitor and adorns the grave. The memorial is known to celebrate national level music festival every year.
Jain Rock Sculptures
Carved from the cliff-face in the mid-15th century, the nude figures of thirthankars are an impressive sculptures to see at the Gwalior. The awe-inspiring sculptures ranging from the western approach, between Urvai gate to the inner fort walls is such that it offers breathtaking views of the city. There are nine large and many smaller images, including a splendid 17m-high standing sculpture of the first tirthankar, Adinath and a lot of the sculptures were disfigured by Babar’s army in 1527.
Madhav National Park
With a varied terrain of wooded hills, Madhav National Park is a mixed of deciduous and flat grasslands. These grasslands offers an opportunity of sighting of variety of wildlife, including blackbuck, sloth bear and Indian leopards. Moreover the Madhav National Park is a home to migratory birds, including migratory geese, pochard, pintail, teal, mallard and gadwall. The park is open throughout year for the visitors.
Jai Vilas Palace
The city of Gwalior houses the elaborate Jai Vilas Palace, the historic seat of the Scindia family, who have been playing important role in Indian history for more than two centuries. The Jai Vilas Palace is a fine example of European architecture, designed and built by Sir Michael Filose. One can see a combination of architectural styles, the first storey is Tuscan, the second Italian-Doric and the third Corinthian.
What to do:
Music galore
The city invites you the experience the treasure of music from the Khayal Gharana. Gwalior holds an unparalleled reputation in Sangeet, and has retained Indian traditions and the wealth of music intact over the years. The Gwalior Gharana is one of the oldest Khayal Gharanas and the one to which most classical Indian musicians can trace the origin of their style. Legendary musicians like Tansen and Baiju Bawara belonged to Gwalior.
Relish the exotic meals
The cuisines of Gwalior is like the architecture and heritage of the city. From colourful ‘pethas’ to some of the mouthwatering kebabs, Gwalior has everything on the platter. Some of local cuisines one must try here are Poha, Paneer Pilaf, Samosas and Katchories in vegetarian delicacies and meat biryani, meat stew and meat kebabs and seekhs for non-vegetarian. Gwalior is famous for the Anjeer role and Anjeer khash khash role which incorporates dry fruits and sesame seeds. So, when the next time, when you visit Gwalior don’t forget to take back the appetizing sweets of the beautiful city.
How to reach:
The city of Gwalior is six hours’ drive from the capital city Delhi. And one can always choose airways as first option from the neighboring cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Jaipur to Gwalior.
One can also board “The Indian Panorama” by the Maharajas’ Express, a luxury train journey, whose one of the destination is Gwalior.
Moreover, the city is connected with the one of the best bus services from Delhi.
