12 of the most magnificent forts in Rajasthan

An effective fort needs four things: a towering wall to keep out attacking armies; a secure water supply to endure sieges; a dramatic entrance to project an impression of power; and a secret way out, in case that projection of power fails. It’s a principle the fort-builders of Rajasthan in India’s rugged Thar Desert understood intuitively.

Across these parched hills, painted palaces hide behind the towering battlements of the world’s most fabulous fortresses, raised by a succession of Rajput rulers, Mughal emperors and upstart dynasties. To visit forts such as Jaipur’s Amber Palace or Jodhpur’s Mehrangarh is to step into an age of chivalry, intrigue and extravagance – few experiences offer such a deep dive into India’s layered past.

Picking a list of top forts in Rajasthan from the 250 or so surviving fortresses is a big ask, but here are our favorites. 

1. Amber Fort, Jaipur

Best for secret corners

Advertisement

Top billing goes to Amber Fort near Jaipur, whose intricately adorned chambers offer a masterclass in medieval politics. Above a crocodile-stalked moat, the formidable Suraj Pol gate opens onto a vast courtyard where the Raja’s armies displayed treasure captured from rival kingdoms to an adoring public. Members of the public were granted audiences in the second courtyard, but only select individuals were permitted to pass through the lavishly painted Ganesh Pol Gate to reach the Hall of Private Audiences. Like most Rajasthani forts, it features a sheesh mahal – a “mirror palace” adorned with glass inlays, built to indulge flamboyant tastes of the time. 

The most interesting part of the palace lies beyond, in the warren of private royal apartments. Wander the corridors around the zenana (women’s quarters) and you’ll find hammam (Turkish baths), jharokhas – latticed balconies that allowed women of the royal household to observe official life while concealed from public view – peering out over the valley, and archaic mechanisms used to haul water from hidden wells using ceramic pots tied to knotted ropes.

Planning tip: Secret tunnels worm through the fortress walls, providing a royal escape route to the heavily fortified Jaigarh citadel on the hilltop, or the back lanes of Amber village, should the ruler need to escape in disguise. Take an official guide at the fort entrance to discover many more overlooked details.

2. Mehrangarh, Jodhpur

Best for royal bling

Magnificent is too tiny a word to describe the grandeur of Jodhpur’s dramatic city fort, constructed and still owned by the royal family of Jodhpur. Above the tangled lanes of the Blue City – named for the indigo paint used by residents to adorn their houses – sheer, impregnable walls burst from a rocky outcrop, wrapped around perhaps the most gorgeous collection of palaces in India.

You’ll pass through gateways scarred by cannonballs, vast doors armored with metal spikes to deter war elephants, and royal mahals (palaces) dripping with delicate murals and filigree carvings that seem to contradict the fort’s military intent. Be sure to check out the fort museum’s fearsome collection of royal weapons (look for the sword of the Mughal emperor Akbar). 

Planning tip: Exit the Mehrangarh via the rear Fateh Pol gate to explore the maze-like lanes of Navchokiya, the most atmospheric part of the Blue City, with its hidden stepwells and fascinating bazaars.

3. Jaisalmer Fort, Jaisalmer

Best for desert romance

Jaisalmer’s imposing, golden sandstone fortress can get swamped with visitors, but arrive early or linger into the evening, and the romance of vanished centuries pervades this still-inhabited stronghold. Because of water shortages, it’s best to stay outside the fort, but inside the walls, you can tour time-eroded Hindu shrines, ornate haveli (traditional, ornately decorated) mansions and some of the most spectacularly carved Jain temples in India. Follow alleys between the residences, shops and cafes to reach bastions piled high with boulders to rain down on besieging armies. 

Planning tip: Don’t overlook the chhatris (canopies on cenotaphs) of the rulers of Jaisalmer outside the city walls, which offer fairy-tale views as the setting sun illuminates the Golden City. 

4. Nahargarh, Jaipur

Best for city views

Advertisement

Jaipur’s second great fort is not the austere Jaigarh above Amber Fort, but the fortified palace of Nahargarh, on the rocky bluff behind Jaipur’s walled city. Overlooking Jaipur’s royal cenotaphs, this often-overlooked fortress contains a curious mix of tacky fairground attractions and royal apartments adorned with elephant murals, set inside the contemporary art-dotted Madhavendra Palace. Head to the rooftop for dizzying views over Jaipur’s historic heart.

5. Junagarh, Bikaner

Best for downtown glamour

The formidable fortress of the Rajas of Bikaner forms the beating heart of this charming and underexplored city, tucked into the desert in the northwest of Rajasthan. It’s a 16th-century marvel – brutal and beautiful in equal measures. Be swept away by the glitz and glam of the mural-adorned royal chambers, and heartbroken by the tiny handprints of the women of the royal household who took their own lives on their husbands’ funeral pyres.

Planning tip: After exploring the fort, take a wander in the labyrinthine, haveli-dotted lanes of the Old City beyond the Kote Gate. 

6. Chittorgarh

Best for understanding Rajasthan’s history

The walls of tremendous Chittorgarh enclose 2.8 sq km (1.1 sq miles) of royal palaces, elaborately carved Hindu temples, scattered wells and two Jain triumphal towers that rank amongst the most remarkable monuments in Rajasthan. The fort is also a monument to tragedy; in 1303, 1535 and 1568, the men of the city rode out to certain death in battle while Chittorgarh’s women and children committed jauhar – ritual suicide on a massive scale. It’s hard to reconcile these heart-rending events with the delicate palaces and temples scattered across the hilltop.

Planning tip: Most people visit on three-hour tours by autorickshaw, but if you stay in the fort, you can explore at your leisure. Cozy Padmini Haveli in the village by Ram Pol gate is a welcoming stop.

7. Ranthambore Fort

Best for Jungle Book vibes

Rudyard Kipling borrowed from a string of Indian settings for his famous Jungle Book, including the Pench and Kanha tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh, but to experience the vibe of this much-loved children’s fable in real life, set your sights on Ranthambore Fort, hidden away in the jungles of Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan. At the top of its towering steps lie ruined shrines, eroded Islamic tombs and a pilgrim-thronged Ganesh temple, and battlements that look out over swathes of jungle that shelter more than 80 Bengal tigers. 

Planning tip: Combine a fort visit with a jungle safari; tigers are most active in the early morning, before the heat builds and the crowds descend, so arrange a dawn safari and head to the fort later in the day.

8. Suraj Mal’s Palace and Deeg Fort

Best for glimpsing the pampered life of India’s royals

It’s a testament to the confidence of Suraj Mal, Maharaja of Bharatpur, that his summer palace in Deeg was built with only superficial fortifications, but he made sure that a defensible, moated fort stood close by. A visit to both reveals this flamboyant ruler at his most playful, and his most pragmatic. Check out the palace’s Keshav Bhavan (Summer or Monsoon Pavilion), with its ingenious mechanisms designed to mimic monsoon rain and thunder, then duck around the corner to enter the partly derelict fort, with its towering canon emplacements. 

Detour: Combine a trip to Deeg with a visit to nearby Alwar, where the 18th-century palace of Raja Bakhtawar Singh has been taken over by government offices. Investigate the museum and the royal cenotaph overlooking the pool behind the palace, then head up to the Bala Quila Fort, used as a rest stop by Babur and Akbar, and as a prison for Jehangir.

9. Kumbhalgarh

Best for peaceful wandering

Around 80km (50 miles) north of Udaipur, in a wildlife-stalked nature sanctuary, mighty Kumbhalgarh sprawls inside 36km (22 miles) of barrel-buttressed walls. Domestic tourists come to explore the austere remains of the Badal Mahal (Cloud Palace) and soak up the hazy views of the Aravali Hills, but the greatest pleasure is exploring the rest of the hilltop, where stepwells and the ruins of some 360 ancient temples lie dotted amongst farms and scrubby vegetation.

10. Taragarh, Bundi

Best for feeling like an explorer

The once-powerful royal capital at Bundi fell into ruin in the 1940s when the last rulers of the Hada Chauhan dynasty abandoned their lavish palaces. What remains, however, is hauntingly evocative. First, explore Bundi Palace and the Chitrasala – whose faded interiors contain some of the finest murals in Rajasthan – then follow a rocky path up the hilltop to the ramshackle remnants of Taragarh Fort, where deep, pondweed-covered wells and crumbling guard posts poke through the thorny vegetation.

Planning tip: Don’t rush a trip to Bundi – there’s loads to see, including one of India’s finest collections of stepwells. Stay in Haveli Braj Bhushanjee, a museum-piece mansion run by the descendants of Bundi’s chief ministers.

11. Ahhichatragarh Fort, Nagaur  

Best for serene silence

The wonderfully named Fort of the Hooded Cobra stands quiet and still on the dusty plains between Jodhpur and Bikaner, offering rich rewards to those who visit. Raja Amar Singh upgraded this 12th-century fortress in the 17th century, constructing expansive pleasure gardens and palaces with wind- and water-powered air-conditioning. 

The fort was left scarred by its time as an Indian Army base before being restored by the Mehrangarh Museum Trust. To soak up the silence, stay at Ranvas, the elegant heritage hotel set in the former apartments of the 16 wives of Maharaja Bakht Singh.

12. Neemrana Fort, Neemrana

Best for a stylish fort stay

To live like a maharaja – if only for a day – book a night at the 15th-century fort of Neemrana, northeast of Jaipur. Founded by Hasan Khan Mewati in 1500, the fortress cascades down a hillside in a series of graceful terraces, today occupied by dreamy swimming pools and bedrooms fit for royalty. There’s even a private amphitheater – much sought-after for cinematic wedding celebrations.