Orchha and It’s Fort Complex

Sharing is caring!

After traveling alone couple of times, finally, I was traveling two others girls. It’s always fun to travel in good company. I planned to travel by train to Jhansi, which is approx 15 km from Orchha. As usual, I suggested overnight trains (Journey is 6-7 hours from Delhi by train) and both of them agreed. I booked a train which was leaving at 11.00 PM and reaching at 5.30 AM, fortunately, our train got late 😉 and we reached at 6.30 AM. It is always comfortable to look for transport in daylight. According to “Google baba”, Jhansi to Orchha can be traveled by autorickshaws (Tuk-tuk) and taxis. There were few taxis and many autorickshaws, we negotiated and took an autorickshaw. It took us around 35-40 minutes to reach Orchha. The lanes are narrow and it is a very small town (Close to a big village).

We checked into the hotel and after freshen up, we decided to go out for breakfast. I asked on road for directions to the main market and found that we are staying at the backside of Ramraja temple and all the marketplace, as well as restaurants, are on the front side of the temple. There is a small street running parallel to temple which connects to the market. We had stuffed parathas in the market. Then went to Betwa river Bridge crossing on Betwa River and came back to the market.

83

We decide to explore the Orchha fort and Jahangir Mahal, both are adjoined. Orchha fort was founded by Bundela king Rudra Partap in the 16th Century and his successive rulers added the palaces & temples in it over the years. The fort complex is accessed from a large arched causeway, which leads to a large gate.

The exterior is simple without any embellishments but the interior chambers of the palace especially the king’s & his main queen are elaborate in its architectural design and are decorated with murals of social & religious themes of gods, mythical animals.

The Mahal has several secret passages, one of this is closed with a metal gate and said that it escaped route in case of an attack on the palace.
19
At short distance is the place where royal female escort of the Raja Indrajit lived, she was a poet and musician. King was so fond of her that he built a small dwelling with gardens for her.
72
Next to it is Jahangir Mahal. It is a palace that was built by Bir Singh Deo to honor the Mughal emperor Jahangir. It is said that Jahangir stayed in this palace only for one night. The palace is built in four levels and features of both Muslim & Rajput architecture.
The reminiscent of blue and green work done on outer walls is still intact though not in the superfine state. There is a symmetrical square built in the inner courtyard of the fort. The staircase is narrow and steps are high.
But the view from the top is superb, Betwa rivers & its surroundings look beautiful from the top. Another interesting thing is that it is ventilation of upper floors, they are very cool and breezy.
The entrance gate for this palace, which was earlier the main gate has carved ornamentation. It leads to the royal baths and animal stable.

Another important part of the compound is Sheesh Mahal. It is flanked on either side by the Raja Mahal and the Jahangir Mahal, now it is converted into hotel & restaurant.

Save

Sharing is caring!

17 thoughts on “Orchha and It’s Fort Complex”

  1. 2travellingsisters

    Such a magnificent fort and you have captured it stunningly! We guess one would get lost easily inside this fort… 🙂

    1. Visit it in winters because I went in end December and it was reasonably warm at that time.
      It is super safe and people are very simple. I was a bit apprehensive before visiting but now I can there go alone also.

  2. Pingback: Orchha’s Chhatris (Cenotaphs) – Picture Perfect – My Simple Sojourn

  3. Pingback: Orchha’s Chhatris (Cenotaphs) – Picture Perfect – My Simple Sojourn

  4. Pingback: Orchha sightseeing- Other then it's monuments - My Simple Sojourn

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: