Jahangir palace is just adjacent to Raj Mahal of Orchha. It is a Betwa river facing palace covering about 220 square feet area. It is now maintained by Madhya Pradesh Archeology department. Raj Mahal and Jahangir palace are main tourist attractions for visitors. It is open for visitors from sunrise to sunset. Tourists are required to take entrance ticket from ticket counter their before visiting this historical monument. Guides are available their in the service of visitor but it is not mandatory for visitor to take their service. Here we can get guides of different languages like Hindi, English, French, Spanish etc. Ticket taken from counter is not just limited for Raj Mahal and Jahangir Palace but can be used as entrance pass for visiting other nearby monuments like cenotaphs, temples etc. Usually it takes about one hour or more to completely visit the palace. Photography is allowed inside the palace. While visiting the Jahangir palace, one can notice the presence of vultures mostly on palace domes as inviting visitors to shoot them. If you want to see the palace in night under artificial light system, you can attend light & sound show just similar to Khajuraho light & sound show. It is separately charged where visitor can visit the monument in night and can also hear the commentary explaining the history, facts and myths of these monuments.
This palace was built by Raja Bir Singh Deo-1 in between years 1605 to 1626. It was made in honor of Mughal emperor Jahangir. During that time Bundela rulers of Orchha maintains good relationship with Mughals. Here entire palace is constructed around a square shaped courtyard with side of 67.6 meter each. It is a three storied palace built mainly with red and yellow sandstone and have 136 rooms decorated with wall paintings. Being constructed to resemble the good relationship of Bundelas (Hindus) with Mughals (Muslims) here we can identify the confluence of both Hindu and Islamic architectures like in domes, rooms, entrance gates, terraces, corridors. It is a percy-brown monuments covering a square of 220 feet side and rising into an immense rectangular mass supporting 8 graceful domes. It encompasses all qualities that is expected in a medieval castle. Palace is built on the bank of Betwa river with surrounding of green forest offering picturesque and romantic surrounding view. Presence of elephant images and painting inside rooms gives a touch of hindu architecture in building. Behing palace their is a camel stable. Although whole building is dedicated to Jahangir and Raja Bir Singh Deo friendship but when Jahangir came here, he stayed here for just one night.
Jahangir Palace in Orchha is just 20kms from Jhansi city. Orchha is a small town in Madhya Pradesh state and easily accessible by road.
By Flight: Nearest airport is Gwalior Airport (IATA Code: GWL) at a distance of 150kms by road. It is well connected with Mumbai & Delhi. Second option is Khajuraho airport (Iata code: HJR) which is well connected with Varanasi and Delhi. It is about 195kms from Orchha.
Orchha is a ever-green tourist destination as it has historical monuments as main attractions which can be visited any time throughout the year. Still to enjoy the its adjoining nature and river-rafting, winter & springs are considered as best time to visit Orchha. Tourist prefers to visit Orchha from October to April as during this time climate remain cold and surrounding natural beauty of Orchha remains at their best. Tiger Reserves of Central India are also remain open during time that allows Orchha to be a part of Wildlife Tour. In summers, Orchha and its nearby areas like Khajuraho, Chanderi etc. remains hot along with dryness in surrounding natural beauty. Betwa river water also remain low during summers that poses difficulty in any kind of river rafting. So winters & spring seasons are the best time to visit Orchha.
