Bhangarh Fort Alwar

Bhangarh Fort’s story is one of the famous one in the list, trading stories surrounding a bonfire while camping in the mountains are enough to give you the chills down the spine. With a country possessing a history as vast and ancient as one of the oldest civilizations of the world, India is bound to have a fair share of ghosts and haunted places of its own! We all are very peculiar about ghosts and Bhangarh Fort haunted stories increased human curiosity due to which it’s one of the most visited places in town. Considered to be one of the most haunted places of India, this historic ruin of a once wonderful palace still is a beauty to behold with. With accounts from the locals and a few visitors claiming to have felt eeriness in the evening winds or felt a presence around them as the sun sets, there’s plenty to unearth here! That said, the fort is still a prime example of Indian architecture..

History of Bhangarh Fort

As the name suggests, Bhangarh fort is situated in Bhangarh village in Rajasthan’s Alwar district. A quick check on the Bhangarh Travel Guide will give you the technical details about its latitude and longitude, weather, temperature and about the hotspots of the area. What it will fail to highlight is the presence of the Aravali hills that act as a guard to the Bhangarh fort. A lesser-known fact is that Bhangarh itself is a prehistoric site with several temples in Rajasthan havelis that are the crowns of Rajasthan royalty. Being a prehistoric site, the town of Bhangarh is an archeological site and is under the protection of Archeological Survey of India (ASI) and the same has a board placed at the borders of Bhangarh, stating that staying in the borders of the town before sunrise and after sunset is strictly prohibited.

The Ghost Stories – Legend of the Fort

India is a land of mysticism and paranormal stories. At every turn, you come face to face with something ancient and mysterious. Bhangarh with its royalty, setting in Rajasthan and a prehistoric presence is no exception to this. While you can hear all about the roaming spirits of the restless or impure souls from the locals or from tourists who claim to have felt a presence, all these stories have their roots at two of the legends that surround the fort and its ruins. The first legend is that within the fort walls lived a sadhu named Guru Balu Nath and his permission to build the fort was sought first by Man Singh I and that while the sadhu did give the king permission, he also laid a condition that under no circumstance should the fort create a shadow over his house and if that happens then the city will perish. The king swore on this but his descendants failed to keep the oath and as a result of the broken oath, the curse befell Bhangarh. The second and more popular legend is that Princess Ratnavati who was a very beautiful woman caught the attention of Tantrik Singhia, a well-versed magician, who practiced dark arts. He tried to win her over but she kept refusing him. He then resorted to using magic on her by hiding a love potion in her perfume. But, the princess came to know of this and she poured the entire bottle over a huge boulder which crushed the tantric. Before breathing his last, the tantric placed a curse on the town which led to its destruction.

Monuments in Alwar

Monuments in Alwar is a where the journey of the Fairy Queen ends! The oldest working engine in the world and one of India’s national treasure, Fairy Queen leads a train from Delhi encampment to Alwar in Rajasthan. The engine was built in 1855 and acquired by the Eastern Indian Railways from a British firm. The train that harnesses this engine is now used for tourism. The journey of the city of Alwar and its origins can be traced back to 1500 BC. Nestled in the lap of the green hills of the Aravalli range, it is home to beautiful palaces and forts from an era long gone. The deep valleys and thick forest cover of the hills are a haven for many species of birds such as grey partridge and white-throated kingfisher and animals, most notably, the Bengal tiger and golden jackal. It is this splendour and exquisite architecture, along with the calm lakes, royal hunting chalets, dense jungles and a socio-cultural environment unlike any other that makes Alwar a traveller’s delight. Alwar is one of the oldest cities in Rajasthan. Paradoxically, the city is also the most recent of the Rajput kingdoms. Its traditions can be traced back to the realms of Viratnagar that flourished here around 1500 BC. Also known as Matasya Desh, this is where the Pandavas, the mighty heroes of the Mahabharata, spent the last years of their 13-year exile.