Bala Quila Fort, Alwar

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Bala Quila, literally ‘the young fort’, crowns a ridge of the Aravalli range more than 300 metres above Alwar. The enclosure, about five kilometres long and a kilometre and a half wide, follows the line of the ridge and overlooks the entire town. An earthen fortification is said to have existed there as early as the 10th century, but it was Hasan Khan Mewati who, around 1550, turned it into a true fortress. The site later passed to the Mughals, the Marathas and the Jats before being captured in 1775 by Maharaja Pratap Singh, founder of the princely state of Alwar. The walls are punctuated by 15 large and 51 small towers, pierced in all by 446 loopholes for musketry. Six historic gates, including Jai Pol, Suraj Pol, Laxman Pol, Chand Pol, Kishan Pol and Andheri Pol, give access to a plateau where the Nikumbh Mahal, the Jal Mahal, the Suraj Kund, temples and reservoirs still survive. Cannons still guard the main gate, and faded frescoes and chhatris in the Bengal style can still be made out on the ceilings.