Allahabad Fort

En un regard

Le château en bref

Allahabad Fort, built by the Mughal emperor Akbar from 1583, stands on the bank of the Yamuna close to the Sangam, the sacred confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. It was conceived both as a military stronghold guarding the Ganges valley and as the core of the new city of Ilahabas. Its outer wall, still intact, rises directly from the water's edge and is punctuated by bastions and tall towers. The enclosure houses far older elements: an Ashoka pillar of polished sandstone bearing Maurya edicts, the Prayag Prashasti in praise of Samudragupta, and a Persian inscription of Jahangir. It also contains the underground Patalpuri temple and the Akshayavat, a banyan tree venerated by pilgrims as ‘immortal’. The colonnaded Zenana Mahal recalls the life of the Mughal court. The fort is still occupied by the Indian Army, which opens only a restricted part to the public, notably access to the Patalpuri and the Akshayavat, which are very heavily visited during the Magh Mela and Kumbh Mela.