I never get tired of visiting forts. I have visited most of the well-known forts in Rajasthan. This time it was Madhya Pradesh. I have read and heard about Gwalior fort. The praises of its beauty made it irresistible for me not to visit it at the earliest.
I boarded CSTM Rajdhani from Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station on a Friday evening and reached Gwalior by 8.30 P.M. My stay was booked in Dera Haveli which is 15 minutes auto ride from the station. Tired by whole day's running around different places I quickly retired for the day.
Though I thought I would visit the fort first but due to some circumstances I decided to visit Bateswar and Padavali first. Krutika, my friend from Gwalior joined me for this trip. We left Gwalior around 9 in the morning. Though I would suggest that it is better to leave around 8, as I had plan to visit Gwalior fort in the second half of the day.
Bateshwar is a group of Shiva, Vishnu and Shakti temples located around 35 Kilometer north of Gwalior and takes a little more than an hour. One can visit Sanichara temple on the way which includes half a kilometer of walk to the temple as cars were not allowed on that road. As it was a Saturday, looking at the crowd we decided to skip Sanhichara temple. However, our car was not allowed to cross the police barricade and the detour took us through village and jungle till we got back to highway. Other than this little detour most of the drive was OK. The road was little broken at some places, but mostly in good condition.
There are more than 100 small temples in the Bateshwar temple complex which is now protected by ASI. These temples demonstrate post Gupta period, Gurjara Pratihara styled north Indian temple architecture. Few temples are restored and work is still in progress.
After Bateshwar, our next stop was Garhi Padhavali which is a kilometer away.
Garhi Padhavali is a fortified wall encircling a 10th century Shiva temple raised on a high platform. The fort wall was made at a later date by Jat rulers of Gohad.
Next to Padhavali, we headed towards Mitawali. Mitawali is a village famous for Chaushat Yogini temple. The circular temple is encircled by colonnade circular raised platform, built by 9th century Pala dynasty king Devpala. Indian parliament building is believed to be a replica of this temple. one needs to climb up a long flight of steps to reach the temple. The surrounding of the temple is covered in lush green in this season. Though in the beginning of the December also, one could feel the heat.
On our way back to Gwalior, we had a quick bite in Indian coffee house and after visiting Sun temple headed towards Gwalior fort.
The first stop was Gujari Mahal, a palace made by Rajput king Mansingh Tomar now houses the State Archaeological Museum. It was almost 3 P.M. and knowing that fort will be closed at 5 p.m. I rushed through the museum and reached to the other side of the fort known as Urvai gate where walk to the fort is minimum as Car can reach at the gate of the fort and also the tickets are purchased in this gate only. While driving towards the fort one would see the rock cut sculpture of Jain Digambara. I decided to visit them on my way back.
One needs to purchase two separate tickets at the fort. One is for the Karan Mahal , Jagangir Mahal etc. Another is for Man Mandir, Shas- Bahu Mandir and Teli ka Mandir. One needs to come out of the main fort complex and drive a kilometer to reach Shas - Bahu Temple and Teli ka mandir. E rickshaws are also available for the ride.
One should visit Gurudwara Data Bandi Chhod Sahib made in the memory of 6th Sikh Guru Hargovind Saheb.
It was almost sun set time when I came out of the Gurdwara and visited Gopachalam Parvat in the light of setting sun.
I ended my day by visiting Maharajawara or Jiyaji chowk surrounded by heritage buildings like General post office, State bank of India, SBI ATM building, Town Hall, Government Press, Victoria Market and Mansoor Ali Sahib Mandir.
Next day early morning, I went for a walk towards Amma Maharaj ki Chhatri, which is 1.5 Kilometer from Phalka Bazar where I stayed. From there I took an auto to visit Italian Garden and came back to hotel for bath and breakfast around 9 a.m.
I took an auto towards my next destination Tomb of Tansen and Mohammed Ghaus and there to Jai Vilas Palace. While entry to Tomb of Tansen is free the entry fees to palace and Museum is Rs. 300/-
That was the end of my two-day trip to Gwalior. I came back to Delhi the same evening by Gatiman Express.
