Travel | Nahargarh and Jaigarh Forts, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Nahargarh Fort

And I am back with another post about Jaipur featuring the two other forts of Jaipur's defense line Nahargarh and Jaigarh Forts complete with a ghost story and lost treasure!

Let's start with the ghost story in Nahargarh Fort. Nahargarh Fort was made by Maharaja Jai Sawai Singh in 1734, about 7 years after the new capital of the royal family was made in Jaipur. When construction on this fort was started, odd things started happening - like any construction that they did the day before would be mysteriously undone the next day. The land belonged to a dead Rathore prince, Nahar Singh, and in order to appease his spirit, a small fortress and later a shrine was built for him. The fort was also named after him and translates to "Abode of the Tigers".

Though all of these forts were built as part of Jaipur's defense system on the Aravalli Hills, since the royal family was on good terms with the Mughal Empire, they were never really used except when Nahargarh Fort was used to protect Europeans during the Sepoy revolt in 1857.  Though the original structures are in ruins, the additions that were made in the 19th century by Sawai Raj Singh II and Madho Singh II still remain. Madho Singh II made suites for himself and his nine wives in the fort. However, the best part of Nahargarh Fort are the view of Jaipur.

Nahargarh Fort

Nahargarh Fort - credit to my brother for this awesome and artistic shot!

Roof of Nahargarh Fort

Roof of Nahargarh Fort

View of Jaipur from Nahargarh Fort

View of Jaipur from Nahargarh Fort

Jaigarh Fort was also built by Sawai Jai Singh II and was connected to Amer Fort via tunnels. The interesting thing about Jaigarh Fort is that it became the Mughal Empire's main foundry and storage site for amunnition and materials. So much so, that Jai Singh II, made the largest cannon on wheels, the Jaivana Cannon, in Jaigarh Fort. It was fired once - just to prove that it worked.

Jaigarh Fort

Jaigarh Fort

The Jaivana Cannon in Jaigarh Fort

Now for the treasure - this is what I heard. As we entered Jaigarh Fort, people told us to go see some water tanks and as we got out of the car to check out the water tanks, a man started to tell us stories about it. There were three water tanks in Jaigarh Fort, but one of them had a secret room where the royal family had their treasure. There was a way to get inside to the treasure but that knowledge died with one of the Maharajas. However, in 1970, it is suspected that treasure was found in one of the tanks and the Indian government seized it. It isn't confirmed but they blasted some stuff and closed the roads from Jaipur to India for a few days.

Jaigarh Fort also hosts some impressive views of the city.

View of Jaipur from Jaigarh Fort

View of Jaipur from Jaigarh Fort

Water canals leading to Jaigarh Fort

View of the surrounding hills from Jaigarh Fort

And if you are lucky, you will see these guys.

Information Sources:
Nahargarh Fort of Jaipur in Rajasthan, India | Nahargarh Fort | Nahargarh Fort | Jaigarh Fort 
| Jaigarh Fort | And the people that worked at the monuments, including the security guards, who were willing to share the stories of Jaipur with us!

I will be sharing more stories from my times in India, so stay tuned! Follow me on any of my platforms for my updates!

Check out my earlier posts about Humayun's Tomb in New Delhi, some of the smaller attractions in Jaipur, and Amber Fort!