Lohagarh Fort
Lohagarh, built by Maharaja Suraj Mahal, is
located in the heart of the old city. Its
entrance is from a crowded street that leads
through the massive entrance gate called the
Astdhatu Gate. Asthdhatu means 'eight
metals', a reference to the spikes on the
gate which are reputedly made of eight
different metals.Lohagarh is a living fort
with several modern additions. However, a
part of the fort has been preserved consists
of a sprawling palace complex since it
combines Rajput and Mughal architecture with
Jat Influences in building style, a few of
the eight original towers of which Jawahar
Burj and Fateh Burj are of particular
interest, and floors laid with tiles.
Government Museum
The government Museum is housed in the
former durbar hall, the maharaja's meeting
hall, in the fort. The most interesting
thing to see here is the hamam(bathhouse),
which retains some fine carvings and
frescoes. It exhibits sculptures found
during the excavation of old villages e.g.
Noh, Mallah, Bareh, Bayana etc. ranging from
the Kushan period (Ist century A.D.) to 19th
century A.D. Weapons used in battles in the
medieval period the Jat rulers, paintings,
manuscripts, zoological specimens, local art
and craft that was once Bharatpur. The Art Gallery of the museum has
specimens of miniature paintings on leaves
of the Peepal tree, mica and old litho
papers along with the paintings of the
Maharajas of Bharatpur. On the upper story
one section consists of various types of
guns & miniature canons used during 18th
century A.D. Called ‘Chandra’. These
miniature canons - two sets of eleven each,
were used by Maharaja Sawai Jawahar Singh in
the battle while passing through the Jaipur
territory on his return from a pilgrimage to
Pushkar.
Bharatpur Palace
The splendid Bharatpur Palace has a rich
repository of a large number of ancient
exhibit that date back to the early 15th
century. There is also a museum in the
central wing with a few exhibits dating to
the 2nd century A.D.
Keoladeo Ghana National Park
Amongst India’s premier wildlife sanctuaries
is the Keoladeo Ghana National Park,
Bharatpur, situated at the border between
the states of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
It’s a marshy area, stretching over 29 sq km
of kadam forests, grasslands and shallow
lakes. Created by the Maharaja of Bharatpur
in the 19th century by diverting water from
an irrigation canal, Keoladeo was founded as
a shooting preserve, but given the status of
a bird sanctuary in 1956. Upgraded to a
national park in 1982, the area today ranks
as one of the best waterbirds preserves in
the world- and it’s a World Heritage Site.
Keoladeo Ghana, Bharatpur harbours some of
India’s richest Birdlife, including the
gorgeous shocking-pink tinted painted stork,
several species of cormorants, egrets,
pelicans, ibises, cranes, ducks and geese. |
