A 17th century fort, the Bhangarh Fort is located on the border of the Sariska Reserve in the Aravalli range in Alwar district in the state of Rajasthan. The Bhangarh Fort is situated at the foothills of the Aravallis on a sloping terrain. The fort was built by Bhagwant Das for his younger son Madho Singh I.

Legend of Bhangarh Fort
According to legends, there was once an ascetic named Baba Balak Nath, who lived within the fort. He put forth an injunction that any houses built in the precincts of the fort should not be taller than his house, and if the shadow of any such house fell on his house, it would result in destruction of the fort town.

Associated to the Bhangarh Fort, there is also another popular folk tale, a wizard adept in black magic named N.K. Sinhai fell in love with Ratnavati, a beautiful Bhangarh princess with many suitors. One day, the wizard followed her to the marketplace and offered her a love potion, however she refused it, throwing it onto a large boulder that consequently rolled onto the wizard and crushed him to death.

Tourism in Bhangarh Fort
On the premises of the Bhangarh Fort, there are temples, palaces and havelis. There are 4 more points of entry to the fort namely the Lahori Gate, the Ajmeri Gate, the Phulbari Gate, and the Delhi Gate. At the entrance of the main gate are many Hindu temples such as Hanuman Temple, Gopinath Temple, Someshwar Temple, Keshav Rai Temple, Mangla Devi Temple, Ganesh Temple, and Navin Temple. The temples dedicated to Hanuman and Shiv Mahadev are built in the style of cenotaphs rather than temples. Jhiri marble has been used in their construction.

The Gopinath Temple is built above a 14 ft raised plinth, and yellow stones are used for the exquisite carvings of the temple. The residence of the priest, called the Purohitji ki Haveli, is located in the precincts of the temple complex. Next in order is the Nachan ki Haveli and Jauhari Bazar, followed by the Gopinath Temple. The Royal Palace is located at the extreme end of the fort`s limits. A Muslim tomb found outside the gate of the fort is reported to be that of one of the sons of King Hari Singh.

Visiting Information on Bhangarh Fort
The Alwar Junction is the nearest railway station is at a distance of about 91 km from the fort and the Jaipur International Airport is the closest airport at a distance of 88 km from the Bhangarh Fort.

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