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Each and Every part of a country tells a story about its contribution to the country, whatever it is

a small part or a big part, every member has its own importance in a family. India is also same;

its every part has contributed to its history. Gwalior is one of them; it s not a small city, now it s a metropolitan city, and has its own historic background, located in Madhya Pradesh state,

surrounded by rocky hills from all sides, on the north it has just formed the border of the Ganga–Yamuna Drainage Basin.

The city is ruled by several historic northern

kingdoms such as Maharaj Suraj Sen, the founder of

the city, Naad dynasty of Pataliputra, Naga Dynasty,

kushanas, Guptas, Kannauj of Gurar-Pratihara

Dynasty, Kachwaha, Iltutmish, before Iltutmish

Muhammad Ghori invaded the city and planned a

mass destruction to capture the fort but unfortunately

he failed by the brave efforts of Parihars. The rulers

have remained their pages in history; they all

contributed to in the history of the city through

establishment some great structures. But the golden

time was started from the Tomars Kingdom in 1375

by Raja Veer Singh; it was passed on to the Mughals,

then to the Marathas in 1754 followed by the Scindias

in the18th century.

www.HolidayKeys.co.uk Let s start your journey with Gwalior Fort from where the history starts and city owes its

name. This fort takes birth from a local tradition, Suraj Sen, a prince of gurjar – parihar clan of in

the 18th century, lost his way in the hunting while hunting. On a secluded hill, he met an old

man, the sage Gwalipa, whose influence almost took him by surprise. When he asked for

drinking water, he was led to the pond, where the water hasn t only quenched his thirst but

cured him of leprosy. In gratitude of healing from leprosy, the prince wished to offer the sage to

return something to sage, and sage asked him to build a defensive wall on the hill to protect the

other sages from the dangerous wild animals so that they cannot disturb the sages in Yagyas.

Suraj Sen later build a Palace inside the fort, which was named after the sage Gwalior after the

sage, eventually the city grows around the fort took the same name.

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The fort has and its premises are well maintained and house many historic monuments

including palaces, temples and water tanks. There are a number of palaces, including the Man

mandir, the Gujari, the Jahangir, the Karan, and the Shah Jahan. It covers an area of 3 kilometers

and rises 35 feet, it rampart is built around the edge of the hill, connected by towers. It has two

entrances; one is northeast side with a long access ramp and other on the southwest. The main

entrance is the ornate elephant gate. The other is Badalgarh gate.

There are other palaces are built by several rulers like Man Mandir Palace built by Maharaja

Man Singh of Tomar Dynasty, Hathi Pol which leads to Man Mandir Palace, Gujari Mahal

museum which was built by Raja Man Singh for his wife Mrignayani, a Gurjar princess, on

demand that she wanted a separate Palace for herself, now this palace is converted to museum.

There you will see rare artefacts at the museum include Hindu and Jain sculptures dated to 1st

and 2nd centuries BC, you will see the miniatures of Salabhanjika; terracotta items and replicas of

frescoes seen in the Bagh Caves. Karn Mahal, Vikram mahal, Chhatri of Bhim Singh Rana are also

remain in the fort.

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There is a temple inside the fort, which was built

in the 9th century, named as Sas-bahu Temple , you must be thinking that what kind of temple it

is on mother – in –law and daughter – in –law,

but it s not that. It takes a short form Sahastra

Bahu which is a form of Lord Vishnu. These

both temples are situated adjacent to each other

and the large one is elaborately with beautiful

carvings and sculptures. The roof of the larger

temple is adorned with a marvelous lotus

carving which is very fascinating.

These ancient temples display exceptional architectural brilliance and are a perfect destination

for pious people. It allures not only the devotees, but also the tourists with its artistic value.

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The Teli Ka Mandir is a huge structure in the city, this make itself distinguished from the other

architectures, it s about 100 feet, and it is completely different in architecture, it is made in

Dravidian and North Indian style. It is a Lord Vishnu. The temple bears a close resemblance to the

temple of Prathihara Vishnu, and is filled with images of coiled serpents, passionate couples, river

goddesses, and a flying Garuda. It is one of the major tourist attractions.

Jain rock-cut sculptures also remains there, a series of cave rock out sculptures, excavated in the

rock on all sides, numbering about nearly hundred. They were all excavated within a short period

of about thirty-three years, between 1441 and 1474. One of the colossal figures is 57 ft high,

taller than any other in northern India. There are also Jain temples in the fort, which has all the

26 Thiranthkars of Jainism.

The Jai Vilas Mahal was built in 1874, as the residence of the Marathas – the Scindias, now it is

turned to the museum. It is a heart of the city. It has all the antique and unique collections of

gadgets and collection that is impossible to see anywhere else. It is the largest museum in

Madhya Pradesh and world s largest chandeliers and it is a mixture of British and Hindu

architecture.

There is the burial place of the Scindias, who ruled the city, is situated near the Achaleshwar

temple named as Chatris of Scindias . The designated persons like Maharaja Madhavrao Scindia,

Vijayaraje Scindia and His Highness Jivajirao Scindia were cremated here.

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The city is the birthplace of the great musician Tansen who enlighten the lamps by his singing;

he was one of the Nine Gems of Akbar . His tomb is also located in the city, named as Tomb of

Tansen .

Rani Lakhshami Bai was died here to fight against the Britishers, she was a famous freedom

fighter of 1857, her statue with her horse is situated in Phoolbagh area, it is the place where she

died during a fight against the British in 1858. It is also a burial place named as Samadhi of Rani

Lakshmi Bai .

There are also some tourist places Kuno National Park, Madhav National Park, Padavali and

Mitavali, Sonagir, etc. This city has amazing architectural structure, which you will definitely like

to visit the best places in Gwalior.