The smooth journey from Agra to Gwalior was covered by the Shatabdi Express and I reached Gwalior at 10 am. Though I had not made prior reservation, a bit of prior search on the internet made me head towards Tansen Residency on M.G. Road that is operated by the Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corp.
According to legend, Gwalior is named after a saint, Gwalipa, who cured the local chief, Suraj Sen, of the Kachwaha (ref. Notes 5) clan, from leprosy. Many educational institutions attract students from all over India to Gwalior. Gwalior is famous for the stronghold of the Scindias, the former Marathas rulers, who governed over the Deccan after the fall of the Mughal Empire.
Gwalior’s reminders of the past, the beautiful fort, palaces and temples, splendid monuments, and memories of kings, saints, poets, and musicians all contribute to giving a certain timeless charm to the city.
Man Mandir Palace
I was in an impassioned mode to traverse through Gwalior, and the sight of the Fort dominating against the sky from every nook and corner of the city made me want to climb there first to explore it. For the next few hours I did just that and went to:
- Man Mandir (Man Singh) Palace
- Gujari Mahal
- Saas Bahu Ka Mandir
- Teli Ka Mandir
- Gurudwara Data Bandi Chhod
Gurudwara Data Bandi Chhod
I spent the rest of the time in Gwalior visiting:
- Tombs of Tansen and Ghous Mohammed
- Jai Vilas Palace and Museum of the Scindias
- Italian Gardens
- Sun Temple
Jai Vilas Palace
The highlight of that evening in Gwalior was the fabulous sound and light show at the Man Mandir Palace open air amphitheatre. I loved every bit of it. It was cold and breezy and the view of the lit-up city from the heights of the Fort premises was splendid. It was a marvellous experience.
More details and photographs in subsequent posts.
16 comments:
Ive always imagined Gwalior in my mind and have always wanted to go there because of its rich history..Your post with beautiful pictures only strengthen the fact that there is so much to our heritage ..looking foward to more
The photographs are beautiful on this post, and I just found your Picassa web album for the Taj Mahal.
Very interesting background.
Hey, lovely pictures. Haven't been to Gwaliar, but it looks like a great place to visit.
Best!
Looks like a great place. Haven't been there yet. One of the pictures looked a scanned one. Is it true ?
I hadn't told you that all my family comes from Malwa region - Indore, Gwalior, Bhopal, Ujjain, and even Chittod ;) I am just waiting to read more about Gwalior, never been there:)
aw.. this is becoming a travel blog :)
Happy Valentine's Day, Celine.
I enjoy your tours and photos.
backpakker:
Thanks Lakshmi. I decided to stop by at Gwalior mainly because I wanted to check out the Fort and was pleasantly surprised to find so many other interesting places there as well. :)
Julie,
It's a pleasure to see you again. If you enjoy reading about travels in India along with some pictures, please keep dropping by. Occasionally, I add a bit of my poetry and reflection on other topics as well.
Thanks for your kind comments, and I am delighted that you found the post on Taj Mahal interesting. :)
Kulpreet,
Welcome here and thank you for your comment. It's a good place and you would get to read more about it in subsequent posts. Please do drop in sometimes. :)
cuckoo:
Yes, an interesting place indeed.
Something is wrong with my picture uploads since the past few days, and that's why it appeared scanned. After I realized the first picture I had posted earlier was not uploaded well, I changed it to another one later on. :)
Priyank,
Hey, the Malwa has produced some of the best artists of India and now I know where your talent comes from. ;)
I shall be writing a few more posts on Gwalior shortly. See you around.:)
Arun,
Welcome back traveller. Looking forward to reading about your desert adventures. :)
chewy:
Thanks you. I wish you the same Darlene. :)
Never knew Gwalior is so enchanting.
I hope Indian Tourism Authorities read your blog and commend you for doing such a great job :)
Belated Happy Valentine's dear!
Sameera,
Haha!! Thank you. But it is indeed so good. I am simply writing the facts. I am not getting paid to promote it..haha. There's more about Gwalior to follow, you'll see and hope you like it.
About Indian Tourism authorities, now that you mentioned it, it would be nice if you could kindly use your 'wasta' for me to get right into it. What do you think? ;)
Thank you for your Valentine wishes and I hope you had a good day. :)
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