Moti Mahal in Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan

The Mehrangarh Fort of Jodhpur was founded 15th century by Rathore Rajputs. Today this fort is converted in to a museum, managed by the royal trust. All palaces within the fort are not yet open to public. Those palaces that are accessible and open for public viewing are stunningly beautiful.

Palaces in Mehrangarh Fort

Mehrangarh Fort is so tightly packed with iconic rooms of different palaces that you will need to do a little bit of planning to cover all the period rooms. The 5 GRAND rooms of the fort are:

  • Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace)
  • Sheesh Mahal (Hall of Mirrors)
  • Phool Mahal (Palace Of Flowers)
  • Takhat Vilas (Maharaja Takhat Singh’s Chamber)
  • Jhanki Mahal (The Peeping Palace).

As you move room to room, keep a track of time. Some of them can leave you in a trance. I found Moti Mahal to be so magical.

Moti Mahal in Mehrangarh Fort

Moti Mahal, the largest period room of Mehrangarh Fort is most stunning of all the period rooms there, built by Raja Sur Singh. It is difficult to exit the room without wishing to return once more in this life time. Such is the splendor here!

Most beautiful of all rooms of Moti Mahal is the Durbar Takhat or throne room. The throne in which Kings sat addressing his ministers is there untouched and decorated; it is almost as if a king could walk in any time. The throne is called Srinagar Chowki.

Moti Mahal in Mehrangarh Fort
The octagonal throne in the center of the hall is impressive, magnificent, with seats for the courtiers or the general public on either side. It is the same Royal Throne of Jodhpur. Raise your head a bit to see the balconies that were built for the five queens of the Maharaja. These balconies enabled the queens to attend the durbar.

throne-in-meherangarh-fort

The Royal Throne of Jodhpur

The deep alcoves that you see above the doors are actually secret balconies for the queens to silently listen to the court proceedings and may be provide invaluable inputs to the king later.

queens-balcony-meharangarh-fort

Secret balconies for Queens.

One look at the gold filigree ceiling and your eyes will be glued there. They are covered with mirrors and gilt and is sparkling-ly beautiful. The lime plaster used in the walls of the room was mixed with finely crushed shells which gave the walls a pearl like luster and hence the name.

The windows are designed with stained glasses of different colors. Lights filtering in, in different colors, it is so magical you won’t want to move out from there.

Today when I look at these Mehrangarh Fort pictures, fond memories flood my mind and I wish I could visit again.

Timings: The place is open every day of the week from 9 am to 5 am

Tickets: 20INR for Indian tourists while for foreign nationals it is 250INR per person.

Best time to visit: It gets really hot during summer in Rajasthan the best time to visit the Moti Mahal would be from November to February.

Other sights: You can visit Unmaid Bhawan Palace Museum, other mahals (palaces).

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Moti Mahal - The Pearl Palace

(This was first posted on Oct 27, 2008.)

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