Exploring Kangra Fort – Story of its Existence from Ancient Times
Kangra Fort in Himachal Pradesh is damaged and worn out, yet it continues to be precious gem of a monument in Indian history!
Nothing much remains of this fort which had a grand outline once! An earthquake in 1905 flattened the dazzling high rise palace on top of it. Only a part of the facade of the beautifully sculptured Lakshmi Narayan Temple stands. As I listened to the audio guide and kept comparing the scenes and remains I felt terribly sad about the loss.
Kangra district Google map
Exploring Kangra Fort
The story I heard of Kangra Fort from the audio guide is hair rising. It gave me goose bumps as I strolled through the interior of the fort. Reading about it later and knowing its past in detail has made me more curious and eager to revisit if possible some day in future.
Highlights of the Fort to be Photographed…
As you go up you will see the huge majestic walls made of blocks of granite, some are etched with carvings of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Major sights to be photographed are the gates, wells, palace courtyard, temples of Lakshmi Narayan, Lord Mahavir, a 300year old Neem tree, remains of the palace that once stood on top of the fort, mesmerizing scenes of Kangra Valley, snow covered peaks of Dhauladhar range of Himalayas guarding the fort at north.
Best time to visit would be in the afternoons. While one hour is sufficient to scale the fort and come down, it will be ideal to spend 2 hours exploring Kangra fort for tour and photography. You can do excellent sunset photography from here. It is popular as destination for pre-wedding photo shoots.
Hi Tea at Kangra Fort by Hyatt Dharamshala
Thanks to Hyatt Regency Dharamshala Resort for arranging this great trip to Kangra Fort. Hyatt conducts guided tours for their guests and this one is beautifully planned and executed. After the tour of the fort they arranged Hi Tea in the museum lawns of the Fort. One of the best places to watch sunset in Kangra district!
Location, Open Timings and Tickets for Kangra Fort
Kangra Fort is located in south westernmost tip of Kangra district in Purana (old) Kangra. Distance from Dharamshala to Kangra Fort is 20km and from Gaggal Airport is 15.5km.
This Fort is open to tourists between 9am to 5.30pm.
Tickets cost Rs150 per person. There are 2 small but well stuffed museums nearby included in same ticket price. You get an audio guide in English and Hindi at the ticket counter.
Pre wedding shoot in Kangra Fort
Other tips for Kangra Fort Visit
- One of the museums has a cafeteria too.
- Souvenir shop has paintings, books and local produce like tea, pickles for sale.
- Washrooms are available.
- Parking space is very limited.
History of Kangra Fort
The fort has several superlatives to its credit.
Kangra Fort is the largest in the north of India and is ranked 10th among all Forts of India. It was ruled by the Katoch dynasty for several centuries.
It is the oldest fort in the whole of India. Oldest as in, the history of this fort is linked to the times of Ramayana which is believed to have happened in 3000BC!
Tumultuous Past of the Fort…
While climbing up you will notice several wells (21 of them) 4m deep and 2.5m wide in circumference covered with iron mesh. It is rumoured that some of them have treasures hidden in them. It is said the Laksmi Narayan Temple within the fort premises had such aura that devotees all around offered their riches in thanksgiving to the temple. In the process the kings had accumulated wealth beyond imagination.
There is a famous quote on Kangra: ‘He, who holds the Kangra Fort, holds the hills.’ Once you see the wells and believe what is said about them you too will justify the quote.
The audio guide mentions how the kings, generations after generations, resorted to hiding the wealth in the wells within the fort… and how the several generations of Katoch rulers kept defending the fort against the enemy kings and invaders. The enemies began eyeing the wealth and kept attacking the kingdom. There have been series of attacks.
Attacks on Kangra Fort
- First attack was in 470AD by Raja Shreshta, the then king of Kashmir.
- Then in 1000AD Mahmud of Ghazni unleashed his forces on the fort. The ruler of Ghazni managed to loot 8 wells.
- Mughal invaders Firuz Shah Tughluq in 1360 and Sher Shah in 1540 looted the temples.
- In early 17th century Mughal Army led by Akbar made 52 failed attempts to capture this fort.
- Finally Jahangir, Akbar’s son, in 1620 could conquer the Kangra Fort. And the first thing he did was to kill a bull within the premises and build a mosque at the top of the fort.
- Raja Sansar Chand II succeeded in recovering the ancient fort of his ancestors, in 1789.
- Ranjit Singh, a Sikh King annexed this kingdom in 1828.
- The fort was finally taken by the British after the Sikh war of 1846. British rulers looted five wells during the 1890s.
It is said that the fort still retains 8 more wells full of treasures that are yet to be unearthed. (I peered through the gaps hoping to eye some shining jewel which would have escaped others’ notice.)
Ancient History and Literary Mentions of Kangra Fort
The origin of Kangra state has been traced to ancient Tigarta Kingdom. Below is the timeline of Kangra Fort
- First mention of Tigarta kingdom in Hindu epic Ramayana in 3000BC. King of Tigarta had helped Luv and Kush, twin sons of Lord Rama, to fight Lakshman, younger brother of Lord Rama. The twin brothers had captured their sacred horse. And Lakshman wanted to take back the horse.
- Another mention of Tigarta kingdom is in the epic story of Mahabharata, 1500BC. Rajanaka Susarma Chandra, the 234th King of Tigarta, fought against Pandavas. Duryodhan the Kaurava prince was his son-in-law. Rajanaka Susarma Chandra was killed by Arjun in the battle.
- The first written mention of this kingdom is in the works of Panini from the 5BC. He calls the inhabitants of Trigarta as “Ayudhjeevi Sangha” or a martial republic.
- Second written mention is in Mahabharata’s Sabha Parv. In this it is included along with a number of other states of the time. The Mahabharata was first penned down around the 4BC and continued to be written until the 4AD.
- Susarma Chandra is credited to be the founder of Tigarta kingdom in the Mahabharata. He built the Kangra Fort which was called as Nagarkot then.
- It was also mentioned in the works of the Greek geographer Ptolemy. He referred to Kangra as Kalindarine.
- Next mention is in Rajataringini, written by Kashmiri historian Kalhana. It is a metrical legendary and historical chronicle of the north-western India, particularly the kings of Kashmir written in 12AD.
- Several Islamic scholars, in the medieval times, documenting the region referred to the fort as Nagarkot.
Conclusion
The material for this post has been sourced from Wiki and Book – History of Kangra written and published by royal family of Kangra. Thanks to Hyatt Regency Dharamshala Resort for hosting and making Kangra Fort tour and photography possible. All photographs are mine.
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I have crossed Kangra twice and spent some hours once. I was all planned to visit this fort, but got late from Dharamshala itself and had to do only with the museum. Well, next time.
Loved your detailed description.
I wonder that how a fort which is the 10th largest forts in India went unnoticed when I visited Dharamshala way back .. I remember I went and visited this chitpurni shakti peeth somewhere nearby but didn’t get time to visit Kangra fort. The cafetaria inside the museum must have offered some nice views . I really feel sad when I get to hear the deplorable conditions of the fort which has been an importamt place back then . But ruins have their own stories to tell. Atleast the museum is well preserved.
This was one highlight of our Kangra tour. I wish we had some more time here. I would have liked to see that Jain temple from within …had that guy not rushed us out, I might have just hopped in anyway. The audio tour was quite good in giving us these facts about Kangra. I am so glad that we managed to at least listen to three fourths of it.
I have heard something about Kangra Fort in Himachal Pradesh but never knew that is is superlatives of many like it is oldest fort of India since ancient centures. Though it is damaged and worn out, it is really looking precious gem of a monument in Indian history and so many great stories associated with it. It has survived so many wars and has witnessed so many invasions on India. I would love to these those sculptures of gods and goddess that are crafted since ages. I am surprised to know that there are eight wells still existing with treasures. Hopefully, everything now remains well preserved now.
I loved my trip to this fort too. One of the picturesque forts of India, I must say. I am glad you got to view the sunset from the lawns of the museum. We missed to visit the museum on our trip, due to paucity of time. A well written detailed post , Indrani !
It looks as though a lot of the fort survived the earthquake, the stairs even look safe. I’m shocked no one has dug up the wells looking for treasure. This would be a really gorgeous spot to enjoy tea!
You always explore such interesting places. Even missing part of it, the fort is impressive. And a great spot for sunset photos. Glad to know the fort is near the Hyatt and they can arrange a tour.
It was like going back and reliving the magical moments once again through your description and photographs. Forts are my wife’s favorite and she lived Kangra fort again and asked me to thank you for the wonderful pics. We need to try out the high tea next time we are there.
I do love exploring forts and castles in Europe and haven’t come across many in Asia but I would love to check this fort out. I love the grey stones and how they can make photos really come alive (as long as the weather is good that day also). Also at the top it must be a wonderful place to see the sunset or sunrise over the area, am I right? I can really see the appeal of doing a pre-wedding shoot here also, I did something similiar for my wedding in Riga, Latvia around the old town which had an old castle and it was a truly amazing experience. 🙂
Wow! While well-preserved historic sites are fascinating, such ruins have their own charm. No wonder, a couple found it so charming to do a pre-wedding photoshoot there! We too did ours in one such ruins (Sadras fort, Chennai)! Kangra Valley on one side and the Himalayas on the other, I can imagine how magnificent the King would have felt in his heydays! Oldest fort in India and the largest of Northern India? Wow! Ghazni and British did loot a lot! I try to imagine how we would have been it Ghazni and British never came!!!!
Never heard about it, not only the fort rather the surrounding beauty is also mesmerizing, loved reading it with these beautiful captures.
An informative and mind refreshing post.
Thanks for the details.
Thank you Jyotirmoy. Glad you liked the post.