We were at Bareilly, UP for an official visit to IVRI ( Indian Veterinary Research Institute) IzzatNagar. I prefer to drive by own car for this kind of official visit. So I can turn the official visit in a pleasure trip too. We drove all the way, Anand, to Bareilly covering more than 1400 km.
Our job was done at Bareilly. one of the evenings during our boozing session. We were thinking about where to go from Bareilly. Our Official job was finished and we had one day and night to cover a tourist place or some Himalayan destination. I made a rough list of places in 200 kilometer radius of Barelily.
Tajmahal, Agra.....228 (Visited)
Lucknow....264( Visited)
Nainital....139( Visited)
Pilibhit...80 ( Not Visited)
Keeping Pilibhit wildlife Sanctuary apart, Nainital was the best option to spend one day. However, I been to Nainital and an overcrowded Nainital during summer months wasn't appealing to me.
I tried to search for some more places which could be on our way back home. There were options like Bharatpur, Alwar, Mathra etc.
I zoomed in the google map and Bhangarh caught my attention. I tried to make a rough route of our back journey Bhangarh was just a 20km detour from the main road to Jaipur.
I heard a lot about the most haunted place in India. I am an atheist, so I don't believe in spirits & ghosts and that kind of things. However, the story attached to this kind of place always has their charm. We decided to visit Bhangarh fort.
Practically, we had only one day. So we would be able to visit any one place.
We started our drive at 2000 from Bareilly.
Bareilly to Bhangarh is 450km. So, It was a 12-hour drive. My target was to reach Bhangarh at 0700 in the morning.
We were driving from some of the notorious part of UP and that too during the night. We stopped at many villages for our bio breaks and food brakes. These villages are not developed at all. For them, a person in shorts is a foreigner and foreigner always gives money. I had to change my shorts and wear a pair of jeans during this night's journey. However, once they know that we are Indian and coming from Gujarat, they were very co-operative.
We drove through Mathura, Vrindavan, Bharatpur, etc. These all are famous names as far as tourism is concerned. However, we had to keep driving ignoring all these interesting places. We reached Dausa at 0400. It was early. We had early breakfast at one of the roadside Dhaba and drove to Bhangarh.
Here are some information about Bhangarh Fort. Taken from our very own Tripoto article.
https://www.tripoto.com/trip/bhangarh-fort-story
Bhangarh Fort is known as the most haunted place in India, and perhaps the greatest unsolved mystery. There is no doubting the fact that anything associated with the supernatural attracts a huge amount of attention and the deserted city of Bhangarh cashes in on that very idea. The many haunted stories of Bhangarh Fort have transformed it into a bucket list destination of sorts.
According to legends, her beauty was nonpareil and stories of her surpassing physical attractiveness even transcended kingdoms and borders. When she turned eighteen, suitors from several states asked for her hand in marriage. Of all these suitors was a sorcerer named Singhia who was aware of the fact that he was no match for the princess. However, he decided to entice her with the magical powers he possessed.
He was lucky enough to see Princess Ratnavati’s mistress in the market and enchanted the oil she was purchasing with black magic. He was of the hope that the princess would surrender herself to him upon touching the oil. However, his attempt was futile as Ratnavati witnessed his trick and poured the oil on the ground which then morphed into a rock, rolled towards the magician and crushed him.
We reached Bahangarh Fort entrance gate 0530.
As per rule, no one is allowed inside the fort from 1800 to 0600. We spent half an hour in the campus of a local house. The house owner was gracious enough to allow us to use their toilets and taking a bath.
We bought the tickets and entered the Fort. We were the first tourist to enter the fort during that day. The gatekeeper trying to play with us and said take care inside the fort. It was fun for me but my other companions took it very seriously.
The fort is situated at the edge of a lusciously green expanse of Sariska Tiger Reserve between Alwar and Jaipur.
Let's have a walk inside the Bhangarh Fort.
The Bhangarh Fort haunted is like other forts in Rajasthan, and is surprisingly well preserved. Its ramparts and fortifications stand amidst the ruins of the ghost town by the same name. Legends have it that the fort and the surrounding establishments around it once buzzed with life. Then something happened along with a chain of other unfortunate incidents which led to the doom of the place within a concise period.
We spent two hours exploring every corner of the fort. It was very sad to see once an amazing fort in this kind o condition. We didn't had any kind of spooky experience.
How To Reach Bhangarh Fort?
The nearest town to Bhangarh is Alwar in Rajasthan. The distance from Alwar to Bhangarh is about 90 Km, for which taxis and buses are available from Alwar.
Bhangarh is located around 269 km from Delhi via Neemrana route and 242 km via Alwar route.
Bhangarh Fort is just 83 km from Jaipur, and it is an excellent place to go for a day trip with friends.
Bhangarh Fort Timings
6 AM - 6 PM; as per ASI's orders, it is prohibited to enter the area beyond these timings
Thank You.