Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Tuesday November 3 - Orchha Datia Gwalior

Today we will be going to Gwalior after seeing the sights in Orchha and visiting Datia on the way.

Our first stop was the chhatris (mausoleum). There are 14 chhatris on the river, the most famous is that of Madhukar Shah, the first Maharaja of Orchha.













We proceeded to the Orchha Fort and went to the Raja Mahal first and then the Jehangir Mahal

Jehangir Mahal was built for Emperor Jehangir, who came from Agra to stay one night. The place was supposedly never used again.

There are very many beautiful fresco paintings on the walls of this fort.







































This fort is under restoration as well and there seems to be some thought put into the process.

From the Orchha Fort we left for Datia. Datia has an unique fort, it is a perfect rectangle. It is 7 stories high and was occupied for only one night and then abandoned.

The king decided to go back to Orchha and rule from there. This is a newer fort, built in 1623. This fort also has some unique sculptures inside.













We climbed 3 of the 7 stories, the steps were high and the passage dark. Three stories were difficult enough.

We had a nice English speaking young guide with us and that made it better yet.

We then made our way to Gwalior, our stop for the night.

The road was under construction and it took us a good 2 hours; the trip should normally take an hour and fifteen minutes or so.

In Gwalior we are staying at the Usha Kiran Palace. This used to be an actual palace built for the king's special guests. It was built around 128 years back and remains the way it looked then.

Too bad we are only staying here 2 nights. It's a beautiful hotel with working wifi and the staff is courteous, helpful and pleasant. What more would one want in a hotel?

Planning to go see the Light and Sound Show at the Gwalior Fort before heading for dinner.

The show was very well done, it filled in some gaps I had in my knowledge of Indian history.

Time to have Biriyani and retire for the night.







Location:Usha Kiran Palace - Gwalior

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