Bhangarh - Haunted or a Must Hunt Destination

For many of us, the name of a haunted building is reason enough to start shivering with fear. Now, imagine a situation where an entire city is considered haunted. Yes, there is an abandoned city in eastern Rajasthan, which is known as the most haunted place on earth. Believe it or not, but this medieval city has many stories and theories to portray it as a haunted one. Will discuss those stories in details but before that, let's have a virtual tour to this haunted but contrarily very beautiful city.

An example of architectural marvel. 

It is known as Bhangarh, located around 100 kilometers from Jaipur and 250 kilometers from Delhi, towards Alwar. This medieval city is settled in natural surroundings at the base of the Aravali mountain range and is well protected by hills and dense forests from the back side, while three different layers of sturdy ramparts protect it from the front.

Gateway of Bhangarh

A signboard, displaying a warning not to enter or stay in the periphery of the city from dusk to dawn, welcomes the visitors, at the gateway. But, for their relief, a temple having a huge idol of lord Hanuman, at the entrance, seems to assure their safety. From there, a stone carved street leads towards the royal palace, passing through the main market of the abandoned city. The remains of systematically built shops on both the sides of the lane depicts the story of its prosperity. Many of these shops were multi-storeyed and had different sections for storage and for entertaining the customers. While, some other shops had luxurious facilities, such as fountains to comfort their special guests.

Main market of Bhangarh

Visitors cannot resist themselves looking at the remains of some of the beautiful Havelis, built alongside the street. However, for centuries, these Havelis have faced nature's fury but still, their ruins are capable enough to narrate the stories of the lavish lifestyle of their residents.

Beautiful ceiling of a temple

Apart from ruins of the royal palace; shops and Havelis, there are a number of beautiful temples in the city which are still in a relatively better condition. It's clearly visible that only temples could miraculously escape the catastrophe caused by the time and some unknown reasons. However, most of these are still in good condition and attractive enough to pull the visitors towards them with their architecture and captivating carvings on pillars and ceilings. But strangely, apart from two, others are abandoned. Perhaps, their priests took the idols of their lords along with them while leaving the city. 

Another example of delectable architecture 

The city had three different sections, divided by three layers of ramparts. The first section between initial two layers of ramparts was for ordinary citizens while, the next section between second and third layers, was reserved for the nobles. And, the royal family was secure in the city palace, protected by a series of bastions and towers, as well as with an additional security by the immense mountain from the back side.

Interior of a temple

The royal palace, which was once a beautiful seven-storeyed palace has now been reduced to just four because it could not withstand the test of time. It still looks mighty from the outside but, it's hard to find a way to its inner rooms as most of the passages have now been blocked by debris. Until a few years back, there were some staircases to access its basements and secret chambers, which now have been closed by Archeological Survey of India (ASI, which has taken its custody), for the sake of protection of visitors from an unknown danger.

Ruins of the city palace

Apart from these, one of the main attraction of the city is a water stream, which sprouts deep inside the jungle of Kewra flowers and emerges near the royal palace to fall in an artificial pond next to a beautiful Shiv temple, and fills the surroundings with its exotic aroma. It further flows through the deserted city, having some magnificent temples and Havelis built on its curves. It must have been the lifeline  of then city dwellers for their water needs as well as for their amusements. There were two separate pools built for men and women to have fun in its cool, clear and fragranced water. Still, tourists cannot resist themselves from taking a dip in its refreshing water.

Water stream falling in the pond

This magical journey can't come to an end without the description of a mysterious mausoleum, situated at the top of the hill, above the royal palace. This mausoleum is still in good condition as compared with rest of the buildings. However, it's a difficult task to reach there in the absence of stairs. One has to climb the hill to reach there which is a tiring exercise. Many people avoid taking that much pain to visit that cursed place as they believe in stories according to which, mausoleum had a key role behind the abandonment of the city.

While roaming in between the ruins of this deserted city, it seems like every stone is telling a story of its glorious past. It is hard to escape the thought of finding a reason which forced its residents to deplete such a beautiful city to give it a tag of one of the most haunted places on earth. The curiosity of getting an answer for these questions leads towards some stories, one of which is very famous.

Mysterious mausoleum of Bhangarh

The story of an evil occultist and the heavenly beautiful queen Ratnavati. According to the story, it is believed that the occultist used to live on the hill, above the royal palace. He used to practice his black magic in the mausoleum. One day, his evil eye fell on the beauty of the queen, who was enjoying the beauty of her city from the top of her palace. He decided to get her at any cost and for that, he bribed one of her maids, who was in charge of queen's cosmetics. To pursue his goal, he did black magic on the perfume brought for the queen. The queen noticed something strange in perfume before it could had been applied to her. She sternly interrogated the maid and came to know the evil desire of the occultist. She ordered her to spill the perfume on a huge rock to see the effect of the black magic, and for everyone's surprise, the rock moved and flew towards the occultist to fall upon him. The occultist made such a powerful magic for the queen that there was no way to stop the rock from crushing him. When he saw an inevitable death flying towards him, he cursed the city and freed his evil powers to turn the city into a massive graveyard. Most of the residents quit the city, the very same day on a royal decree to save their lives, and those who stayed back were found dead.

Shiv Mandir which is still being worshiped

It's believed that the evil powers, freed by the occultist are still there and kill anyone who dares to spend a night in the city. It's believed that it wakes up in the night, and it does not allow its guests to leave it again.

A haunted corridor of Bhangarh palace

How to Reach: This location falls around 100 kilometers from Jaipur and 250 kilometers from Delhi,  towards Alwar. Tourists can easily reach there by personal or rented vehicles. It is also visible on Google Maps.

Nearby Attractions: Bhangarh is not too far from the famous wildlife destination, Sariska Tiger Reserve. Some other attractions are Pandu Pole, Bhartrihari, Siliserh Lake and Neelkanth Mahadev Mandir which is believed to be of Mahabharata era. Apart from these tourist destinations, there is a  small village Gola Ka Bas, around 2 kilometers from Bhangarh, which is known for its stone art. It is worth buying some beautiful stone sculptures from there. After all, artists of this village are descendants of those who had carved the beautiful structures of Bhangarh.

Do's and don'ts: This is a heritage site, visitors are expected to maintain peace and cleanliness. Tampering and damaging the property is a punishable offense.  Visitors should avoid entering damaged rooms and buildings for safety concerns. Beware of snakes and scorpions! Last but not the least, do not write your names and messages on any wall, for the sake of your own safety...

By: Ajay Sharma

For more images: https://www.facebook.com/ajay.aksphotography/photos_albums