Bhadra Fort - Overview

Bhadra Fort was built by Sultan Ahmad Shah in 1411. He was also the founder of the city of Ahmedabad and the city was named after his name. Many mosques, temples, palaces and other structures were also built in the fort. The fort is mainly famous for Teen Darwaza which was the entry to Maidan Shah.

Ahmedabad

Bhadra Fort is located in Ahmedabad which is the largest city of Gujarat and seventh largest city of India. Bhadra Fort is located on the Jijabai Marg in Ahmedabad and is considered to be one of the largest forts of India. Ahmedabad was ruled by various dynasties like Muzaffarid dynasty, Delhi Sultanate, Mughals, Marathas, and the British.

Visiting Hours

Bhadra Fort is opened for the public from 9am till 5pm. It takes almost one hour to roam around the whole fort and visit various structures inside the fort.

Tickets

There is no entry fees to visit the fort and people can enter the fort free of cost. The fort has lost its charm and now many markets operate here. There are only a few buildings left to be visited.

Recommendations

Currently, there is no entry fees for the fort and people can visit it without paying anything. There are no security rules though police keeps a watch so that no mis-happening may occur. Nobody is allowed to throw waste here and there and if found doing so is penalized.

Bhadra Fort - History

Bhadra Fort is located in Ahmedabad and was built in 1411AD by Sultan Ahmad Shah. The fort had many temples, mosques palaces, and other structures. The fort was named so because of the presence of Bhadra Kali temple built during the reign of the Marathas. It is also said that Sultan Ahmad Shah built the Bhadra gate for entering the fort and due to this, the fort is called Bhadra fort.

Bhadra Fort under Gujarat Sultanate

Ahmad Shah I built the Bhadra Fort after establishing Muzaffarid dynasty in Karnavati. He renamed the city as Ahmedabad. The fort is also known as Arak fort and is built on the banks of the Sabarmati River. The fort covers an area of around 43 acres.

Bhadra Fort under Mughals

Bhadra fort was governed by around 60 governors of Mughals. Later Mughal Emperors Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurungzeb ruled Ahmedabad. A governor of Mughal Empire named Azam Khan built Azam Khan Sarai for travellers to take rest.

Bhadra Fort under Marathas

Peshwa and Gaekwad jointly ended Mughal rule and established Maratha Empire in 1583. The British defeated the Marathas in the war held between 1775 and 1782 but they gave back the fort after signing a treaty with the Marathas.

Bhadra Fort under British

The British captured the fort in 1817 and used the fort as a jail. The fort was under the British till independence

Bhadra Fort - Architecture and Design

The total area of the fort is around 43 acres which included 14 circular structures, mosques, palaces and many other structures. Now some of the parts have been removed and currently the fort looks like incomplete Manek Burj. The fort was built on the basis of Islamic architecture as it has arches, balconies and lattice work.

Bhadra Fort Gates

There are eight gates in fort out of which three are big gates, three are mid-sized, and two are small gates. In 1545, the fort was occupied due to urban development so Mahmud Begada built a new fort. The outer wall of the new fort had the circumference of 10km. The number of gates were 12 whereas the number of bastions were 189.

The main entrance was known as Piran Pir Darwaza also known as Bhadra Darwaza. At the north of the fort, there is another main gate called Lal Darwaza and Bhadra Kali temple is situated outside this gate. Ganesh Bariis the third gate located at the southwest. The two gates on the west are Baradari Darwaza and Ram Darwaza.

Ahmad Shah Mosque

Ahmad Shah mosque was built by Ahmad Shah in 1414AD. The mosque was used by the royal people for offering prayers. The outer wall of the mosque is plain having pointed arches.

There are five large domes along with small domes which are beautifully ornamented and are supported by pillars. It is considered as the oldest mosque of Ahmedabad.

Maidan Shah

Maidan Shah was an open space located on the east side of the fort. There is a long and broad square having palm, date, citron, and orange trees. This space was used for royal processions and polo sport.

Teen Darwaza

Teen Darwaza was built by Ahmad Shah I in 1415. Teen Darwaza or triple door was an entrance to the fort that led to Maidan Shah. It is called teen darwaza due to three arches which are 25-feet high. The courtyard or maidan shah had a fountain along with a raised terrace in the center.

Manek Chowk

Manek Chowk is in the center of the city which is a marketplace. Here people can buy vegetables from the vegetable market in the morning. Noon time is for jewellery market and evening time is for food and snacks. Another popular thing one can get in the Manek Chowk is Kulfi.

Azam Khan Sarai

Azam Khan Sarai was built by Azam Khan in 1637. The entrance has the height of 5.49m which leads to an octagonal hall. The building was used by travellers to rest. During the time of British, the building was used as a hospital and jail. In order to hang the prisoners, there was a gibbet which was used during British era.

Bhadra Kali temple

During the Maratha reign, a room of Azam Khan Sarai was changed into Bhadra Kali temple. The temple includes a black statue of Goddess Kali with four hands. There is a legend which says that there was a watchman named Siddique Kotwal who saw Goddess Laxmi. The watchman asked her not to leave the fort unless he gets the king’s permission. Kotwal beheaded himself so that the goddess remain in the city and the city becomes wealthy.

Clock Tower

The British brought the clock tower and installed it in the fort. During the night time, a kerosene lamp lit-up the tower which was replaced by electric lamp in 1915.

How to Reach Bhadra Fort?

Ahmedabad is connected to various cities of India through air, rail and road transport. People can reach here from India and abroad. The approximate distance of Ahmedabad to some of the Indian cities are as follows −

• Ahmedabad to Vadodara
  • By road – 114km
  • By rail – 97km
  • By air – 100km
• Ahmedabad to Mumbai
  • By road – 527km
  • By rail – 488km
  • By air – 441km
• Ahmedabad to Jodhpur
  • By road – 451km
  • By rail – 456km
  • By air – 360km
• Ahmedabad to Bikaner
  • By road – 738km
  • By rail – 732
  • By air – 559km
• Ahmedabad to Delhi
  • By road – 926km
  • By rail – 912km
  • By air – 775km
• Ahmedabad to Bhuj
  • By road – 336km
  • By rail – 359km
  • By air – 299km
• Ahmedabad to Udaipur
  • By road – 255km
  • By rail – 296km
  • By air – 207km

By Air

Ahmedabad has its airport called Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport where domestic and international flights land and take-off. As far as abroad is concerned, German City Frankfurt, Singapore, Middle East, London, and few parts of USA are connected with the city.

As far as Indian cities are concerned, Ahmedabad is connected to Delhi, Bangaluru, and Mumbai. People can reach the airport through taxis, buses and cab. The airport is around 12km away from the city.

By Train

Ahmedabad is connected to big and small cities and towns by train. New Delhi, Mumbai, Vadodara, Chennai, Jaipur, Bikaner, Lucknow are some of the cities from where people can get direct trains to Ahmedabad. Kalupur is the area where railway station of Ahmedabad is located and it is about 6km from the city.

Premium trains like Shatabdi, Rajdhani, Duronto, Garib Rath, Double Decker, start, end, or pass through Ahmedabad. Besides these, many superfast and fast express trains also come to the city. The city has both broad gauge and meter gauge railway stations. Most of the trains are connected to Ahmedabad through broad gauge.

By Road

Many cities in and out of Gujarat are connected with Ahmedabad by road. Cities like Udaipur, Jaipur, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Gandhinagar, Vadodara, etc. are connected to Ahmedabad by road.

Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service provides buses for various places. There are fourlane roads in some parts of the city and elsewhere there are two-lane roads.

Local Transport

Tourists can visit different parts of Ahmedabad through three-wheelers, taxis, local buses, and cycle-rickshaws.

People can hire taxis for full-day sight-seeing and for short distances they can use threewheelers. Local buses operate on regular basis but there is no fixed timetable for them.

Where to Stay?

Tourists who come to visit Ahmedabad can stay in hotels that are located in various parts of the city. There are star hotels, budget hotels, cheap hotels, luxury hotels, and resorts in Ahmedabad.

There are 20 five-star and 27 four-star hotels in Ahmedabad. Besides these, there are four resorts, 402 budget hotels, and 201 cheap hotels. Tourists can make arrangements for accommodation as per their budget.

Bhadra Fort - Nearby Places

Besides Bhadra fort, tourists can also visit some historical places nearby the fort. Some of them are as follows −

Hathee Singh Jain Temple

Hathee Singh Jain Temple was constructed in 1848 by the wife of Sheth Hathsinh Kesarisinh. Dharmantha is 15^th Tirthankara of Jains and the temple is dedicated to him. Currently the descendants of the same family manages the temple. The Bhadra Fort is 3km away from the temple.

Swaminarayan Temple

Swaminarayan is a Hindu sect whose founder was Swaminarayan and whose first temple was constructed in Kalupur in Ahmedabad city. The statues of Hindu Gods and Goddesses are there in the temple which are decorated with beautiful dresses. The temple is around 3km away from Bhadra Fort.

Rani Rupmati Mosque

Rani Rupmati Mosque is located in Mirzapur, Ahmedabad. The mosque is also known as Rani Rupvati Mosque, Mirzapur Queen’s Mosque, and Masjid-e-Nagina which was built by Mahmud Begada during Ahmad Shah’s I reign. Rani Rupmati was the wife of Mahmud Begada. The mosque is less than 2km away from Bhadra Fort.

Sidi Saiyad Mosque

Sidi Saiyad mosque was built in 1573 by Sidi Saiyad who was an advisor in the group of Bilal Jhajar Khan. Bilal was a general of Muzaffar III, the last sultan of the Gujarat Sultanate. The architecture used in the construction of this mosque is Indo-Saracenic.

The mosque is popular for its windows or jalis. The mosque is less than 1km away from Bhadra Fort.