Bhangarh Fort

A 16th-century town, well preserved, sitting on the edge of a tiger reserve.

Bhangarh Fort was built in Rajasthan during the rule of Bhagwant Das, as the residence of his second son Madho Singh. Both the fort and its precincts survive in good condition, which is unusual and is most of the reason to go.

It stands on the border of the Sariska Reserve in the Aravalli hills, in Alwar district, nestled among green hills. The ruins of the king's palace sit on the lower slope, with trees around a pond that a natural stream feeds from inside the palace grounds. The nearest village is Gola ka Baas.

The practical detail matters here. It is 235 kilometres from Delhi and 20 miles from Thana Ghazi, the nearest airport is Jaipur International at 88.2 km, and the final 2 kilometres of road to the entrance gate is unpaved.

The legend attached to the place concerns a sadhu who lived within the fort area. By his injunction, no house built in the fort's precinct was to stand taller than his own, and if the shadow of such a house fell across his, that would be the end of the town.

Rajasthan's own tourism service promotes Bhangarh openly, which tells you something: this is a maintained heritage site inside a state that runs it, not a forbidden ruin. Come for a 16th-century town you can actually walk through, and for the Aravallis around it, and treat the story as what people here tell rather than as a warning.