Visit to Unique Fort of Uparcot in Junagadh in Gujarat State of India

The State of Gujarat, which is situated in the Western coast of India, is full of historical monuments and places. One such most vital historical spot is located in the city of Junagadh in the Northern part of Gujarat State. This place is the famous Uparcot fort, situated just at the outskirts of the Junagadh city. This fort is around 400 years old and still has maintained its beauty and the historical importance.

Junagadh is well connected by air, train, and bus from all the major cities of the Gujarat State like Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat. However, the best option to reach Junagadh is by train that leaves from Ahmedabad and Vadodara at around 9 pm at night, reaching Junagadh by around 7 am in the morning. There are many hotels for the tourists in this historical city. We always prefer to stay at Hotel Manoranjan, which is situated in the Kalwa Chalk area in the center of the Junagadh city. It offers nice double rooms at around Rs.400 ($8) per day, excluding all meals. The Gujarati meals can easily be available here at the hotel restaurant at the most economic rates of around Rs.50 ($1) per person. This meal is served in the thali form and is full of delicious kathiawadi food delicacies. Such food items can be slightly spicy. Hence, if you are not used to taking spicy dishes, you must make sure to specify your own taste at the time of ordering. We went to see the famous fort of Uparcot in the next day morning at around 9 am. The auto rickshaws and the horse carts are available easily from the city center to take you to the fort. The fort is located just outside the city at the height of around 1500 feet from the city. There is an entrée ticket of Rs.10 (20 cents) per person to visit this historical fort.

As soon as you enter the fort, its large and impressive gate welcomes you. This gate is made up of very thick and solid wood, strengthened with the steel plates. This was done so that the enemy attack could not break open the gate. There is a large Lord Hanuman statue on your right just inside the gate of the fort. It is said that this statue of Lord Hanuman protects the fort from the enemy attack. The two large canons, known as Nilam and Sonam come next. These canons are capable of firing up to the distance of around 10 miles. These canons were used by Rakhengar, King of Junagadh, during his war against Sidharaj Jaisinh, the King of Gujarat. There are four water lakes inside the fort. There are Buddha caves also located inside the fort. The palace of the king and the queen of Junagadh can also be seen inside this historical fort. The famous Navghan water well is worth visiting spot inside the fort. This well is around 180 feet deep and is still full of water. The next vital spot is the stepped well of Adi/Kadi. It is said that the water was not coming inside this stepped well even after lot of efforts of the king. Finally, two maid servants of the king, named Adi and Kadi gave the sacrifice of their lives inside the well and exactly at that moment, sweet water rushed in to this stepped well. This stepped well is full of sweet water even today. The tourists have to get down around 250 steps to reach up to the water in this stepped well. It is suggested to be extremely careful while getting down in to this stepped well as the steps are very irregular and are damaged considerably. It can take around three hours to see this fort in details. It is also suggested to avail the government approved guide services. Such guide services are available at the rate of around Rs.150 ($3) per trip. It would be better to visit this fort in the morning hours only as there may be severe heat during afternoon hours. The tourists would also need to walk the distance of around 3 miles in all while moving around this historical fort.

It is really worth visiting this historical fort in order to refresh the ancient history of the city of Junagadh. I would strongly recommend all my friends and AC readers to make sure to visit this fort during their next visit to India.