Weekend Getaway at Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Gwalior city is known for its royal landmarks and temples. It’s yet another historical city I visited this year as a weekend getaway from Delhi.
ABOUT
Gwalior is part of Madhya Pradesh (MP) State, in the central India. It is one of the royal destinations to visit. Its famous for its fort which is situated on top of a hillock. The hillock is called as Gopachal.
WHAT I WENT FOR
As per saying in Hindi in the incredible India advertisement run by the government of India, “MP Alag hai”, meaning “MP is different” and it is absolutely correct. I have visited Orchha and Khajuraho two of famous destination from MP in past and I was amazed at the beauty of this Indian state. Magnificent light yellow stone temples of Khajuraho and beauty of Orchha were just calling me back. The charm has stuck me badly and I wanted to revisit MP and witness the beauty again.
As a traveler, I prefer visiting unseen destinations and hence I decided to visit Gwalior City this time.
WHAT I DISCOVERED
India has such an amazing history and various destinations are a great reminder of the same. If one needs to explore India properly it is important to read a bit about the history of that place.
I discovered that the city has royal history attached to it. The Hindu Maratha Dynasty called as “Scindia” ruled the city in the past. The members of the royal family have till today kept the royal charm alive in the city. Memories of royal past still get alive in the forts and palaces of this city. The Scindiyas have opened few of their palaces for tourists in the form of museums and palace hotels and this becomes an opportunity for any traveler to witness the regal landmarks of the city like a true royal person.
The moment I reached this city I realized that city is quaint and small but it has a major charm to it. As a traveler, the city has a lot to offer you. This is a destination where you must choose luxurious stay options to feel the magnificence and royalness, book your royal hotels or havelis in advance. We stayed at the Taj Hotel Usha Kiran five star hotel which is one of the famous luxurious chains in India. it turned out to be one of the best stays ever.
UNIQUE OFFERINGS
We saw beautiful fort and some unexpected unseen temples which have also now become unforgettable for me. Below is the unique offering one must look forward to.
Royalness – The royal family has converted certain private palaces into museums. If you like to visit royal destinations like Rajasthan then this is the destination for you.
Fort – There’s so much to explore in Gwalior. The main reason for any tourist is to visit the beautiful Gwalior ‘fort’. Fort was right from the fairytale. The blue color carvings on the front of the fort gives an idea of how beautiful it must have been in the historical times
Gwalior Fort reflecting the aesthetic and royal spirit of this place!
Here is a photo I clicked while entering the fort. Notice the word zero in the Hindi language on a plaque on the bottom right side of the picture. According to a legend that zero was used here in ancient times because there is the inscription on a temple inside this fort. There’s a lot to be seen, a few moments are shared on our YouTube Channel.
MUSEUM- Though I’m not a museum person this destination has one of the best museums. The grand entrance reminded me of Europe. The collection is much beyond the imagination. Highly recommend this visit here. It is also famous for a small toy train which was used by the royal family for serving food on dining table. One can feel the history coming alive when visiting the “Jai Vilas Palace” museum which is as royal as one can imagine
TEMPLES – Gwalior has one of the best temples to visit. The temples are a must visit as they are made up of yellow stone and reminded me of my visit to Khajuraho.
MUST TO DO
Though above are unique offering if you have more time you must do as follow
Hike up the Fort via Gopachal Caves
Shop for local Chanderi fabric ( Silk Cotton mix )
Explore the Museums
Visit Local markets
Visit the fort (with a guide)
Visit the temples
FOOD
A unique culinary adventure awaits you in the fort city of Gwalior. You are likely to not ever have heard about it since very few places have these dishes on the menu. Try the royal Thaali at Taj Usha Kiran Hotel. Street food is typical North Indian food but with a twist to it.
TRAVELQUARTZ DESTINATION
I visited all of the below destinations like a local explorer and enjoyed experiencing the remains of royal history. Numbering them below
Gwalior Fort
Ghaus Tomb
Sarod Ghar
Scindia’s Chhatri
Taj Hotel Usha Kiran
Mansingh Palace
Tansen Museum
Gujri Mahal
Jai Vilas Palace Museum
Gopachal caves
Teli Temple
Sahastra Bahu Temple
Gurudwara Data Bandi
Yes, there’s so much to explore in Gwalior, the only thing you need to make sure is that weather in on your side. I planned my trip in the rainy season, the winter season is a good option too.
MY NEXT VISIT
I wanted to see a lot but some things are to be kept for future to ensure revisit. I plan to visit the Sarod museum next time and understand the music and history behind it. if I can hear some live music here it will be awesome. Tansen was one of the biggest classical musicians in India known in the history, he was born here and next time I revisiting this place to explore the Tansen memorial and get some music classes.
Do you enjoy visiting such destinations too? Share about your last such destination.
i heard a lot of negative thing from india but OMG still i want to visit and still on my bucket list, because i read a lot of good things that places looks beautiful and the food is a must to try.
Hi, yes there are actually more good things than the bad, one needs to plan the trip in the right season and stay at right accommodation to make the trip successful. Check out few recommendations on our website and I am sure you will have a great trip to India.
Great article and excellent structure. Easy to read and navigate. The subheadings are useful and the paragraphs short and attention grabbing rather than long and boring! I can see why the museum reminded of you of Europe, looks like it could be in Vienna or Prague!
Thanks so much Steve for your positive feedback , yes the museum was really grand and looked like Prague 😀
Very well written, I have visited a few places in MP but sadly Gwalior wasn’t one of them. And yes reading a little history before visiting such rich places surely helps as a traveller. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing about your trip. I visited other places too but this place is no less. Its a good weekend getaway option.
The fort looks so beautiful. I haven’t been to Gwalior yet, but plan to sometime this year. I’ll check some more places with you before I do.
Sur Aditi would love to recommend details when you plan, check out the awesome heritage stays there too.
Sounds amazing! Would love to feel royal for a day:) Looks like a fairytale destination straight out of Arabian nights or something, really beautiful:)
Helene glad you liked this place. The Arabian night actually sums up my experience there. It was a memorable weekend. Its very near to Delhi so you can plan this visit too.
The fort looks so cool! It didn’t know places like this still existed
That’s such a nice compliment for this place as it deserves it. India has many such historical places you can check our website for more such information.
The Gwalior Fort looks really like some quite interesting place – judging from your video it doesn’t seem to be overcrowded with tourists though – wonderful. I honestly hope it stays this way so a visit there will still feel relaxed.
Glad you liked this post Mario – Plan your stay in one of the heritage resorts and you will really have a nice stay.
Beautiful architecture! What I love more about India is that their culture and history is so colorful. I can’t wait to visit this place someday!
Glad you liked this post and planning a visit it will be such fun for sure .
I am getting to like India more and more. There seems to be so many amazing places like this.
Glad you liked this post-Michael, I am presenting the tip of an iceberg in my post and there are so many such places to explore! Hope you visit soon.
Gwalior, has some beautiful architecture. That’s blue accent is amazing against the background color of the fort. Back then people had an better sense of detail. Things weren’t rushed and took time. It’s hard to find beauty in modern architecture. You just keep adding things to my Bucket list for India. I may have to move there after China to see everything you have written on your blog!
Its such a nice compliment to me thank you so very much for appreciating with kind words. Yes staying here is the best way to explore this vast country. Need to plan with few tips and precautions to make India trip perfect. You will fall in love with culture colors and architecture for sure here.
India is as flawless as ever, though it gain more popularity in Europe some asian countries aren’t appreciating some of the uniqueness of this country. I just came to make my own category of “India” in my pinterest super love to see all of this places to visit. Gwalior has its own charisma, made of yellow stones that reminds me of the monuments in Rome.
Nice observation, I visited Rome too recently and the yellowish stone structure n Rome does have a bit of resemblance. One need to follow some cautions while exploring India and stay in right accommodations and then I guess the experience will be surely good. Should share few tips soon on this.
The architecture is looking really nice I haven’t heard about MP before. Looks like a great place for feeling royal 🙂
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