The city of Delhi is one of the most happening places in India, if not the world. Being a vibrant city with people from all across India, Delhi boasts of being one of the important cities in the whole of India.
It is a city where one can enjoy the different cultures of India with its true essence. It is a fine example of how in spite of such a huge diversity, the people of India still continue to live with utmost unity.
Delhi offers one a lovely mix of vibrant cultures mixed with a fine dash of modernity, which is why you will always feel at home in Delhi.
Delhi is a city which offers everything for everyone. It is a city which is full of heart, and you will find some of the most amazing and lively people in this city.
But even as a tourist destination, the city of Delhi offers you some great places of historical importance and architectural awe.
One such place is Tughlaqabad Fort Delhi. The fort is one of the most amazing places for tourists and offers a plethora of space to explore for everyone.
It is one such places which will feed the inner history nerd inside you as well as provide you with an exotic experience, which you might not get anywhere else. Let us have a detailed look at this place.
Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq History
Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, also known as Ghazi Malik was the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty, which ruled Delhi for almost a century. He is the one who was behind the construction of the Tughlaqabad Fort in Delhi.
Initially, the founder of the well-known Tughlaq dynasty was a member of the imperial guard of his predecessor dynasty’s king, Jalaluddin Khalji.
He was an able commander and a military general who taught many battles, being victorious in most of them.
Later, when the eldest son of Alauddin Khalji died, Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq seized the opportunity to rise to prominence and with the help of his son, the future king to be known by the name of Mohammad bin Tughlaq.
He gained the support of the various governors, asking for their support for his father’s kingship. Meanwhile, they also simultaneously took control of many of the strategic forts, paving way for an easy military campaign.
After doing all these things, the army of Khusrau Khan, the king and Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq fought. Both the battles of Saraswati and the Battle of Lahrawat, after which he killed his rivals and became the king.
As a king, he had a very short-lived reign, lasting only for 5 years, from the year
. His death has always been a matter of historical debates. But today, most historians would agree that he died after a wooden pavilion, which was to be used for his reception collapsed, killing him and his second son, Prince Mahmud Khan, thus ending his short-lived reign which consisted of wars and rebellion quelling.
Many claim that this was a conspiracy by his vizier Jauna Khan, but not much can be confirmed in that regard.
Tughlaqabad Fort History
The Tughlaqabad fort history is indeed an interesting one, to say the least. There’s a wee bit of rumor that Ghiyas-ud-din adviced his king at one time to build a fort at a spot, to which Mubarak Khalji, the king asked him to build it when he becomes the sultan.
The Tughlaqabad fort is built at that exact spot. The fort, whose construction was still ongoing when Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq died.
It was built for two purposes- the first being the security against invasions, primarily the Mongols and the second one being that the fort was to serve as the third capital of the Delhi Sultanate developed b by Ghiyas-ud-Din.
The fort was built on one single piece of rock and contains the tomb of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, the man behind the construction of this fort.
The whole area was abandoned by the year 1327, which was thought to be done because of lack of supply of water in that area.
Today, this half-built fort lies in ruins and is nothing more than a tourist spot for people who want to have an outing. Just search Tughlaqabad fort images in our social media pages, and see for yourself just how beautiful of a place this fort is.
Tughlaqabad Fort Architecture
The fort beams with medical architectural structures that are great to observe. The fort is irregularly surrounded by passive stones, which are a kind of fortification.
The 10 to 15 meters high walls of this city cum fort are sloping and filled with rubble so that any attacks can easily be repelled. This design is found a lot in the structures of the Tughlaq dynasty.
One can find circular parapets on top of these walls for extra defensive cover in case of an attack. The whole of Tughlaqabad has been divided mainly into three different parts.
The first part is a wide area which has a lot many houses which have been built along a rectangular gird right between the gates. The second part consists of the citadel which has a tower at its topmost point and is called the Bijai-Mandal.
There are also several ruins of many big halls alongside an underground passage which is quite long. The third part of the fort consists of another palace which had the royal residences in itself.
This place also has long halls running beneath itself. Today, it is impossible to access most of the city due to the ever-growing thorny vegetation. A big part of this city is now occupied by modern houses and apartments.
The mausoleum of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq lies to the south of the Tughlaqabad fort, alongside a big artificial water reservoir.
Near the fort, just southeast of the place, one can see the Fort of Adilabad, which was built by none other than Mohammad bin Tughlaq, the son and successor of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq.
This fort also resembles the Tughlaqabad fort in many construction intricacies. One can say that the Tughlaqabad fort architecture truly represents the architectural brilliance of that era, and if you get a chance to go there, you shouldn’t miss it.
Tughlaqabad Fort haunted story
A major story associated with the Tughlaqabad fort is about it being haunted. The story behind this lore is quite interesting and involves the famed Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya.
The story goes as follows. While the Tughlaq king Ghiyas-ud-din was quite a liberal ruler, he was very passionate about building his fort and establishing the city of Tughlaqabad.
Such was his passion for it that he did not care when the construction of the fort hampered the construction of a Baoli (a well), which was being done by the saint himself.
This angered the saint, who in turn cursed the king and the whole fort construction. There he uttered the famous curse “Ya to Ujjar, Ya base Gujjar.” This translates into “Either vegetation will grow here, or herders will live here.”
It is said that after this, the fort was quickly abandoned and since then it was never populated, except by the Gujjar community, who are all cattle herders. But this is not the only story associated with the first Tughlaq king and the Sufi Saint Nizamuddin Auliya.
It is said that the saint laid a second curse, where he said “Hunza Delhi Durr Hat”, which means that Delhi is far away. The context here was that King Ghiyas-ud-din was returning from a successful campaign where he had conquered Bengal.
But this time he could not reach Delhi. Something else awaited him on his way, it was death itself. On his way to Delhi, Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq stopped in Uttar Pradesh at Kada where his son and future King Mohammad bin Tughlaq had planned to welcome him.
But there, it is said that the prince along with the vizier Jauna Khan hatched a conspiracy where they successfully killed the king. The pavilion in which the King was standing for his welcome suddenly collapsed, and the king, alongside his second son Mahmud Khan died due to being crushed under its weight.
It was definitely a mysterious death for a king and turned many heads at that point of time. Though there is no historical evidence of both these stories, they certainly add a lot of touch to the visit of any person who is visiting this fort.
Many people have even reported feeling the negative energy in the evening hours during their visit to the fort. But since there is no verifiable basis to these stories, everything of this sort must surely be taken with a grain of salt.
Tughlaqabad Fort for couples
The Tughlaqabad Fort for couples is definitely a great location. Couples in any vicinity require a place which is not much crowded, has decent people around who are not creepy and locations where great pictures can be clicked.
Believe it or not, the Tughlaqabad Fort is exactly this kind of location. Delhites who know about this place call it a hidden gem of a location and find it quite good a place to go with their loved ones.
One can quietly slip away from the hustle and bustle of the fast-moving city life to this location with their loved one without any problem. For the most, there will only be foreign tourists around the place.
The location is such that you and your partner will even enjoy the long drive you take to reach this amazing work of architectural brilliance. You can easily walk hands in hands with your partner without any caution and even click some great photos with them.
If the weather becomes even a little overcast, you and your partner are in for a massive treat. Just remember one thing, if you upload those photos on social media, everyone’s gonna know the location!
Read: 25 Parks and Monuments in Delhi for Teen Couples (Almost Free)
Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq Tomb
The tomb of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, the establisher of the Tughlaq dynasty, was actually a self-made tomb! It was built between the years 1320 to 1325, before his death.
This tomb is located on a so-called rocky island, where it was supposedly surrounded by an artificial reservoir and was directly connected to the Tughlaqabad fort via a causeway. The planning form of the tomb is a nearly pentagonal one. The enclosure of the mausoleum of Ghiyas-ud-din can be seen with pronounced battered fortified walls.
The tomb’s main entrance has a beautiful gateway made out of red sandstone, also having a staircase. The area covered by the mausoleum is around 8 square kilometers, having walls which slope downwards and battlements at the corners of it.
One can see a big marble dome, raised in an octagonal form overcoming the whole structure. The arched openings at this site are ornamented with the help of white marble bands and beautiful jails, which are decorative in nature.
The tomb’s architectural origins represent the Indo-Islamic architecture of that time. There are three graves inside the tomb, the middle one belonging to Ghiyas-ud-din, and the other two to his wife and one of his sons, his successor Mohammad bin Tughlaq.
One can see cells or pillared corridors against the enclosure walls of the tomb. It has bracket and lintel openings. One can find another smaller octagon-shaped tomb in the north-western bastion of someone by the name of Zafar Khan.
One can easily notice that this tomb must have been the first structure to have been raised at this site. While the construction was ongoing, Ghiyas-ud-din got the idea of having to put an enclosure all around this place and fitting his own tomb inside the enclosure.
This whole place is also heard being referred to as Daru’l-man (abode of peace). One can find this name both in the inscriptions at the site of the time and also in historical records of Ghiyas-ud-din’s tomb.
It is definitely a place of architectural brilliance and historical importance, so whenever you are searching for Tughlaqabad fort address, be sure to look for Ghiyas-ud-din’s tomb too.
How to Reach Tughlaqabad Fort
Tughlaqabad Fort Address
Tughlaqabad Fort’s address is Tughlakabad, New Delhi, Delhi 110044. Not many people are aware of this fort. It is located near the Wildlife Sanctuary and it keeps on stretching for about 6.5 kilometers.
Tughlaqabad Fort Nearest Metro Station
To reach this place, one can look for the Tughlaqabad Fort metro route and find out the Tughlaqabad Fort nearest metro station with some help of the internet.
The Tughlaqabad Fort Delhi nearest metro station is Govindpuri, of the violet metro line. It is 5 kilometers away, and you can take an auto-rickshaw, which will only cost about Rs. 50 from your location.
Tughlaqabad Fort Nearest Bus Stop
There are also a few bus stops that are near the Tughlaqabad Fort, which are as follows: 34, 34ext, 414, 511, 525, 544, 874 LTD, 714 and 717.
If you are going to travel by bus, it will be better to travel if your location of the start is Badarpur, Noida or Gurgaon. Reaching this place is a piece of cake.
Tughlaqabad Fort Timings
The timings of the Tughlaqabad Fort are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and the best part is that it is open on all days of the week. The timings are the same in every season. This means that you can plan your picnic to this place anytime you want at your own convenience.
Tughlaqabad Fort Entry Fee
If you are worried about the Tughlaqabad Fort ticket costs, then also there is little to worry about. The cost of a ticket for an Indian national is just Rs.25, and for a foreigner, the cost of a single ticket is Rs. 500.
Conclusion
If you are an architecture enthusiast with an interest in medical Indo-Islamic architecture, or if you are a tourist on tour to Delhi, or if you’re just a person who is looking to get sexy from the busy life in Delhi or nearby cities, the Tughlaqabad Fort is a perfect place for you to travel.
One might think that there isn’t much to look at except the tomb of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, but that perception extremely wrong. There are so much serenity, calm environment and natural beauty in this place.
The location of the place is perfect, with it being on the outskirts of New Delhi, and if you are planning to drive here, it will be an extremely fun drive.
There are very fewer people who know about this place, so you will have the time of your life at this place more so if you come with your better half.
Places to visit near Tughlaqabad Fort
- Qutub Minar
- Tomb of Balban
- Zafar Mahal
- Jahaj Mahal
- Bhool Bhulaiya
- Alai Minar
- Mehrauli Archaeological Park
- Jamali Kamali Tomb
- Rajon Ki Baoli
- The Garden of Five Senses