Nahargarh overlooks the city of Jaipur from a sheer ridge to the north and is floodlit at night. The fort was built in 1734 by Jai Singh and extended in 1868. A 9 km road runs up through the hills from Jaipur, and the fort can be reached along a zigzagging 2km path which starts from the north - west of the old city. The glorious view fully justify the effort. Inside the fort you can visit the Madhavendra Bhavan housing the nine apartments of Maharaja Ram Singh's nine wive. The rooms are linked by a maze of corridors and retain some delicate frescoes, as well as toilets and kitchen herths.
Nahargarh Fort provides some breathtaking views of the Man Sagar Lake and the city below. Interesting folklores ring in every nook and corner of the fort. A palatial duck blind stands gracefully in the midst of the lake, which once lured the shooting parties of the royal family. It has also served as a personal treasury for years and a royal retreat for the queens.
There is a strange story behind the change of name of the fort. When work began on it, strange things happened here at night. Every morning the workers would find that the previous day’s entire construction was destroyed. Jai Singh then found out that the land had once belonged to a dead Rathore prince named Nahar Singh and his spirit did not like the sudden disturbances in his spiritual abode. To appease the soul a small fortress was built at Purana Ghat where the spirit could reside, and then the fort was renamed Nahargarh. Later a shrine was also added where the warrior could be worshipped. Nahargarh was used as the treasure of the Jaipur kingdom and even the highest state officials would only be allowed to approach the fort blindfolded.
In the 1880s Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh transformed Nahargarh into a monsoon retreat. He ordered the Raj Imarat, responsible for royal construction projects, to design a pleasure palace within the fort known as the Madhavendra Bhawan. Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, the designer of Jaipur, built this palace with its beautiful interiors of frescoes and stucco designs that was used mainly by the harem women.
