Daulatabad Fort, Aurangabad, India

The Daulatabad fort, a now ruined fortress, was built by Sultan Mohammed Tughlaq in the 14th century. A marvel of construction, it was built on an existing hill overlooking the Deccan plain. Its sheer size is amazing, particularly when hiking about it in 90+ degree heat.





You enter the fort through a series of dog-legs and extremely large spike-studded doors. The palace was closed for reconstruction so we only briefly checked out the outer most fortifications before continuing up the hill, across the moat, and then through a pitch-black, bat infested tunnel. (Yes, those are bats in the picture. They didn't move while we were in the tunnel, but the hairs on the back of my neck stood up the whole time.)


The tunnel was part of the fort's defenses. Any potential invader would really have had to want it to continue up! The tunnel brings you above the walls pictured below. It looks like a cliff face in the picture but it really is one enormous wall.


From there, it is a hot but not too strenuous climb to the welcoming coolness of the Chini Mahal. The open windows caught the breeze beautifully, making it one of the coolest rest-stops of our two days in Aurangabad.

After a cookie break, we continued to the tip-top of the fort where a cannon, engraved with Aurangazeb's name, looks over the countryside. Aurangazeb was the last of the great Mughal emperors (ruled 1658-1707). He took the throne after imprisoning his father, Shah Jehan, in the Agra fort (more on that later). He spent part of his reign at Daulatabad, expanding the fort and improving its defenses. After his reign, the Mughals ruled smaller and smaller areas, no longer emperors as in the past.