Some things emanate an aura which flows with the wind and reaches you before you reach them.The fort at Garh Kundar turned out to be one of those things.

garh-kundar-fort-1825

The piles of rocks balanced one upon the other, trees which have seen the wrath of Sun, lands which folds, unfolds like a theater curtain and winds which flow strong in silence, all made up for the magnificent experience which was this fort. When I think of the structure of the fort, it wasn’t particularly spectacular in itself, but it was the aura which it had build around itself which made the experience special.

Now, Garh Kundar is a typical Bundelkhand side fort. This means that its located in place which is relatively arid, very rocky and less populated. The hills all around are mostly roughly conical with piles of rocks crowning the peaks. Trees which always tend to look brownish cover the lower sides of the hills. The fort is built atop a higher hill, giving it a commanding view of the landscape.

The construction is typical. Square shaped, high walls, little decoration on the outside, Overall, an ominous stronghold. The main gate leads to a corridor with low roof and short gateways. This corridor not only leads to various basement areas, but also opens up in the center of the fort. So, anyone coming from outside would end up confronting the residents of the fort in a low lying center of a large courtyard. Also, the gateways of this corridor are eerie looking.

The fort is amazingly well maintained and very clean. Not even single poly pack or water bottle was found lying in the campus. Plus, all the stairs, walls are solid.

Once we had a good look at the fort, we started to head back, via the same narrow but well built rural roads which lead us here. The villages looked clean and colorful.

Once out on the highway, we decided to head towards Orchha which is a just a short diversion of 8 km from the main road. Orchha needs no introduction as its a popular tourist destination. It could developed into being something like Pushkar but unfortunately MP tourism sucks in marketing,

On our way, we also stopped by briefly at the Baruasagar fort which is a solidly built fort, supposed to be facing a large lake. Although now a days it faces a dry land populated with fields. But still its a good fort, worth visiting as its almost on the highway.

Overall, it was a good ride. A good new location added to our one day ride list.