Junagarh Fort, previously known as Chintamani, is situated in Bikaner. Karan Chand, the prime minister of Raja Rai Singh, supervised the construction of the fort. The construction of the fort was started in 1589 and ended in 1594. The fort was attacked many times and only Kamran Raza, son of Mughal Emperor Babur, was able to win it and that too for one day only. At that time, Bikaner was ruled by Rao Jait Singh. The fort includes palaces, temples, gates and many other structures.

Bikaner

Bikaner is a city of Rajasthan state situated in the northwest. The city was founded by Rao Bika in 1486AD. Bikaner was previously a forest area and was known as Jangladesh. His father Maharaja Rao Jodha founded the city of Jodhpur. Rao Bika has the ambition of having his kingdom rather inheriting it or the title of Maharaja from his father. So he built the city of Bikaner at Jangladesh. In 1478, he built a fort which ruined. After 100 years, Junagarh fort was constructed.

Visiting Hours

Junagarh Fort is opened for the public at 10:00am and closed at 4:30pm. The fort is opened on all days of the week including government holidays. It takes around two to three hours to visit the whole fort as there are many structures inside that the tourists can visit.

Ticket

Tourists have to pay an entry fee to visit Junagarh Fort. For Indian tourists, the cost of the ticket for adult is Rs. 50 and for students Rs. 30. For foreign tourists, the cost of ticket for adults is Rs. 300 and for students Rs. 150. Tourists can use still camera free of cost but they have to pay Rs. 100 for carrying video camera.

There is a museum that opens at 9:00 and for that the tourists have to buy ticket separately whose cost is Rs. 20. For carrying still camera in the museum, tourists have to pay Rs. 20 and Rs. 100 for carrying video camera. For visiting Phool Mahal and Chandra Mahal, tourists have to pay Rs. 100. For audio tour, tourists have to pay Rs. 350 for adults and Rs. 200 for students.

Best time to visit

Best time to visit Junagarh Fort and Bikaner is from October to March. December and January are very cold but still tourists can enjoy visiting the place. The period from April to September is hot and humid and unpleasant weather will not let the visitors enjoy visiting.

Where to Stay?

There are many hotels in Bikaner that range from inexpensive budget hotels to expensive five-star hotels. Some of the popular hotels of Bikaner are as follows −

• Five-Star Hotels

  • Hotel Kishan Palace located at Gajner Road

  • Hotel Babu Heritage located nearby Railway Station

• Four-Star Hotels

  • Vesta Bikaner Palace located at Himmatsar

  • The Laxmi Niwas Palace located at Dr. Karni Singh Road

  • Lalgarh Palace located at Lalgarh Complex

  • Hotel Simran located at Railway Station

  • Hotel Gaj Kesari located at Bypass Road

• Three-Star Hotels

  • Hotel Basant Vihar Palace located at Sriganganagar Road

  • Hotel Desert Winds located at Karni Singh Stadium Bikaner

  • Hotel Heeralal located at Modern Market

  • Gajner Palace Hotel located at Kolayat

  • Hotel Banwari Palace located at 0.5km from Railway Station

• Budget Hotels

  • Hotel Brindavan Regency located at Bypass Road

  • Suraj Hotel located at Bypass Road

  • Bahadur Vilas Hotel located at Karni Singh Stadium

  • Hotel Chirag located at Sriganganagar Road

  • Hotel Marudhar located at Gandhi Colony