Mandu - The City of Love, Joy & Celebration

Mandu, adorned with exquisite architecture and history, is a captivating destination for travellers across the globe. A stroll through the monuments of Mandu is a fascinating experience, but the breathtaking views from the palaces and pavilions make you fall in love with the city.

The city offers many beautiful sights to explore, like forts, palaces, gateways, and temples. One can visit Mandu throughout the year, but Monsoon adds a magical charm to this city. During monsoon season, the city of Mandu is covered with dense clouds, beautifying the views. 

Why Mandu?

Surrounded by green foliage, it is a perfect destination to spend a holiday with your loved ones. It lies on an elevated plateau and offers enchanting views from almost every corner. The monuments in Mandu connect tourists with its rich history. And the magnificent expression of Afghan architecture, where the pavilion of Rani Roopmati gazes down at Baz Bahadur's palace, celebrates the love of poet-prince Baz Bahadur for Rani Roopmati.  

Mandu is well-connected to the Dino adventure and fossil park. It is a perfect place to spend some time with your kids and learn a thing or two about dinosaur fossils.   

Mandu also hosts the vibrant Mandu festival every year in January. It is an amalgamation of dance, music, traditional art, cultural performances, rural excursions, and much more.

Points of Interest

Roopmati Pavilion  

This majestic monument of Malwa represents the love story of Sultan Baz Bahadur, the last independent ruler of Mandu, and Rani Roopmati. 

During a hunting expedition, Baz Bahadur chanced upon a shepherdess singing songs with her friends and fell in love with her voice and appearance. From this point, the love story of Roopmati and Baz Bahadur started to shape Mandu and since Roopmati used to pray the holy river Narmada first thing in the morning, the noble Sultan constructed this magnificent architecture for her. Today, it is the living heritage of the love story of Baz Bahadur and Rani Roopmati.

Rewa Kund 

Baz Bahadur built a reservoir with an aqueduct to ensure water flow to the Roopmati pavilion. Since, the water in this kund came from the holy river Narmada, it is considered a sacred spot in Mandu.   

Baz Bahadur Palace

Constructed by Baz Bahadur in the early 16th century, the distinctive features of this palace includes an expansive courtyard encircled by rooms and high terraces with a spectacular view of the surrounding landscape. 

Jahaz Mahal

The historical palace was built during the rule of the Sultanate of Malwa, in the 15th century. The name "Jahaz Mahal" literally translates to "Ship Palace" because the palace looks like a ship floating in the water, due to its location near two artificial lakes. It is a magnificent two-story palace, 120-meter in length and houses two lakes on either side, Munj Talao and Kapur Talao. The place looks stunning and picturesque all year long. It is an ideal place to take as many snaps for your Instagram feed to highlight your trip to Mandu.

Hindola Mahal

Commonly referred to as a swinging palace, it is an audience hall with sloping sidewalls. The facade, delicate sandstone trellis work, and exquisitely molded columns portray the superb and inventive architectural techniques of that era.

Tomb of Hoshang Shah

It is the earliest marble building in India housing a dome, marble latticework, and a porticoed court. It is said that Shah Jehan sent his most talented architects to study the tomb and take inspirtation for Taj Mahal.

Neelkhant Mahadev

The sacred shrine of Shiva sits at a magnificent setting overlooking a valley. The Shiva lingam of this temple lies below the ground level, and a natural spring of water performs the Abhishek of Lord Shiva. The water level in this temple never crosses the brim due to a single spiral structure resembling two serpents facing each other, through which the water flows from the kund and goes underground to fall into the valley below. This kind of spiral structure can be seen in Jahaz Mahal as well. 

Jami Masjid

Said to be inspired by the great mosque of Damascus, the Jami Masjid was designed on a grand scale with a high foundation and a sizable domed porch. By standing in the center of the mosque and looking around with a 360-degree movement, you can get a perfect view of the grandeur.

Visit Mandu Festival in January

Even though monsoon is considered the best time to visit Mandu to witness its lush greenery, it can also be explored during January to get a rejuvenating experience at the Mandu Festival. The guests are often greeted with traditional dance, music, and dishes. The festival offers live music concerts, adventure sports, bicycle trips, glamping, art & craft, local delicacies, and much more. 

These festivities can also be enjoyed with the Mandu retreat or Mandu tent city. These luxurious camps, connected to nature offer all the modern amenities to the tourists. With the special activities planned through the Mandu retreat, visitors are entitled to a unique way of experiencing the vicinity of Mandu.  

A Hot and Spicy Dish for Winters 

A must-try regional delicacy "Mandu ka Dal Paniya" should be on your bucket list while exploring the history of the medieval capital of Malwa. 

The Paniyas are made up of maize flour, salt, sugar powder, milk, and warm water. The Paniya dough is turned into little balls, sandwiched between two leaves of the aak plant, and roasted on coal. When dipped in the dal, the smoky taste of paniyas will surely tingle your taste buds. This typical Malwa dish is available in the majority of restaurants and must be tried while visiting Mandu.

A Short Sightseeing Trip

While in Mandu, a trip of 70 km to the heavenly Jam Gate is like a tradition to follow. During winter, the destination is covered with fog and mind-boggling views. It takes around half a day to experience this place and you can also enjoy some flavoursome corn from the roadside, available for the entire year.

Checklist 

If you're planning a trip to Mandu, do not forget to pack a pair of comfortable shoes to walk through the city. Keep your lenses with you as you would love to click some memories. If you are planning to join some cycle excursions and heritage walks, a water bottle can be of great value. 

How to Reach?

The nearest airport to Mandu is Ahilyabai Holkar Airport at Indore (95 km), which connects regular flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Raipur, Kolkata, etc.

If you're traveling via train, the nearest railhead is located in Indore, 98.4 km from Mandu. Alternatively, one can also visit Ratlam railway station. Via road, the city is connected to major National and State highways to serve your road trips.