Gwalior Tour & Travel Guide

Witness Gwalior’s connections with the slave dynasty while being dotted with elegant monuments

Gwalior is a popular historic city in Madhya Pradesh, India and has a number of industrial and commercial zones of neighboring districts, surrounding it. This place is one of the largest cities of Central India and is said to be the tourist capital of Madhya-Pradesh. This historic city founded by King Surajesan, is dotted with beautiful monuments, palaces and temples, which render it a majestic charm. The monuments here speak volumes of its glorious past. Ruled by Rajputs namely Pratiharas, Kachwahas, and Tomars and then Marathas, Gwalior has footprints of all its rulers in the form of forts, palaces, temples, and other monuments, which have given this place a unique appeal.

In the primitive era Gwalior was known as Gopgiri and Nagvansh clan established themselves here in the 2nd century. Mohammad Ghori won over this place and established his reign. Later it was under the slave dynasty of Iltutmish. Later in 14th century the Tomars embarked their reign here and period saw the great escalation under the rule of famous Tomar ruler Man Singh Tomar. Post battle of Panipat I, Gwalior was taken over by Mughal Empire and in the aftermath of Battle of Panipat III, the Jats ascertained their supremacy. Later it was Mahadaji Shinde, who took over the throne. In 1948 Indore and Gwalior were merged to form a part of Madhya Bharat.

Gwalior as a place has loads to offer to history lovers. Multiple kingships, their influences and remains of the past makes Gwalior a popular tourist destination. The first & foremost attraction here is the Gibraltar of India - the Gwalior Fort. The architectural design and its resilience is beyond comparison. Other monuments that attract tourists are Ghaus's Tomb enclave, Italian Garden enclave, Moti Mahal - a former palace of the Scindia's, BaijaTal, Samadhi of Rani Laxmi Bai, and Chhatris of Scindia Dynasty. Gwalior city has people of many faiths such as Hinduism, Islam, Jainism and Sikhism and hence the city is dotted with shrines dating from various periods of time. Gurudwara Data Bandi Chod.; Gopachal Parvat.; Sanatana Dharma Mandir; Achaleshwar Temple, Koteshwar Shiva temples, Ram Mandir, Surya Mandir (Sun Temple), and Mandare Ki Mata are some of the popular places. Other places here include Gwalior Zoo & Sarod Ghar.

Gwalior is also popular for different cultural festivals and the prime ones being the Tansen Music Festival and an annual fair is organized in Rani Laxmi Bai’s remembrance in the Phoolbagh Area. When here, do not miss the local theatre for a play, if you are the type and not to mention, shop & eat to your heart’s content.