Gwalior Fort - ग्वालियर क़िला

Gwalior Fort (Hindi: ग्वालियर क़िला Gwalior Qila) is an 8th-century hill fort near Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, central India. The fort consists of a defensive structure and two main palaces, Gurjari Mahal and Man Mandir, built by Man Singh Tomar. The fort has been controlled by a number of different rulers over time. The Gurjari Mahal palace was built for Queen Mrignayani. It is now an archaeological museum.
The fort is built on an outcrop of Vindhyan sandstone on a solitary, rocky, long, thin, steep hill called Gopachal. The geology of the Gwalior range rock formations is ochre coloured sandstone covered with basalt. There is a horizontal strata, 342 feet (104 m) at its highest point (length 1.5 miles (2.4 km) and average width 1,000 yards (910 m)).The stratum forms a near perpendicular precipice. A small river, the Swarnrekha, flows close to the palace.[
The fort and its premises are well maintained and house many historic monuments including palaces, temples and water tanks. There are eleven temples to Gautama Buddha and the tirthankaras of Jainism. There are also a number of palaces (mahal) including the Man mandir, the Gujari, the Jahangir, the Karan, and the Shah Jahan.[13] The fort covers an area of 3 square kilometres (1.2 sq mi) and rises 35 feet (11 m).Its rampart is built around the edge of the hill, connected by six bastions or towers. The profile of the fort has an irregular appearance due to the undulating ground beneath. On the southern side are 21 temples cut into the rock with intricately carved tirthankaras. One, Pārśva, the 23rd local saint, is 40 feet (12 m) high.

There are two gates; one on the northeast side with a long access ramp and the other on the southwest. The main entrance is the ornate Elephant gate (Hathi Pul). The other is the Badalgarh Gate. The Man Mandir palace or citadel is located at the northeast end of the fort. It was built in the 1400s and refurbished in 1648. The water tanks or reservoirs of the fort could provide water to a 15,000 strong garrison, the number required to secure the fort