Jaigarh
fort also known as the fort of victory is one of the three hilltop fort
that overlooks Jaipur. Situated approximately 15 km away from Jaipur the
fort was constructed between 15th to 18th centuries. The fort is clearly
a military structure as can be comprehended by its citadel kind of
architectural style. The entrance of the fort is from the Dungar Darwaza
leading towards a steep road entry into the Fort. The view of Jaipur
city from this Fort is one which would keep the spectator captivated.
One can find a well planned cannon foundry, several temples, a granary,
a tall tower within the fort complex. The Jaigarh Fort is also famous
for housing the world's largest canon on wheels jaivana or jai-ban.The Jaigarh fort has environment friendly three water conservation reservoirs which are a part of rain-water harvesting system. This made the fort an ideal place in times of war as large amounts of water could be stored here. The Jaigarh fort is undoubtedly the most commanding fort of Jaipur city and hence was christened the victory fort. At the meeting Hall of Warriors or Shubhat Niwas one can find huge drums used for some important announcement. While the Jaigarh Fort is perched on top of a hill, the Amber Fort is on a foot hill. It is believed that both the forts are connected through a well guarded passage.
The Jaigarh fort museum has a rich collection of arms and ammunitions as this was the principal place of manufacturing of armory. The collection here includes swords, muskets, canons, shields and guns. One can also find a huge collection of ancient coins and puppets within the fort complex. The fort was also used as a treasury by the royal house of Jaipur. Sometime back a rumor had it that there is royal treasure somewhere buried in the fort, due to this reason the fort was shut down for seven years but nothing was discovered during the excavation operations. The fort has not been shut for public viewing ever since.