Landmark · Bikaner
Junagarh Fort
In 60 seconds
Junagarh is the fort of Bikaner, Rajasthan, India — its walls and moat begun on 17 February 1589 and completed on 17 January 1594 under Raja Rai Singh, one of Akbar's senior generals. It was originally called Chintamani and renamed Junagarh, 'old fort', in the early twentieth century when the family moved out to Lalgarh. It has never been taken, and it is the least crowded major fort in Rajasthan.
Fees & timings
CHECKED AGAINST OFFICIAL SOURCES · AUGUST 2026
| Entry | Verify at the gate — the fort's own website no longer exists and no primary fee table survives |
| Hours | Typically 10:00 – 16:30, verify locally |
| Allow | Two to three hours, and take the guided route — the painted rooms are the point |
| Built | 17 February 1589 – 17 January 1594, under Raja Rai Singh |
| Don't miss | Anup Mahal, Phool Mahal and Karan Mahal — the Usta gold-emboss work is Bikaner's own craft |
| Also inside | A WWI-era Airco DH.9 biplane, reconstructed |
Spot a change on the ground? Tell us — we fix it in days.
The fort's own site, junagarh.org, is now a parked domain, and the state tourism page carries no fees or hours. That is why nothing here quotes a price: a number with no source behind it is worse than an honest gap. Check at the gate.
Forty-one handprints on Daulat Pol
On the wall of Daulat Pol — not Suraj Pol, which is the gate everyone photographs — are forty-one small handprints in red, marking royal widows who committed sati. Bikaner does not hide them or explain them away, and the guides will talk about it honestly if you ask. Most visitors walk through the gate without looking up.
More in Bikaner
More in Bikaner
Fees and hours read off Rajasthan Tourism — no primary fee table survives on 24 August 2026. They change without notice — check before you go.
The 32-page guide
Everything on this page plus the story in acts, checklist itineraries, Look Closer and the Shot List — designed to read, print and carry.
Get the Bikaner guide — $9.99