Gwalior

alouise

Hi everyone, starting this thread as there does not appear to be any discussion about Gwalior yet. I was thinking about breaking my journey on Punjab mail between Vidisha and Mathura with stops at Jhansi (for Orccha) and Gwalior, to see the fort, the Jain temples and perhaps a sidetrip or two to some ruined temple sites (eg. Padmawati-Pawaya. From the internet searches I've done so far, Gwalior appears to be a smaller urban centre with modern facilities.

Has anyone been to Gwalior recently? And if you have, would you recommend staying at any of the hotels (eg. Hotel DM) close to the bus station or the railway station? Thanx in advance for any advice on this one.

unclelach

Thank you alouise for starting this thread. I'm grateful from sentimentality as I was visiting Gwalior when I first joined IndiaMike almost five years ago. My one and only visit is too far back for me to answer all your questions but I did have some odd experiences there and on the way which I'll add to the record.

I reached Gwalior by overnight train from Mumbai. One of my companions in 2AC was a senior Gwalior police officer. He had been celebrating a birthday in Mumbai and continued his festivities, with rum, on his way home. Of course, the man insisted I take part. The officer had a younger(and sober) assistant who was seemingly ineligible for 2AC travel but appeared from time to time to offer assistance.

Gwalior in 2003 was affected badly by power cuts. The only internet cafe I found had computers with worn keyboards and dropouts were frequent.

I stayed in a best forgotten hotel mentioned by Lonely Planet which in that edition was clearly well out of date regarding Gwalior accomodation. All the comfortable hotels in the town were closed for reconstruction or lack of custom. My place, while I was there, did host a small political meeting with armed bodyguards - unusual.

On the way to the fort my rickshaw driver cleared his badly infected respiratory passages several times, violently. I picked up the man's rotten cold which stayed with me for the rest of my trip.

The hilltop fort with palaces and ruins was worth the outing. There were many groups of schoolchildren visiting. These kids were mostly very friendly to the almost only foreign tourist there, me. A few unsupervised and bored kids followed me for half an hour, taunting me, demanding money, pens and whatever. In the end I was rescued by a chap, maybe a teacher, who ticked of the kids and surprisingly, applied literally an ear twist to a couple of the boys.

At the ticket office to the small museum in the fort area, when I was about to buy my ticket, I was brushed aside by a local guide who insisted on service for his two clients, some other foreigners. There were no other visitors in sight!

My visit to the large museum within the Scindia's palace in the town was well worthwhile.

I hope that the hotels (and cafes) in Gwalior are much better these days. The sightseeing was always good.

alouise

Unclelach, an amusing warts-and-all description, sounds like you had a most memorable time of it visiting Gwalior! Perhaps all that reconstruction you mentioned was part of a civic planning makeover? Well I hope too that the hotels have improved. As for the LP, an aside here. I have the 2005 addition and was about to buy the latest one until I compared pages. Guess what, same information, including prices, and for many places too, not just a few. Revised sections tended to be the introductory blurbs for each place, and it wasn't an improvement.... not well written, and quite silly comments that revealed, in rather postmodernist undergraduate fashion, more about the writer than the actual places. Anyway, thank you for your descriptions which have set the scene rather well

charlie_says

We just returned from a short trip to to India, where we stopped for a couple of nights in Gwalior.

Hotels: On passing thru the town there didn't seem to be many promising options. We booked to stay in the Usha Kirin Palace - which is run by Taj hotels. It was the former palace (next to the new palace, which is walking distance if you fancy the museum.) It was really, really great - although not a cheap option

The fort was really interesting - it has an enamelled duck motif, and there are a couple of other smallish but impressive temples nearby (we hired a driver to take us between them - probably would be possible to walk, but not all that easy going.)

Also, as you go up/down to the fort there are some Jain carvings in the rock face which I felt was the icing on the cake of that visit...

There are a few more things to do and see in the town, but we didn't really explore far & wide.

I would recommend a visit to Gwalior (and the hotel if budgets allow.)

alouise

Gwalior for me turned out to be something of an unanticipated gem. The best sculptures in India are not at Khajuraho, they are housed in the two Gwalior museums and they form a little known, unpublished collection from the ruins of a 10-11th century Vishnu temple at Sihunia, Morena district. Believe me, absolutely exquisite! I recently photographed the museum collections and temple sculptures (2nd c BCE to 12 th c CE) in Kolkata, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharastra (including Mumbai), Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. Previously I'd visited Tamil Nadu and Kerala. But the Sihunia collection displays the finest carving of all. And it costs Rs 2 to see those exquisite Sihunia sculptures in the little museum up at the fort. The massive Jain sculptures lining the eastern ascent to the fort are worth a look too.

Another plus about Gwalior was that the autorickshaw drivers charged reasonable rates. I stayed in the MPTDC run Tansen Residency which was very clean but not great value for Rs 1790 (before luxury tax) per night ... and the restaurant was mediocre and double and in some cases triple the prices elsewhere in MP. The complementary breakfast was basic buffet with limited choice. Although the rooms have bar fridges in them and there's a good supermarket just down the road for stocking up on juices and picnic lunch items to take up to the fort.

Uncle_Martin

Gwalior .... well when my wife suggested a career break to do some voluntary service overseas the first thought that passed across my brain was "Oh excrement Gwalior, what if she gets posted there".

Getting somewhat emotional and tired on one's return to the place would seem a logical thing to do. If I wanted to pressurize an police inspector into turning a blind eye to a nefarious scheme I would suggest promotion to Superintendent and a posting to Gwalior as a reward for their diligence.

That said and done I really enjoyed the three days I spent in Gwalior. It has good rail connections, an interesting fort where one of the Sikh gurus was imprisoned and a fascinating Sarod museum, as well as a few other sights well documented in guide books. It also had a very narrow gauge railway which trundles through the streets before meandering around the surrounding countryside for a surprisingly long way before going "Oh excrement, back to Gwalior" and reaching for the local hooch.

There a many interesting places to visit for a day excursion in the surrounding area, which would delight a casual visitor but bore a resident. As for entertainment ... well there is Mr Punch's caravanserai of life to watch.

Near the station you could do much worse than eat at the Indian Coffee House, lovely place OK food and great coffee and as for accomodation the MP tourism Tansen Residency is fine, just slip the 'boy' (horrid term) a few rupees if its winter to get a fully working fan heater as it can be cold and book in advance as its popular with touring groups. When I was there a dance troupe passed through, staying at the Tansen and leaving and returning in full make up every evening, their grim chaperons and Gwalior having much in common.

Gwalior has its compensations, which could soon be exhausted, but is well worth a visit. However, if you want to do any shopping and want to buy anything outside the range of goods normal Indian families buy .... dream on.

Hope you find something quirky to enjoy, as I did, in Gwalior.

suiko

The palace in the fort is a real gem. We only had an afternoon in Gwalior and would have liked a bit more.

Puneet

the scindia museum is haevily recommended.
been there in the last fortnight and it was amazing.
entry cost - Rs 30 per person. Camera allowed but needs to be paid for ( but you can click one or two shots in there, without the cahrge)

Please do take the guide which are usually available rather cheaply at Rs. 30 which take you around the palace describibg to you the stories wit heach room and making sense of your visit.

It is closed on Mondays. so plan accordingly

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"be the change. you want to see. in the world" - Gandhi

wichy

We've been to Gwalior in Nov'2008 and loved Jain's sculptures and the palace in fort (but inside the palace were lots of bats!!! It was horrible!).
Scindia museum is not so cheap for foreiners - about 200-250 IR, but we liked it, esp family photos (Maharajas' wives were sooo beautiful!!!) and interiors.

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Past the point of no return...

sanjub

Hi Guys ,

Have a question for you. Am going to Gawalior by Taj Express and is returning on the same day by Shatabdi. I would be reaching there at around 12 pm in the afternoon and my train timing from Gwalior to Delhi is at 7.20 pm. So I precisely have around 6 and hald hours to spare. So will it be possible to cover the main attractions especially the fort and palace if I take a cab from the station.I guess I can hire one from there. Any input friends??

Thanks in advance
Sanjay

unclelach

The fort and the palace museum are both close enough to the station for you to see both but you should check hours of opening for both places.