The historical city of Patan is about 70 miles northeast of Jaipur, on the Kotputli Sikar road off the National Highway 8, the road which connects Jaipur and Delhi.
In the 12th century, it became the center of a minor state called Tanwarawati or Torawati ruled by the Tomara clan. The chief of the clan is considered to be the direct descendant of the last Hindu emperor Anang Pal Tomar II, the ruler of Delhi before Prithviraj Chauhan.
Patan is the site of one of the last great battles in Indian history. Called the Battle of Patan, it saw the Maratha confederacy pitted against the Rajputs of Jaipur and their Mughal allies in 1790. Rajputana, it is said, never recovered to their previous glory after this battle and gained prominence only when they struck alliances with the British who at that time were at the peak of their power in India. More details on battle of Patan can be found here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Patan
Modern day Patan is a picturesque town consisting of three historical properties still in possession of the descendants of the erstwhile royal family. The palace on the foothill is an opulent heritage hotel; an older palace in ruins called Badal Mahal halfway up the hill and a ruined military fort at the top of the hill which by some sources is the highest fort on the Aravalli range. The uphill trek to the two properties is exhilarating and the views all around are royal in every sense. However, these two properties are in great state of disrepair and in various state of vandalism. I sincerely hope that these jewels of Patan are restored and protected.
I had visited Patan Mahal in July 2012 and photos in this album are from that trip. Hope you enjoy the photos :)
Patan Mahal, Badal Mahal and the hilltop fort, Near Jaipur, Rajasthan.
Terrace of Patan Mahal.
Badal Mahal as viewed from the palace below.
Interesting arch-within-arch view at Patan Mahal.
Military hill-top fort of Patan as viewed from Patan Mahal.
Beautiful tinted glass windows in the bathroom.
Family room of Patan Mahal. This is one of the corner rooms on the top floor with a private balcony.
Sitting area of the family room. Windows open to the view of Badal Mahal perched on the hill and military fort at the top.
Long shot of the family room.
Patan Mahal with the Persian style charbagh garden layout in front.
Patan Mahal during a brewing storm.
Patan skyline during a brewing storm.
Patan Mahal during a stormy evening.
First level terrace of Patan Mahal.
Designed primarily for hot summers, Badal Mahal has a lot of underground rooms. All these rooms have a water chamber below the floor and a wind tunnel architecture around that used to cool the rooms.
Wind harvesting corridor of the underground cool rooms.
View of Patan town from a room in Badal Mahal. Patan Mahal is also visible towards the right.
View of the surrounding hills from Badal Mahal.
Ruined palace room of Badal Mahal. The weight bearing ornate pillars were vandalized and taken away. If not for the temporary propping, the room would have caved in.
Way to the private audience hall of Badal Mahal. Treasure hunters have vandalized many walls and floors of this palace.
Living quarters of Badal Mahal.
Badal Mahal's hall of private audience with the throne vandalized and missing.
Merging old and new towns of Patan.
Bird's-eye view of Patan Mahal from the hill.
Patan valley with the old and new palace down below.
At the top of the hill fort of Patan. The fort itself is in ruins.
Side view of the hill fort.
Ruined palace of the military fort.
Bird's-eye view of the Patan town from the hill fort.
A ruined pavilion in the fort vicinity.
A ruined room of the fort palace.
Another side view of the hill fort.
A lookout point in the fort vicinity.
Bird's-eye view of Badal Mahal from further up on the hill.
Inhabitants of the old town of Patan.
Swimming pool of Patan Mahal.
Summary view of the three historical properties of Patan from the pool garden of Patan Mahal. Badal Mahal and the fort are located on the hill.
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