Gwalior

Gwalior, in the north of Madhya Pradesh, is one of central India's great historic cities — a place of soaring fort walls, royal palaces, and a musical heritage so deep that the city is woven into the very history of Hindustani classical music. Crowning a long sandstone plateau above the town, the Gwalior Fort is among the most formidable hill forts in India, its painted outer walls and the exquisite Man Mandir Palace built by the Tomar ruler Raja Man Singh Tomar (who reigned 1486-1516). The palace's turquoise-and-yellow tilework, carved screens, and underground chambers are a highlight of Rajput-era architecture, and the fort complex also holds the 11th-century Sas-Bahu (Sahastrabahu) temples of 1092-93, the towering Teli ka Mandir, and a remarkable group of colossal Jain rock-cut Tirthankara figures carved into the approach gorge. Gwalior is revered as the birthplace and resting place of Tansen, the legendary 16th-century vocalist and one of the "Nine Jewels" of Emperor Akbar's court; his tomb, built in early Mughal style, is the venue of the national Tansen Music Festival each November-December. The city's other showpiece is the Jai Vilas Palace, the lavish 1874 European-style residence of the Scindia dynasty (who ruled Gwalior until 1947), whose museum displays a famous pair of giant chandeliers and a silver model train that once carried treats around the banquet table — now a window into princely-era opulence. Gwalior is also bound to the 1857 uprising: Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi fell in battle here, and her memorial stands in the city, while the Gujari Mahal at the fort's base — built by Man Singh for his queen Mrignayani — now houses an archaeological museum. For vegetarian travellers, Gwalior offers hearty Bundelkhand and north-MP fare: the bedai-poha breakfast (a spiced lentil-stuffed kachori with poha), kachori-jalebi, the famous Morena gajak and gajak-revdi (sesame-jaggery brittle) in winter, and Bundeli vegetarian thali. October to March is the comfortable season.