Top Things to do in Mandu
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What to do and see in Mandu, India: The Best Places and Tips
Discover the best top things to do in Mandu, India including Ship Palace (Jahaz Mahal), Rani Roopmati Pavillion, Hindola Mahal (Swing Palace), Rani Roopmati Palace, Rupmati Pavilion, Hoshang Shah's Tomb, Jami Masjid, Baz Bahadur's Palace, Nilkanth Mahal, Champa Baoli.
Restaurants in Mandu
1. Ship Palace (Jahaz Mahal)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 225 reviews
This famous castle was built by the son of Mohammed Shah to house his harem of 15,000 women.
Reviewed By Vladimir M - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Found archaeological artifacts, suggest that Mandu was a prosperous city in the 6th century. Mandu gained great fame in the 10th and 11th centuries.
This two-story palace, located between two artificial lakes, is called so that it looks like a ship floating in the water. It was built by Sultan Giyas-ud-din-Khalji, and served as a harem for the Sultan.
The complex of the palace is well preserved to this day. There are always a lot of tourists here.
2. Rani Roopmati Pavillion
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 135 reviews
3. Hindola Mahal (Swing Palace)
Overall Ratings
4 based on 82 reviews
Reviewed By ghodlur - Thane, India
Located in the royal palace complex along with the Jahaz mahal, the Hindola Mahal stands tall and exquisite with its beautiful architecture and design. The palace is somewhat in T format with main mahal in the centre. There are some beautiful arches. The design of the palace gives a feeling of a swing (somewhat), hence the name Hindola. It was quite cool inside with good breeze blowing (due to the palace design) even though it was super hot outside. Worth a visit when in Mandu
4. Rani Roopmati Palace
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 41 reviews
Reviewed By Badrinathan - Mumbai
A great place to visit, spend a quality time to understand the history of this place. The architecture, the aesthetic aspects of this place is just marvellous. Absolute precision in construction of this beautiful palace. Rain harvest area, the kind of passages created to keep the inner area completely cool during summer....it's an amazing place and one must visit to get transported back.
5. Rupmati Pavilion
Overall Ratings
4 based on 37 reviews
Reviewed By RadhikaKuldeep - Nashik, India
This palace that was constructed for Rani Roopmati is breathtakingly beautiful. The centuries old structure stands strong and gives the visitors a peek into its history. The magnificent views of the valley make it a very good location to view the sunset from.
6. Hoshang Shah's Tomb
Overall Ratings
4 based on 56 reviews
Reviewed By Frontiermail - Ghaziabad, India
The austerity of the tomb is in sharp contrast to the massive celestial white dome. Perforated screens allow soft light to illuminate the interior which houses the tomb of Hoshang Shah, his daughters and other relatives. It is said that this domed marble tomb inspired the builders of Taj Mahal. There is an inscription on the doorjamb that records that four architects of Shah Jahan came in 1659 to pay homage to the builders of the tomb among whom was Ustad Hamid, who was closely involved with building of the Taj. A caravan sarai is attached to the tomb along with a baoli.
7. Jami Masjid
Overall Ratings
4 based on 64 reviews
Reviewed By Frontiermail - Ghaziabad, India
Begun by Hoshang Shah and completed by Mahmud Khalji in 1454 it was modeled on the mosque of Damascus. The spacious courtyard is enclosed on three sides by colonnaded verandas covered with domes. Across the courtyard to the West is the prayer hall which has 58 small domes and three large ones that dominate the rest. There are 17 carved niches along the western wall. The central niche of mihrab is finest of them and decorated with verses from Quran. Located under the central dome is the raised pulpit which has a miniature marble dome of its own supported by four arches.
8. Baz Bahadur's Palace
Overall Ratings
4 based on 51 reviews
Reviewed By Frontiermail - Ghaziabad, India
Interesting blend of Rajput and Mughal styles, the palace was built before Baz Bahadur came to power. An inscription in Persian over the main entrance assigns its construction to Sultan Nasiruddin Shah in 1508-09 CE. The main part of the palace is spacious open court with halls and rooms on all four sides and a beautiful Fountain in the middle. The spacious Terrace has two beautiful baradaris which offer a breathtaking view of the Roopmati’s pavilion.
9. Nilkanth Mahal
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 25 reviews
Reviewed By jkysharma
Just before reaching Mandu/Mandav proper, one encounters the Nilkanth Mahal, a redstone palace of Islamic design but featuring a Shiva Temple inside it. It is firmly entrenched in the tourist circuit for we never meant to go to this place but our driver just stopped here out of habit. We decided to have a look purely out of curiosity piqued by the glimpses of a structure peering at us from fairly down below. Today, I'm thankful to our driver but for whom we might have overlooked this treasure.
To start with, Nilkanth Mahal is characterized by a deep sense of split personality. It was originally the site of a Shiva shrine dating to Rajput times which was later ransacked and destroyed in one of the many invasions this region suffered. Then, it appears that Akbar had a pleasure palace built here for one of his queens (possibly Jahangir's mother Mariam-uz-Zamani) and had it christened Imarat-i-Dilkhusha (roughly, pleasure palace). Not stopping there, he had the earlier shrine reinstated within the temple! Today, the place is a buzzing shrine which attracts devotees from afar who go about their prayers in what is distinctly an Islamic palace with all the insignia!
Here's more. Mandu houses the tomb of the man who contributed the most in terms of building to this once "City of Joy" - Hoshang Shah. The tomb, upon first glance, is immediately discernible as the influence for the Taj Mahal. Indeed, Mandu because of the hand of history, was shaped first by Afghan invaders who must've naturally ventured further east after Gujarat. That means Mughal architecture in Delhi drew much from Mandu. What's weird about the Nilkanth Mahal is that it is a later day Mughal monument in Mandu, the fountainhead for its own style.
Now all of that represent confused identity.
Upon approaching the place, we found that this is not a place for the elderly as there are a lot of steps (61) to descend before one reaches the court of the palace with structures on all sides except the north which results in wonderful views of the Vindhyas and the Malwa Plateau upon which Mandu is situated. This is the most immediately discernible feature here. The next thing that draws attention is the water spiral cistern located in the centre of the court which must've been installed to draw water from a greater height and then channel it into a tank. Today, people take a sip from attaching some kind of holiness to it. The shrine itself is a bare bones sanctum sanctorum entered through a large, pointed arched gateway. That it still draws the faithful even today is proof of the prominence location (and its assumed, inherent sanctity) enjoys in the popular Hindu imagination.
Mostly though, owing to the terrain on which the palace-temple is situated and the various levels of the structure, groups of teens have a field day in clambering up and down for every manner of selfie. This is not a major detractor but it does get in the way of absorbing the place with all its inherent paradoxes.
In sum, Nilkanth Mahal lays out the perfect introduction to Mandu through two of its own virtues: beautiful and full of paradoxes.
10. Champa Baoli
Overall Ratings
4 based on 21 reviews
Reviewed By RadhaJM - New Delhi, India
This is a huge well inside the jahaz Mahal complex. WAter is there greenish color. The circular strucure is still intact. The local guides tells stories that it has underground path under it and used as excape route - how far it is true no way of knowing. The water is used for bathing in the Hamams built near the Baoli.
