Garh Palace

Rajasthan, India

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Garh Palace is the name used for two different historic palace complexes in Rajasthan: the fortified City Palace (locally called “Garh Palace”) in the heart of Kota, and the sprawling hillside palace in Bundi, both once royal residences and now major heritage sites.

The Kota Garh Palace, known officially as the City Palace, was the former residence of the Rao and Maharao rulers of Kota Kingdom and is a massive fortified complex in the city centre that houses cannons, paintings, armour, palaces, instruments, attire, manuscripts, murals and buildings, some dating back to the 13th century, with the Rao Madho Singh Museum occupying its ground floor.

According to tradition, the foundations of Kota’s palace were first laid in 1264 CE by Prince Jait Singh of Bundi on the spot where he killed the Bhil chief Koteya and buried his head, and the palace has since been expanded and modified by successive rulers over centuries. The Bundi Garh Palace, on the other hand, is an 16th–18th century palace complex built by the Hada Chauhan Rajputs, beginning around 1580 under Raja Rao Ratan Singh Hada and later developed by successors such as Chatra Shahji and others, with parts like Diwan-i-Am (Hall of Public Audience), Chhatra Mahal, Phool Mahal and Badal Mahal added in the 17th and 18th centuries, and murals from the Bundi School of Painting found throughout the complex.

This Bundi palace is notable for being largely untouched by Mughal architectural influence, blending traditional Rajasthani and Deccani styles, and especially for its exquisite frescoes, including gold-adorned Chhatra Mahal and the Badal Mahal painted with mica techniques and lapis lazuli, where each wall and room tells a story of its era and history.