When I was creating a plan for the trip to Gwalior, Datia caught our attention. It was on the way towards Orchha, which was one of the primary places of our visit. Datia seemed like a town with a lot of history. We decided to visit Datia along with Sonagri and Jhansi while travelling from Gwalior to Orchha.
Drive to Datia
As we moved from the highway into the town, the palace appeared on the backdrop of a lake. We stopped for a while to take some photographs. It was the Datia Palace or Bir Singh Palace, a 7 storey palace built by Bir Singh Deo in the 17thcentury.
Strangely, it was the first time our driver was driving to Datia Palace. While I had Google Maps, I was not confident of directing looking at the labyrinth roads of Datia. Many boards were claiming that Datia was a mini smart city, but the town did not look so!! Anyway, locals provided the directions and we were able to reach the entrance of the fort driving through the narrow roads. I was relieved that I was not behind the wheels!!
At Datia Palace
We paid the entry and camera fee and entered the fort. I asked for information leaflet about Datia, but there were all in Hindi. It was not useful for us.
We entered into the fort and started climbing the stairs. Initial floors were dark and gloomy. There many have been some rooms but they were all locked. After climbing three floors, we reached an open courtyard, which gave a good view of the palace.
The palace was never occupied. It is said that Jahangir stayed only for a day while he was travelling to Orchha. Even now, it does have a haunted feel!!
We saw people on the higher floors, but we could not find a way to climb. There were so many rooms and entries, it seemed like a maze. We had to ask the people on the upper floors for direction.
We were super impressed with the Palace. Having gone to that place without much expectation, Datia overwhelmed us. It is definitely a highly underrated place. There were only a few locals and some foreigners. “Regular tourists” were missing.
We spent about an hour in the palace. We could not cover the top floors as it was locked. Amazing place.
Information and Tips
- Apart from the palace, there are also other historic places but we did not visit due to lack of time. We could see some historical builds from the palace, but they looked abandoned.
- Shri Peetambra Peetha is a renowned historical place in Datia.
- Sonagiri Jain temples and Jhansi are some of the other interesting places nearby.
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