The Gwalior Fort

    Standing on a steep mass of sandstone, Gwalior Fort dominates the city and is its most significant monument. It has been the scene of momentous events, imprisonment, battles and jauhars . A steep road winds upwards to the fort, flanked by statues of the Jain tirthankaras, carved into the rock face. The magnificent outer walls of the fort still stand, two miles in length and 35 feet high, bearing witness to its reputation for being one of the most invincible forts of India. 

Babur, the Mughal Emperor of the 16^th century, described the Gwalior fort as "the pearl amongst fortresses of Hind".
Though the history of the fort goes back over 1000 years, an inscription in the fort records that during the 5^th century reign of Mihiragula the Hun, a temple of the sun was erected here.
                     Situated on a flat-topped sandstone and basalt hill 91 meters above the plains, the Gwalior Fort commands a spectacular view. About 2.8 kms. long, it runs along a narrow ridge, with an elevation ranging from 200 to 850 metres. The fort has a natural rampart of cliffs and overhangs on the eastern side and is practically impregnable on the western side due to a deep gorge called the Urwahi Valley.
                       Superior to most of the other fortresses of northern India, Gwalior fort has always been a challenge for generations of Delhi rulers. Mughal emperors were so impressed by the structural design of the fort that they incorporated several of its features in their forts in Lahore, Delhi and Agra. Enhancing the natural barriers of the fort are solid 10m high walls that encircle the entire fort, and even though built primarily for defense, there is an artistic vitality about the sophisticated fortress walls. The fort has an efficient water supply system of tanks and baolis (wells) and cisterns and many of these impressive waterways can still be seen within it. This perennial water supply gave the rulers an added ability to hold out during a siege