Located in the foothills of the Aravalli range in Gujarat, Ilva Durga is now known as the Idar Fort. It is a superb example of naturally protected hill fort which remains unconquered till date. The town of Idar is located along the crest of the hill and is very picturesque. Both the fort and the townsfolk are very beautiful. The entrance to Idar is through a three storied clock tower. The magnificent carving and sculptures along the ramparts of the fort makes it resemble the majestic monuments of Bikaner and Jodhpur. There is a marketplace on both sides of the road which leads to the town of Idar and ends at the foothills.

History

During the period of the British Raj, Idar was the capital of the Idar state under the rule of the Rathore Rajputs. Ilva Durga, now known as Idar fort finds its name in the epic of Mahabharata and has also been motioned in the travelogue of famous Chinese traveler Hieu-en-Tsing. Idar was founded by Raja Anand Singh, his brother Rai Singh and a few horsemen in 1200 although he established himself in Idar in 1728 or 1729. The present ruler of this princely state is HH Maharaja Rajendra Singhji.

Fort Attractions

The attractions of the place can be divided into two sections – the fort and the town.

Old Palace

Situated at the foothill, one can see what looks like the ruins of an ancient place. It is the old palace, which is a fine example of old architecture with delicately carved balconies. The designed pillars, brackets and foliated arches look magnificent and gave the palace a royal touch.

Rani Talav

It is a huge water tank situated on the sides of the fort and stores water which is directly coming from the hill. A series of old trees perfectly arranged at the edge of the steps and the reflection of the massive stones cape gives the surroundings an interesting view.

Dolat Niwas Castle

A flight of 700 steps, Dolat Niwas castle was constructed by Maharaja Dolatsinhji which gives a picturesque panorama of the Idar town.The stairs lead to the fortress plateau with the castle located midway.

Other Attractions

Amongst other popular attractions is the Rutheli Rani no Mahal which can be seen on the right from the highest point when one arrives at the plateau and on the left is the Ranamal Chowki.Further along the path, there are two Jain temples – Shantinath temple and Sambhavnath temple. At the foothills, one can cherish the fine temples of Swami Narayan, Vallabhacharya and Khokhanath Mahadev.Shrimad Rajchandra Vihar is located approximately 3 km from the town on the hill and is the memorial of guru of Gandhiji.

Nearby Excursions

20 kms from Idar is Roda which is famous for a group of five exquisite temples which were built in the 8th century. Khedbrahma is a nearby city which houses one of the few Brahma temples, Nana Ambaji Temple and is only 27kms from Idar. Other nearby places to visit includes Saraneshwar Temple, Lakhena Jain temple and Shiva-Shakti temple.

How to Reach Idar

By Train

Ahmedabad is connected by rail to all major cities. Idar is a station on the Ahmedabad-Khedbrahma line.

By Air

The closest airport to Idar is Ahmedabad. There are regular flights from major cities of Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai etc. Some cities have more than one flight on a daily basis. The minimum fare to Ahmedabad from New Delhi is INR 7,000 and from Mumbai the fare is INR 4, 500 approximately.

By Bus

Idar is well connected to nearby cities by the road. Ahmedabad is about 107 kms whereas the cities of Vijaynagar and Khedbrahma are only 38 kms and 27 kms, respectively.