Chunar Fort

Chunar Fort crowns an isolated outcrop of the Vindhya range above the Ganga at Chunar, a riverside town in Mirzapur district about 40 km from Varanasi. Also called Chandrakanta Chunargarh or Charanadri, it stands about 280 feet above sea level, and tradition credits its founding to Maharaja Vikramaditya of Ujjain. It later passed to Sher Shah Suri in 1532, to Mughal emperors including Humayun and Akbar, to the Marathas from 1782 to 1804, and to the British, who kept it until 1947.

Inside the walls are the samadhi of Bhartihari, a bungalow used by Warren Hastings, prison cells, an execution spot called the Hanging Place and the Sonwa Mandap. There is also a Well of Love with hidden dungeons, a stone canopy recording a victory of King Sahadeo, and a tunnel said to run towards Vijaygarh and Raigarh. The fort and town have been filmed for 'Chandrakanta', 'Gangs of Wasseypur' and 'Mirzapur'.