Fort Unchagaon

Fort Unchagaon stands in the village of Unchagaon in Bulandshahr district, on the banks of the Ganges and about 110 km from Delhi. Rao Gopal Singh, of the Sisodiya Gehlot Rajputs' Baachal branch, first fortified the site in the early 17th century. After the 1857 rebellion the British handed the Unchagaon zamindari to Gursahai Singh of Moradabad for his loyalty, and in 1927 the estate passed to the ten-year-old Surendra Pal Singh. Following his marriage into the Bharatpur princely family in 1933, the fort was repaired and reworked with a blend of Rajput and colonial motifs.

The fort combines defence with living quarters around a central courtyard. Brick ramparts two metres thick, bastioned turrets and gun-loops enclose the Surya Mahal and Mora Mahal, linked by vaulted corridors, with jaali screens at the gateways. Since July 2000 it has operated as a heritage hotel set among 19 acres of mango groves.