Nestled amid the green hills of aravallis, stands the magnificent fort of bhangarh. The fort is located between the city of jaipur and alwar. The fort was constructed in the 17th century by raja madho singh, the younger brother of the great mughal general, man singh of amber.The fort houses remnants of grand havelis, temples and deserted marketplaces within its premises, indicating the forts prosperity in its heydays. Bhangarh fort is considered to be one of the most haunted places in india and is said to be cursed. There are several legends associated with the fort but there are two which are rather popular with the local population. The most famous is associated with princess ratnavati, who was very beautiful and had a number of suitors from the royal families of the country. A wizard, adept in black magic, fell in love with the princess. As the princess went shopping with her friends one day, the wizard saw her buying ittar (scent) and replaced the ittar with a love potion. The princess, however, came to know of the wizards trickery and threw the potion onto a boulder nearby. This resulted in the boulder rolling towards the wizard and crushing him to death. But before being crushed to death, he cursed the city, stating that it would be destroyed soon and no would be able to live within its precincts. The kingdom was later sacked by the invading mughal forces, killing all the inhabitants of the fort along with princess ratnavati. As it is considered a haunted place the bhangarh fort remains out of bound for visitors before sunrise and after sunset.
