Part VI - Motorcycling to Rohtas and Rohtasgarh

Hi There
  Today I woke up with slight temperature and upset stomach but was determined to visit Rohtasgarh and as I mounted my Thunderbird felt really good. Rohtasgarh is a very historic fort which was in prominence till 1859.

 Route                                 -Sasaram-Dehri on Sone-Rohtas-Rehal-Rohtasgarh.

Roadside assistance           - Limited,absolutely no help from Rohtas to Rohtasgarh via                                                         Rehal .

Weather                              - Very warm and cater for adequate water.

Food                                   - I did not have food anywhere.

Rohtasgarh fort

Inside Rohtas town

First glimpses of fort from the town

  I reached Rohtas town pretty early in the morning.Before I started in the morning the local caretaker of the guesthouse warned me,since I am going to a far of place I should fill both my stomach and petrol,somehow I took it jokingly and ignored his warning only to repent it later.

  

  While I was having tea at a local shop in Rohtas,I asked for directions for the fort to reach by bike,I was told that the ride is about 60kms and it will take around to 2h to reach the main gate,to show me the  way to start of the road to fort ,a  boy came with his own bike,such a great experience,in this small sleepy town people have such a big heart.Before I started the ride i noticed that fuel was low so filled fuel in an adhoc shop and remembered the warning of the caretaker I repented my decision of not topping up the fuel in the city.

The boy on right showed me the track to the fort

Start of track to fort

Thunderbird shinning before the start of climb to the fort

   The ride to fort was easier said than done,it was absolutely through wilderness and in between who ever  I met told  gave me different distance to base of the fort,and on top of it there was no mobile coverage so my google was off,initially the ride seemed to be fine but thereafter the track become absolutely bad full of dirt and very difficult to negotiate,but some how I pushed myself.Many times thought came to abandon the ride since I was not sure how many kilometers I have to cover,as well as the  health was  also playing spoilt.

    

Powdery track

Empty village

   After struggling for an two hours I saw the sign of Rehal village,and spirit immediately soared ,once I reached Rehal from there the drive to fort is just 12 kms and the track is pretty firm.

Rehal village

Main gate first glimpses

Thunderbird after reaching the main entrance, fine red dust all over

Main Entrance 

End of ride at the main entrance 

   Once I reached the main gate I felt so great as if I have reached the summit of mount Everest,I forgot about my growling stomach ,felt very happy.

   As per local history the Rohtas hill was named after the Rohitasva,  son of the Raja Harishchandra. In 1539 AD, it came under rule of  Sher shah Suri. Sher Shah Suri had just lost the Fort at Chunar in a fight with the  Humayun and was desperate to gain a foothold for himself.

   Sher Shah requested the ruler of Rohtas that he wanted to leave his women, children and treasure in the safety of the fort, while he was away fighting in Bengal. The king agreed and allowed the movement of palanquins.The first few palanquins had women and children,but the later ones contained fierce Afghan soldiers, who captured Rohtas and forced the Hindu king to flee. 

   In 1558 AD, Raja Man Singh made it his headquarters as he was the governor of Bengal and Bihar.He built a splendid palace for himself, renovated the rest of the fort, cleared up the ponds and made gardens in Persian style. 

  In 1736 it went  to british.In his two months of stay the british Capt Goddard not only killed many captured soldiers,but destroyed many buildings in the fort and made it untenable for living. Thereafter in 1857 in India's first war of Independence,fierce battle was fought for months between british and soldiers led by ,Amar Singh, the brother of Veer Kunwar Singh( Hero of 1857 from Jagdispur). There were many encounters with the British where the latter were at a disadvantage, for the jungles and the tribal who were of great help to the soldiers of Amar Singh. Finally, after a long drawn out military blockade and many clashes, the British overcame the Indians, and who left a small garrison to guard so that it would never be used again in future.

  The fort was actively being used by Naxalites during peak,however now it is completely safe,however most of the buildings are in Ruins.

While coming back I also visited the royal burial ground near the Rohtas town,nothing much to see .

Entrance to burial ground

  Turrets on corners

Inside the ground

   As it was getting warmer and growling had increased a lot it was time to call it a day and head back to Sasaram.It is worth visiting at least once and if you are a fan of off roading this place is a bliss,given a chance I would love to visit this fort again once.Adios