Introduction

Jahaz Mahal in Mandu is a popular monumental building and must see tourist spot during Mandu sightseeing. It best captures the medieval romance of Mandu. It is built during rule of Mandu Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din Khilji. He ruled over Mandu for 31 years and was believed to be the pleasure seeker who gave emphasis to women and songs in his ruling life. He was having a large harem (about 15000 women) for which he needs a proper building to accommodation of women. For this purpose Jahaz Mahal was built in second-half of 15th century. It is located inside the walled Mandu fort. While coming from Indore, we will find Jahaz Mahal in north of the Mandu group of monuments. It is located near Munj Talao, along with Hindola Mahal, Gada Shah Mahal. MP Tourism department hotel "Malwa Retreat" is also close to it. It means, during Mandu tour, it will be first set of monuments that we can visit, while coming from Indore city.

About Jahaz Mahal

Jahaz mahal is 110 meters in length and 15 meters in width. It is a double-storeyed structure which is situated on a narrow strip of land in between Munj Talao and Kapur Talao. Surrounded by pond water, it given an impression as a floating structure on water due to which it has been named as Jahaz Mahal. Here Jahaz refers to Ship and Mahal refers to Palace. Jahaz Mahal have entrance from east where the main entrance has a recessed arch and is flanked on each side by 6 arched openings protected by a continuous overhanging cornice having support of stone brackets. The ground floor in Jahaz Mahal has 3 large halls. All these halls are connected by corridors which ends with a rooms at either ends. Each of these 3 halls have attached pavilions at the rear, overlooking Munj Talao. These were seems to be used for accommodation and diversion of the women of the royal harem, hidden from public view by the curtains on arched openings.

Jahaz Mahal in Mandu is a nice example of creative imagination realized on ground. All the passages, windows were designed with arches in different designs. Similarly various creative design patterns can be observed in look of water tanks (Baoli), flooring and small openings of wall. At some places, we can see narrow by artistically designed water channels through water was passed. Different color combinations were used in floor tiles that given an impression of ornamentation. Terrace bears paintings of floral motifs.

How to visit

For visiting Jahaz Mahal in Mandu, we need to buy entrance tickets. Its ticket counter is available near entry gate. Tourists can visit this monument in all 7 days of a week from sunrise to sunset. As its campus is collection of different monuments like Taveli Mahal, Kapur Lake, Hindola Mahal, Champa Baoli etc. thus here we recommend to use guide service. This will enhance our travel experience. Inside this campus, we will also find Taveli mahal museum to get deep exposure to local rulers. Try to visit this site in morning hours.

 

Best time to visit

Jahaz Mahal is open for visitors from sunrise to sunset. It is accessible throughout the year so can be visited in any season. Still period from August to March is considered as the best time to visit Mandu monuments. The main reasons behind declaring this as best period is climatic condition and tourism in surrounding destinations. As we all know that Mandu is located in Malwa plateau thus this region is not very fertile but more rocky thus during monsoon period, it natural beauty is at its best thus Mandu received more tourists in monsoon season. At the same time, we have to note that Mandu is surrounded by Hindu pilgrimage destinations like Ujjain, Omkareshwar, Maheshwar where lord Shiva is worshipped and monsoon is the time when special worships are done thus large number of tourists visit this region and thus Mandu get its benefit. With the end of winters till March, this rocky region become hot in daytime thus after March month, tourists footfall started decreasing. Famous Mandu festival is also helds in this period of winters which offers some great tourism activities and thus one of the best time to explore Jahaz Mahal and its adjoining monuments.