Naggar Castle

Naggar was the seat of the Kullu rajas for centuries before the capital moved, and the castle Raja Sidh Singh built around 1460 uses the local kath-kuni technique: courses of dressed stone alternating with horizontal timber beams, held by joinery rather than mortar, which allows the structure to move in an earthquake instead of collapsing, and which is why it came through the 1905 shock. It is built around a courtyard with galleries looking out over the Beas valley, holds a small shrine with a stone slab said to have been carried here by bees, and now operates partly as a heritage hotel. The Roerich estate lies uphill.

History

The castle was built by Raja Sidh Singh of Kullu around 1460, and legend says he used stones from the abandoned palace of Rana Bhonsal, Gardhak, to build it. It was the official seat of the kings for centuries, and in 1978 the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation took it over to run as a heritage hotel (Wikipedia, Naggar Castle).

What to look for

• The kath-kuni construction - alternating stone and timber courses without mortar.
• The courtyard galleries - wooden verandas overlooking the Kullu valley.
• The Jagti Patt shrine - the stone slab with its origin story.
• The Roerich estate - the painter's house and gallery on the slope above.

When to go

March to June and September to November; the valley road from Manali is busy in peak season. The monsoon brings landslides. Mornings are quiet at the castle before tour groups arrive.

Before you go

Part of the castle is a working hotel with restricted access. The building is small and a visit is short. The Roerich gallery uphill charges separately.

Nearby

Manali lies north; Kullu is south.

Key facts