Rohtas Fort

Rohtas was built in the 1540s by Sher Shah Suri, who briefly displaced the Mughals, to control the Potohar region and block the route to the northwest. It was never taken by force. The walls run for roughly four kilometres around a hilly enclosure above the Kahan river, up to twelve metres thick in places, with bastions, stepped wells and twelve monumental gates, of which the Sohail Gate is the best preserved and the most decorated. Unusually, a village lives inside the walls, so the fort is not an empty monument: children play on the ramparts, buffalo graze the enclosure and washing hangs from gatehouses. The military engineering is Afghan and Turkish in character rather than Mughal, which sets it apart from later forts.

What you actually see

• Sohail Gate - the most complete and ornate of the twelve gates.
• The ramparts - kilometres of walls and bastions, walkable in sections.
• The stepped wells - deep baolis cut inside the enclosure.
• The village inside - a working settlement within the fortress walls.

When to go

October to March; the Punjab is very hot from April. Early morning and late afternoon light suits the sandstone, and the enclosure is large enough that midday walking is punishing in warm months.

Honest expectations

The enclosure is big, hilly and largely unsignposted, so seeing more than the main gates takes real walking and preferably a guide. Conservation is patchy and some structures are unstable. Because a village lives inside, this is somebody's home as well as a monument, which is worth remembering with a camera.

Nearby

Jhelum is on the Grand Trunk Road nearby; Islamabad is around two hours northwest.