Umerkot Fort

Umerkot stands where the irrigated plain of Sindh gives way to the sand of the Thar, and the fort on its mound has been rebuilt many times, the present brick structure largely of the eighteenth century under the Kalhoras and Talpurs. Its fame rests on an event of 1542: Humayun, driven out of Delhi and moving through the desert as a fugitive, was sheltered here by the local Rajput ruler, and his son Akbar was born in the town, a fact recorded in Mughal chronicles and marked today by a memorial. The fort itself is a square enceinte with bastions and a gate, containing a small museum with manuscripts, coins and weapons. Umerkot has a substantial Hindu population and its Shiv temple and the Holi celebrations here are among the largest in the country, which gives the town a character quite unlike the rest of Sindh.

History

Rana Amar Singh built the fort in the 11th century, and it remained with the Sodha Rajputs, the Ranas of Umerkot. On 15 October 1542 Akbar was born here, after Rana Prasad Singh Sodha had given refuge to his father Humayun, and in 1746 the Mughal governor Noor Mohammad Kalhoro built a fort here (Wikipedia, Umarkot Fort).

What to look for

• The brick fort - walls, bastions and gate on the raised mound.
• The birthplace memorial - the site marking Akbar's birth in 1542.
• The site museum - manuscripts, coins and arms in the fort.
• The town's temples - Hindu shrines and the large Holi festival.

When to go

November to February for the weather; Holi in spring is the town's biggest event and worth timing for if the interest is cultural. Summer here is severe, with desert heat on one side and humidity on the other.

Practical notes

The fort is modest and partly ruined, with limited interpretation, and the museum is small. The birthplace memorial is a marker rather than a monument. Facilities in the town are basic. It works best combined with a Thar desert trip rather than as a destination alone.

Nearby

The Thar desert begins east; Nagarparkar and the Karoonjhar hills lie southeast.

Key facts