[sach.sri]

With the tourism activity starting back up end of 2020, we planned for our summer vacations in Jan. All was booked and we were waiting for the dates, but, the 2nd wave put paid to our plans and I had to cancel all the bookings.

After being cooped up at home for a long period – we did a day trip to Deeg last week.

Deeg is a town and a municipality in Bharatpur district in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is situated 32 kilometres north of Bharatpur and 98 kilometres north of Agra. In Hindu mythology, Deeg was situated along the parikrama path of Krishna, which started at Goverdhan, 14 kilometres from Deeg. Wikipedia

There are primarily 2 places to see in Deeg –
- Fort: This is in ruins, but majestic. The walls are high and mighty and it has a moat running all around. The water in the moat is quite dirty – else it would have made a very pretty picture
- Deeg Palace: Built adjacent to a man made pond, this was the residence of the kings of Deeg

It was a nice little break, but left us wanting more.

Some pictures from the trip

Fort

Entrance

Loved the drama of these pics; high walls and narrow corridor. Just imagine an elephant passing through this in older times.







City View from Top









Yours truly



Canon - only the barrel

People will not learn - graffiti on the cannon barrel !



Deeg Palace



It was lush green - had a similar concept as the Mughals - gardens divided by fountains

OT - the 4 gardens divided by fountains in Mughal is called "Charbagh" and symbolises 4 gardens of paradise



Monsoon Bhawan - from the front you see only one floor, but it is multiple floors actually





This used to be the main residence of the Kings and was converted in a museum.





Some picture of the interiors. This one is a Indian style "dining table" there was another normal dining table as well.











This building is supposedly designed in a way that if it rains the acoustics make it sound like a thunderstorm?









Liked this "flower pot" style a lot



This building is supposedly uprooted from Delhi and moved here and is a "school" for the Mughal kids

Definitely looks out of place - made with marble.



Pictures from the other side of the man made pond. This is quite a view.









It was a fun outing.

The palace complex was astounding - it was really amazing and the greenery was something else. I was somehow reminded of Bahubali movie. Dont know why.
I loved the place and would have loved to explore some more, but it was pretty hot and by the time we finished taking pictures - it was already 2.30 pm. We had packed lunch with us and our icebox with cold drinks.

Stopped the car near some khet and ate lunch - would have loved to do a picnic - but the weather did not permit was too hot.

This concluded our trip.

It was such a pleasure driving on a highway after such a long time, but it ended too soon. Need to plan a multi day trip very soon.


Logistics

We started from Gurgaon around 9 am and reached Deeg by 12.30pm.
Deeg is very near to Mathura, Bharatpur, Goverdhan and Parikrama route, so one can club this trip with other places as well.

This place will be mesmerising in monsoons - if planning to visit, should do so in monsoon time.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Totoro11]

Originally Posted by sach.sri

There are primarily 2 places to see in Deeg –
- Fort: This is in ruins, but majestic. The walls are high and mighty and it has a moat running all around. The water in the moat is quite dirty – else it would have made a very pretty picture
- Deeg Palace: Built adjacent to a man made pond, this was the residence of the kings of Deeg

Just when i was looking around for day trip locations from NCR, your post came along. Thanks for sharing your experience, the place looks really beautiful. I am really tempted to plan a trip coming weekend.

1. Are there any entry tickets and timings?
2. Is a guide required or we should just go and explore (if they have any information boards describing the history and unique locations)

[sach.sri]

Originally Posted by Totoro11

1. Are there any entry tickets and timings?
2. Is a guide required or we should just go and explore (if they have any information boards describing the history and unique locations)

Thanks Totoro11

There is entry ticket for the palace entry. It is ₹25 per head with entry free for kids younger than 15

We just went there and explored ourselves. I dont think there are any guided tours other than the museum.

It is a good day trip, go ahead and enjoy!

[//M]

That's a beautiful find sach.sri. Thanks for the travelogue.

Could you please share details of the route. As per Google Maps, there are three routes to Deeg from Gurgaon:

1. Gurgaon - Sohna - Punhana - Kaman - Deeg (140 kms / 3.5 hrs)

2. Gurgaon - Sohna - Western Peripheral Expressway - Kosi Kalan - Govardhan - Deeg (150 kms / 3.25 hrs)

3. Gurgaon - Faridabad - Ballabgarh - Palwal - Kosi Kalan - Govardhan - Deeg (150 kms / 3.25 hrs)


Any pointers on which is the better of these three routes? Since there is considerable construction work going on in the Sohna Road, I was wondering if the Faridabad option works out to be the better route. Awaiting your inputs on this.

[sach.sri]

Originally Posted by //M

That's a beautiful find sach.sri. Thanks for the travelogue.

Could you please share details of the route. As per Google Maps, there are three routes to Deeg from Gurgaon:

1. Gurgaon - Sohna - Punhana - Kaman - Deeg (140 kms / 3.5 hrs)

2. Gurgaon - Sohna - Western Peripheral Expressway - Kosi Kalan - Govardhan - Deeg (150 kms / 3.25 hrs)

3. Gurgaon - Faridabad - Ballabgarh - Palwal - Kosi Kalan - Govardhan - Deeg (150 kms / 3.25 hrs)


Any pointers on which is the better of these three routes? Since there is considerable construction work going on in the Sohna Road, I was wondering if the Faridabad option works out to be the better route. Awaiting your inputs on this.

Thanks mate.

We took the #2 route - and it was pretty good. There is indeed some construction on Sohna road - but the Western Peripheral Expressway more than made up for it (i wanted to drive on it ). It was a very nice drive.

[Totoro11]

Originally Posted by sach.sri

There are primarily 2 places to see in Deeg –
- Fort: This is in ruins, but majestic. The walls are high and mighty and it has a moat running all around. The water in the moat is quite dirty – else it would have made a very pretty picture
- Deeg Palace: Built adjacent to a man made pond, this was the residence of the kings of Deeg

This place will be mesmerising in monsoons - if planning to visit, should do so in monsoon time.

The trip finally happened! Many Thanks to Sach.sri for finding & sharing this hidden gem.


Logistics:
While going I took Gurgaon - Sohna - Western Peripheral Expressway - Kosi Kalan - Govardhan – Deeg. I would not advise it due to the ongoing construction till Sohna. WPE was super smooth and we exited at Palwal (there was speed checking going on just as you get on to NH-19 after WPE). Disappointed that they didn’t accept Fastag on WPE. Just one traffic jam on the way where there is an under-construction toll plaza and so all vehicles have to converge into a single operational lane.
While returning, I took the Western peripheral Expressway all the way to Manesar and came back to Gurgaon via NH-48. Few Km extra but much more hassle-free.


The Destination
While Sach.sri has already covered most points of interest, here’s some other facts I found:

Deeg Palace:

1. The palace has 2,000 fountains that are operated without electricity. Some Engineering!
2. The rulers attacked Delhi and brought back lot of stuff as tokens of victory. This includes a swing, a granite bed and even a whole marble building that was a Madarssa for Mughal kids.
3. Made of sandstone that absorbs water from the reservoirs and keeps the building strong.
4. There is also provision to circulate water inside the walls to keep the Palace cool.
5. There is one building with fountains all around it. They used to create a curtain of water so outsiders cannot see any activities
6. The museum has two elephant legs converted into stands. This was the elephant that broke the door of Delhi Fort.

Deeg Fort

1. The fort has two cannons: Lakha, the bigger one, is said to have breached Delhi Fort.
2. The fort also has a fake entrance that led enemy soldiers to a square yard with high walls where they were trapped and killed.

Some pictures from the trip:
The entrance arch made of interlocking stones



The Imported Madarssa (every stone was numbered and building reassembled after bringing here)


Spoils of war: Mughal Swing


Water Maze (very interesting but non-functional)


Durbar of Raja


Lush Green and beautiful Palace





Lakha Cannon at Deeg Fort



Palace view from atop the fort



Modern Day Chariot


Trip stats: Petrol IVT turned out to be quite economical



Overall a nice day trip that everyone enjoyed. Now is the perfect time to visit.

[sach.sri]

Originally Posted by Totoro11

[b]The trip finally happened

Overall a nice day trip that everyone enjoyed. Now is the perfect time to visit.

Nice trip report. Now is the correct time to go
Monsoons would make everything greener and more pleasant

Somehow I did not see the water maze thinggy, something new

[iamitp]

Originally Posted by Totoro11

The trip finally happened! Many Thanks to Sach.sri for finding & sharing this hidden gem.

So happy to see your update! Planning on taking my Creta too on Sunday. How was the weather? Would the Palace and roads be enjoyable in the rains?

Also please do recommend some good dhabas on the route for food!

[Totoro11]

Originally Posted by iamitp

So happy to see your update! Planning on taking my Creta too on Sunday. How was the weather? Would the Palace and roads be enjoyable in the rains?

Also please do recommend some good dhabas on the route for food!

Weather was humid last week, i wanted to to wait for rains but then decided to go anyway. Since it rained well this week and there is good cloud cover, it would be much more enjoyable than last week (in fact had i known that, i would have postponed and gone this weekend)

We were there from 11-3 and sweated a lot but there is enough shade around to relax. The birds & butterflies in the garden make it very pleasant. The fort is undergoing repair and construction material is lying around so be cautious while driving inside the gates.

Lots of decent dhabas on the way. While going there are atleast 3-4 'Asli' Pappu dhabas and while returning, there are branches of the Murthal dhabas (Sukhdev/Gulshan). We carried packed lunch and juices since i wasn't sure of options.

All the best for your trip. Before going, go through youtube videos or hire a guide to know more details and what to look out for.

[iamitp]

Went to Deeg this Sunday. Took the Palwal highway (potholed at many places) on the way there and Taj Expressway on the way back. Quite a long detour off the highway on single carriage rural roads. At some places the road was badly potholed and filled with water - I was glad that I was in a CSUV. It was sunny when we reached Deeg Palace and the parking lot was full.

We decided to skip entering the palace and just drove around the town taking in the imposing Deeg Fort and Palace boundary. Couldn't drive inside the fort as the construction material had blocked passage. Took this picture from one of the ghat/pavilions.

There is lack of good dhabas on both the Palwal route and Taj expressway. Nowhere as many options as Delhi - Jaipur or Delhi - Chandigarh routes. We stopped at Asli Pappu Dhaba on the way to Deeg - it was relatively clean but still had quite a few flies. Didn't stop anywhere on the smooth Taj Expressway.

[SouravS]

Nice find sach.sri:-) Hope to visit someday soon. Any decent places to stay in Deeg?

Since you are planning to restart multi-day trips, you know which direction to start driving!

[Aniket Verma]

Originally Posted by SouravS

Nice find sach.sri:-) Hope to visit someday soon. Any decent places to stay in Deeg?

Since you are planning to restart multi-day trips, you know which direction to start driving!

Bharatpur (30 Km) from Deeg has many resorts and hotels suitable for all budgets. Deeg can be combined with Bharatpur for 2 days 1 night trip.