Rohtas and Kaimur in 2 Days: Sher Shah's Tomb, Rohtasgarh and Mundeshwari
2 DAYS3 placesby WaTrips
Sher Shah Suri's lake tomb and Rohtasgarh Fort, then the Mundeshwari temple.
Southwest Bihar has two remarkable monuments. Day one visits Sher Shah Suri's tomb, rising from the middle of a lake at Sasaram, and the huge hill fort of Rohtasgarh. Day two climbs to the Mundeshwari temple on its hill, one of the oldest working Hindu temples in India. October to March is best.
The tomb of Sher Shah Suri at Sasaram, completed in 1545, is one of the masterpieces of Indo-Islamic architecture. The Afghan ruler, who drove Humayun from India and built the Grand Trunk Road, lies in a three-tiered octagonal mausoleum of red sandstone, about 37 metres high, standing in the middle of an artificial lake and reached by a causeway.
Rohtasgarh Fort spreads across a plateau of the Kaimur hills above the Son River, at about 450 metres. One of the largest hill forts in India, it was taken by Sher Shah Suri in 1539 and later served as the base of Raja Man Singh, Akbar's governor, who built its palace. Dozens of gateways, temples and a mosque survive. The climb takes a couple of hours.
The Mundeshwari Temple, on a hill in Kaimur district, is often described as the oldest functioning Hindu temple in India, with an inscription dated to the early centuries of the common era. The small stone temple has an unusual octagonal plan and enshrines a four-faced Shiva linga and the goddess Mundeshwari. Steps or a road lead to the top.
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