Alwar Palace & the Moosi Rani Sagar stepped lake.
Previous: Alwar to Deeg.
Alwar Palace is a fine example of late 18th century Rajput and Moghul hybrid architecture in a stunning setting at the side of a large stepped water tank, the Moosi Rani Sagar. Although one of the upper floors of the palace is a museum, the palace is mostly used for government offices and the main attraction is the two acre stepped water tank with eight elegant chattris extending out into the water.
The water to the tank is fed from the Aravalli hills above the town; water from the hillsides is collected and fed along a 1Km canal through check dams and a filtration tank before continuing to the Moosi Rani Sagar. In the next photo you can see the Bala Qila Fort at the top of the ridge; hidden in trees is the route taken by the canal.
The whole system had fallen into disrepair and neglect but a clean up and renovation project in 2020/21 has restored the condition to the beauty you can see today. These photos were taken in 2025 but we've been here before, in 2018, before the restoration. The Moosi Rani Sagar doesn't look much different but in 2018 we took a look at the upstream canal and tanks and they were in a sorry state. When we went this year I wasn't aware of the restoration so we didn't revisit those upstream sites.
On the opposite side of the water to the palace is a curious collection of colourful elevated houses that overlook the water and once belonged to ministers and palace officials. A small stone Nandi bull, a symbol of Shiva, sits on one doorstep.
The whole system had fallen into disrepair and neglect but a clean up and renovation project in 2020/21 has restored the condition to the beauty you can see today. These photos were taken in 2025 but we've been here before, in 2018, before the restoration. The Moosi Rani Sagar doesn't look much different but in 2018 we took a look at the upstream canal and tanks and they were in a sorry state. When we went this year I wasn't aware of the restoration so we didn't revisit those upstream sites. On the opposite side of the water to the palace is a curious collection of colourful elevated houses that overlook the water and once belonged to ministers and palace officials. A small stone Nandi bull, a symbol of Shiva, sits on one doorstep.
The next image is an accidental shot that shows the elegance of the stonework that was repaired during the restoration project.
Alwar Palace was quiet on this visit, it was a Sunday and the offices were closed; the only sound was of a football bouncing off the walls of an inner courtyard. On our previous visit we arrived at the lunch break and sat with office workers drinking tea on the benches of pop up cafes. The archway entrance into the main courtyard has a beautiful circular pattern on the domed ceiling.
The palace has numerous decorative balconies called jharokas and walkways that create the classic image of a Rajastahi palace.
Handprints on walls are a frequent sight in India, perhaps the decorator wanted to say "I was Here". In some contexts there is a darker side to handprints on walls: for centuries Rajasthan seemed to be in a state of constant warfare between rival kingdoms and it was a tradition, called sati and now illegal but still admired, for women to throw themselves on a funeral pyre if defeat seemed imminent. Similarly women would throw themselves on the funeral pyre of their husbands.
On that note...the next leg of our next journey is from Alwar to Jaipur calling in several stepwells.