Jammu Division has 10 districts and most of the districts has a fort and almost all of them are of historic importance. 3000 years of history is hidden in these forts and palaces. There are paintings, architecture and many more to it but sadly all of them are in very bad shape. Jammu has tremendous amount of tourism potential and as far as heritage tourism is considered these Forts and palaces will be a great asset for the tourism industry in the region. These Forts and palaces represents the great warriors of Dev Dynasty and Dogra Dynasty.
1. Bhimgarh Fort, Reasi
This fort is also called as Reasi Fort and is on a hillock from where you can view the Reasi city. It was initially constructed of clay by Bhimdev Rasyal of Reasi and later on renovated and modified by general Zorawar Singh who extended the boundaries of Dogra Kingdon to Laddakh and parts of Tibet. This fort is situated on the banks of River Anji and a major tourist destination of pilgrimage tourists to Vaishno Devi Katra. reasi is only 37 Km from Katra.
2. Akhnoor Fort, Jammu
Akhnoor fort is on the bak of river Chenab which was initially constructed by Raja tegh SIngh in 1762 CE and completed by his successor raja Alam SIngh in 1802. This fort has a stone which is brought in from am Setu and it doesn’t submerge in water. This fort has historic and ancient significance as you can find pottery from Harappa period.
3. Mubarak Mandi Palaces Complex, Jammu
Mubarak Mandi is a a group of palaces which were first constructed by Dev Dynasty but later on extended by the Dogra Dynasty. Mubarak Mandi was main seat of Dogra Dynasty till 1925 when Maharaja Hari Singh moved to the Hari Niwas palace in the northern part of Jammu.
4. Amar Singh Palace, Jammu
This palace is also called as Hari Niwas palace and was the main seat of Maharaja Hari SIngh. You can get a view of Tawi river on one side and Trikuta Hilla on the north.
5. Bahu Fort, Jammu
Bahu Fort was constructed by Raja Bahulochan about 3000 years ago. There is a very famous temple of Goddess Kali inside the fort. There is a park Bagh-ae-Bahu, a fish aquarium adjoining this fort and is a major tourist destination of Jammu.
6. Poonch Fort, Poonch
Poonch Fort also known as Qilla is a major tourist attraction in Poonch. This is one of the many forts of Jammu division where the Dev dynasty and later on under Dogra rule as well. It is considered as the resistance point for the western powers including Alexender. It has a rich history from Poras times.
7. Chingus Fort, Rajouri
Changus fort/ Sarai is another historic fort of Rajouri, Jammu. Chingus means intestines in persian and it is renowned for containing the intestines of jahangir so that body doesn’t decompose. The queen decided to bury intestines in this fort as Jahangir died while travelling from Kashmir to Delhi.
