Chanderi Fort, Medieval fort in Chanderi, India.

Chanderi Fort is a medieval fortification built on a hilltop approximately 71 meters in elevation, overlooking the Betwa River valley below. Strong defensive walls, multiple entrance gates, and various interior structures make up the main features of this complex.

Chanderi is mentioned by the Persian scholar Alberuni in 1030, and Ghiyas ud din Balban captured the city in 1251 for Nasiruddin Mahmud, Sultan of Delhi. Sultan Mahmud Khilji of Malwa took it in 1438 after a siege of several months. In 1528 Babur captured the fort from Medini Rai; after the Rajput defeat, the women of the fort committed jauhar, remembered as the largest in medieval history. Sher Shah Suri took the city in 1540.

The fort's name is tied to the town below, which the Mahabharata names with Shishupal as its king, and the Persian scholar Alberuni recorded Chanderi in 1030. The Katti-Ghatti gate carries two inscriptions stating that the cutting and gateway were made in 1490, during the reign of Ghiyas Shah of Malwa.

You can reach the fort through two main entrances, with the Khooni Darwaza gate serving as the primary access point. Wear comfortable shoes since the climb to the hilltop is steep and the interior paths can be uneven underfoot.

The Katti-Ghatti cutting is 80 feet high, 39 feet wide and 192 feet long, made through the hill south of Chanderi town. Two inscriptions on its arched gate record that the passage and gateway were built in 1490 CE, during the reign of Ghiyas Shah of Malwa. A rock-cut stair north of the cutting leads up to the top of the gate.