Places to visit in Narnaul: Chor Gumbad

Chor Gumbad, Narnaul

I have been crossing Narnaul over the years and used to notice an old structure from the road but somehow did not see it up close. Now it is no longer visible from the road as residential houses hide the view from the road. This time, despite the fact that I was passing the place very early in the morning, I decided to stop over and see the place.

Chor Gumbad, Narnaul basking at Sunrise

The structure is located on top of a hillock in the sleepy town of Narnaul. It was built by Jamal Khan, an Afghan during the reign of Feroz Shah Tughlaq (1351 to 1388 AD) as his tomb. What I heard from the locals though is that right now there is no tomb inside. It is a square shaped building with minarets at each corner. Though the administration has done some repairs to the structure but it has also closed all access to go inside the building by putting a closed perimeter fence with grills. So one can only look at the Chor Gumbad from a distance.

A dawn, Statue of Subhas Chandra Bose and a man doing Yoga

Over the centuries the place got into a state of disrepair and it became a hiding place for the thieves and vagabonds and that is why it probably acquired the name of Chor Gumbad (the dome where the thieves reside).

Chor Gumbad from a distance with the statue of Bose in the foreground

During the current days the local administration has developed a park with walking paths encircling the structure. It seems to be popular among the locals for morning and evening walks as well as a place for doing Yoga etc as I believe there are not too many parks in the city (and at that one which is well maintained and has a beautiful backdrop!). There is also a statue of Subhas Chandra Bose.

A well maintained park is popular among morning walkers at the Chor Gumbad 

Despite being arguably the most important historical building of the town there is just a small signboard. Haryana Tourism department must make proper signage’s to encourage tourists to visit the site.

Another view of the Park at Chor Gumbad, Narnaul

Narnaul, a small town in Haryana, is about 170 km from Delhi on the Delhi-Rewari-Khetri route and can be reached by road in about three and half hours. It is also the district headquarters of Mahendragarh District

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Sunrise at Madag

During my recent stay at Hail Himalayas in the Katnalu Creek valley I was told that the views of dawn and dusk are beautiful from a place called Madag and asked if I would like to go there and of course I said yes.

Dawn as viewed from Madag

As the viewing point is located about 5 kms away we were ready by 5.45 AM to start despite the fact that there was still frost on my tent and on the car panes and stars in the sky as it takes 45 minutes by car. And you gain an altitude of nearly 2000 feet!

View of Sunrise at Madag

Initially I was skeptical whether all this exercise would be fruitful as the sky was overcast with grey clouds. When we reached Madag it was still dark but within a few minutes the eastern horizon's colour started changing from black to grey to various shades of orange and red. Now the advantage of Madag is that in this area this is at the highest point and therefore gives you a 360 degree view of the area.

First rays of the Sun hit the mountains

On the northern side Shimla, capital of Himachal Pradesh, is also clearly visible though by road it is a good 30 kms away but it might have been only 7-8 kms as the crow flies. At the specific point there is only an ancient temple of Jwala Mata. But here look at the contrast of an ancient temple with the modern facility of solar lamps! I could not see inside the temple as that early in the morning it was closed. It was a good start of the day!

Jwala Mata Temple, Madag

Madag can be reached by first taking the Chandigarh-Shimla road and then from Kandaghat take the Chail road. At Sadhupul one needs to take the unmetalled road for the last 5 kms to reach Madag.

Also read:
My Stay at Hail Himalayas
Birds at Katnalu Creek, Himachal