Surat Castle Travel Guide: The Fort Museum in Gujarat (2024)
The Surat Castle or the Surat Fort is in Surat, Gujarat. It is an important tourist location and is of cultural importance. Several tourists flock to the castle to know more about the history of Surat. Read on to find out the reason.
The Surat Castle Experience
The Surat Castle or Surat Fort might be the only one in India that serves as a museum for its city. You see the various structures, furniture, and artifacts from the Surat’s past. One piece of content is the ten-minute movie that tells you more about the history of the Surat castle and Surat. The Surat fort is at Rang Upvan Road in Chowk Bazar in Varasa, Surat.
As you move through the Surat Castle or Surat Fort, you will see maps, charts, and photos of the Surat fort in a bygone era. All this is a fascinating study for everyone, from the student of history to someone interested in ancient architecture and the casual tourist. The museum has inscriptions and photographs of some of the most important and notable people in the history of Surat.
You will also see some of the remnants of ancient Surat art, like miniature boats, etc. The archives area has several of the royal artifacts like thrones, utensils, and vessels that were in use back in the day. You also see the dining tables and the cutlery used in the royal era. For example, you will see the dining tables and the cutlery used during the Dutch era. You also see a rendition of the courtroom, which has the chairs, pews, and other furniture from the courtroom during the Dutch times. You will be able to see all this in the Dutch room.
The gallery of the Surat Castle or Surat Fort reminds one of the violent times that humans once lived in. The gallery has niches, which still houses the cannons that the rulers used in war. All this makes for a surreal experience.
The Surat Castle has furniture from the times of the British era as well in the British room. Once again, you will see the sitting furniture from the British era one would use in tea rooms. Another room to visit is the trade gallery, that shows you the various artifacts from the trade era.
There’s also a lifesize rendition of the jails of that era. There’s a Mughal room as well, housing the sitting furniture from the Mughal era.
One of the must-visit structures in the Surat Castle or Surat Fort is the room with a dome-shaped ceiling, which has a marvelous design, covering the whole dome.
The Surat Castle itself is an excellent place for photography. You need to pay a minimal extra amount for photography. The kind of architecture and backgrounds that you see at the Surat Castle make it an excellent place for a photo session.
It’s a surreal experience to see the furniture, the couches, and the cutlery that the royals used. Of course, you can’t touch them, but looking at them gives you an idea of an opulent past that India and Gujarat had. The visit to the Surat Castle is by far the most enriching experience, compared to the visit of any other fort.
A visit to the Surat Castle or Surat Fort is a study in architecture and history, and you will be able to spend hours at the castle, and it will all be a learning experience. The visit will have you spend most of your time indoors, so you don’t need to pack special. Of course, there are no vendors inside the fort, so plan to pack drinking water for the time that you will be inside the castle.
The entry into the fort is chargeable, and you will have to pay extra for photography. However, the amount of time that you will spend here makes it a budget outing in Gujarat that has something for the whole family.
The castle is on the banks of the Tapi river; you can spend some time there. The banks are an excellent selfie point; so you can create memories of your visit to Gujarat with some photographs at the river. Keep in mind that the Tapi river is also known as the Tapti river.
The Surat Fort has a pride of place when it comes to tourist locations in Surat and Gujarat, and the authorities have won accolades for the restoration of the fort and the experience that it gives to the tourists. The place was under renovation in 2018, and at the time of writing, there are still some places that are under renovation, but the fort is open for tourists.
Also, the Government is now using some parts of the Surat fort as offices. For example, one of the municipal offices is inside the fort.
Surat is a tourist area, so you have several options for accommodation there. The rooms available in Surat range from a thousand rupees with decent amenities to about seven thousand per day for the most comfortable rooms.
If you plan to book the hotels online, make sure that you read the rules and regulations in regards to the room. Some hotels might not allow unmarried couples to share a room. Some other hotels might not allow groups of men to stay in their rooms, so on and so forth. In some cases, you might not get the kind of cuisine you would like. So, make sure that you call the hotel and find out about these aspects before you book.
Places To Visit Near Surat Castle
There are several other destinations in Surat that you can visit if you have a weekend on you. You have the Dumas Beach, the Dutch Gardens, the Gavier Lake, the Jagdishchandra Bose Museum, and so many other places where you can spend a couple of hours. Just near the Surat Castle, you have the Hope Bridge and the Tapi river banks.
How To Reach Surat Castle?
Surat is, of course, well connected to most of the cities and states. The nearest airport is Surat Airport, which is about thirteen kilometers away. If you are traveling by train, Surat has railway connectivity with all the major railway stations in India. If you plan to travel by bus, several private buses run on routes connecting Surat.