Lahore Fort

Lahore Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and for Sikh yatris it carries a particular weight: this is where Guru Arjan Dev was imprisoned in 1606 before his martyrdom.

The fort in its present form is largely Mughal, rebuilt in brick by Akbar in the 1560s and extended by Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. Its best-known interiors belong to that period — the Sheesh Mahal with its mirrored ceiling, the Naulakha pavilion, and the vast tiled picture wall along the northern face. Aurangzeb's Alamgiri Gate opens towards the Badshahi Mosque.

The Sikh period left its own layer. Ranjit Singh took the fort in 1799 and used it as his seat, and parts of it were altered under his rule. Gurdwara Dera Sahib and his samadhi stand immediately outside the walls.

For a yatra group the fort is not a sightseeing detour bolted onto a pilgrimage. Standing inside it, with Dera Sahib visible beyond the gate, is how the events of 1606 stop being an account read in a book and become a distance you can see across.

The fort, the Badshahi Mosque, Dera Sahib and the samadhi are adjacent and are normally taken as one visit. Konnect Yatra groups travel together with our own transport and staff.

What a visit involves

The fort is large and groups cover a selected route rather than all of it — typically the Alamgiri Gate, the Sheesh Mahal, the Naulakha pavilion and the picture wall. There is a good deal of walking on uneven historic paving.

Allow two hours within the old-city half-day.

Before you go

• Uneven ground and steps throughout. This is the least accessible site on the Lahore programme; tell us in advance if that is a difficulty.
• There is little shade, so summer visits are scheduled early.
• Ask our staff to show you where Gurdwara Dera Sahib stands from inside the walls. That sightline is why a Mughal fort sits on a Sikh itinerary.

Getting there from your hotel

Opposite Dera Sahib in the old city, twenty to thirty minutes from the Lahore hotels we use. Konnect Yatra groups travel by private coach with our own staff and cover the adjacent sites on foot.