Fort

Daulatabad Fort

#4of 7 places to visit in AurangabadAurangabad, Maharashtra

Also known as Devagiri Fort · Deogiri Fort

Quick answer

Opening hours: 09:00–18:00, last entry 17:00. Entry: ₹25 Indian · ₹300 foreign. Allow 2.5 hrs. Best time: 09:00 – 11:00.

Updated 18 September 2026 · Compiled by Traveliac, AI-assisted · 4 min read

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Photo: Aak.jain54 / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Opening hours: 09:00–18:00
Entry fee: ₹25 Indian; Ticket from
Time needed: 2.5 hrs
Best time of day: 09:00 – 11:00
Best months: Oct – Mar
Address: Daulatabad, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, Maharashtra 431002

About Daulatabad Fort

Daulatabad Fort occupies a 200-metre conical basalt hill roughly 16 km from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, its slopes carved into a smooth, unclimbable scarp by successive rulers rather than left to natural erosion. The defensive plan stacks three concentric fortification rings — an outer town wall, a middle wall, and the citadel wall — around a moat that was once flooded and reportedly stocked with crocodiles to deter tunnelling attackers. Reaching the summit palace requires passing through a pitch-dark, bat-inhabited tunnel (andheri) originally designed as a smoke trap: defenders could fill it with fire and fumes to disable intruders. The climb totals roughly 750 steps of uneven stone, and a working torch or phone light is necessary inside the tunnel section.

Best time of day: 09:00 – 11:00. To reach the upper citadel before the stone stairways and unshaded ramparts heat up in the midday sun.

Daulatabad Fort timings

Daulatabad Fort opens at 09:00 and closes at 18:00. Those hours hold on Saturday and Sunday too.

Opening hours: 09:00–18:00; Mon–Sun 09:00–18:00
Closed on: Open every day

Mon–Sun	09:00–18:00

Opening hours compiled from asi.nic.in and public records, last updated 18 September 2026. They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides

Daulatabad Fort ticket price

Entry fees for Daulatabad Fort
Ticket	Price
Indian visitors	₹25
Foreign visitors	₹300
Children	Free
Camera	Free

Children under 15 enter free. There is no separate still-camera fee. As of 2026, verify at the counter.

Prices compiled from asi.nic.in and public records, last updated 18 September 2026. They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides

Best time to visit Daulatabad Fort

Quiet
Moderate

09:00 – 11:00
Morning OpeningBest time to go
Gates open at 09:00. The ascent is coolest and least crowded in this window, with clear passage through the dark tunnel section.
Quiet
11:00 – 14:00
Midday Ascent Traffic
Travellers combining Daulatabad with an Ellora day trip typically climb in this window, creating occasional bottlenecks at the tunnel entrance.
Moderate
14:00 – 16:00
Afternoon Heat
Direct sun on the unshaded upper ramparts discourages new ascents; most visitors present are already descending from an earlier climb.
Quiet
16:00 – 18:00
Late Afternoon
Cooler temperatures bring a second wave of local visitors for evening views from the citadel walls before the 18:00 close.
Moderate

History of Daulatabad Fort

The Yadava king Bhillama V founded the fort as Devagiri around 1187 CE, establishing it as the capital of the Yadava dynasty until Alauddin Khalji's Delhi Sultanate forces extracted tribute from the kingdom in 1296 and annexed it outright by 1308. The fort's most consequential episode came in 1327, when Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq renamed it Daulatabad ('City of Fortune') and forcibly relocated the entire population of Delhi, including the royal court, roughly 1,100 km south to the new capital. The order was reversed within a decade, by 1334, after logistical failure and water shortages made the relocation untenable, and Tughlaq's court returned to Delhi. Daulatabad later served as a secondary capital of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate from 1499 until the Mughals annexed the region in 1636. The layered fortifications visible today — Yadava, Tughlaq, Bahmani, and Mughal additions — reflect roughly four centuries of continuous military engineering on the same hill.

Rules & etiquette at Daulatabad Fort

The dark tunnel section midway up the climb has no artificial lighting installed by the ASI, so visitors without a torch typically join a small group following someone else's phone light — carrying your own avoids the wait. The stairways above the tunnel are steep, uneven, and occasionally narrow enough for single-file movement only, making the climb unsuitable for visitors with mobility limitations or a fear of enclosed spaces. Local guides congregate near the ticket counter and charge roughly ₹300–500 for a full ascent with historical commentary; agree on the fee and route before starting, since the climb takes over an hour each way. Drones require prior ASI clearance, consistent with rules at other Archaeological Survey monuments in the region.

Tips for visiting Daulatabad Fort

1
Daulatabad Fort rewards a full half-day rather than a quick stop — the 750-step ascent alone takes 60–90 minutes at a moderate pace with rest breaks, and the summit's Chand Minar tower and palace ruins deserve another 30 minutes. Carry at least one litre of water per person; there are no reliable vendors past the base ticket counter. The fort sits directly on the road between Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Ellora, making it a natural midway stop for travellers doing both sites in one day — budget the fort for the morning before the Ellora caves get crowded in the afternoon. Footwear with real grip matters more here than at any other site in the area; the worn stone steps become genuinely slippery, and open sandals are a poor choice for the tunnel section.

How to reach Daulatabad Fort

The red star is Daulatabad Fort; the numbered pins are the 5 nearest places in our guides, each showing its rank in its city. Tap a pin for details.

Daulatabad, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, Maharashtra 431002Directions in Google Maps

From Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Airport (IXU)
₹350–₹500
16 km · 30 min
Prepaid taxi
From Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Railway Station (AWB)
₹300–₹450
15 km · 30 min
Auto-rickshaw, negotiated); MSRTC bus toward Ellora stops near the fort gate for approximately ₹30
From Ellora Caves
₹250–₹350
13 km · 20 min
Auto-rickshaw or shared taxi, negotiated

Nearest airport

From Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Airport (IXU)

16 km, approximately 30 minutes by road.

Nearest railway station

From Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Railway Station (AWB)

15 km, approximately 30 minutes.

Daulatabad Fort FAQs

How difficult is the climb up Daulatabad Fort?

Moderately strenuous. The ascent covers roughly 750 uneven stone steps and takes 60–90 minutes each way, including a pitch-dark tunnel section that requires a torch. It is not recommended for visitors with mobility limitations.

Why was Daulatabad Fort briefly the capital of the Delhi Sultanate?

Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq relocated the Delhi Sultanate's capital and population to Daulatabad in 1327 for strategic and administrative reasons, but reversed the decision by 1334 after the move proved logistically unworkable.

Can Daulatabad Fort be combined with a visit to Ellora Caves?

Yes. Daulatabad sits roughly 13 km from Ellora on the same road out of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and most day-trip itineraries visit the fort in the morning before continuing to Ellora in the afternoon.

What should visitors bring for the Daulatabad Fort climb?

A torch or phone light for the dark tunnel section, at least one litre of water per person, and closed shoes with real grip. There are no reliable vendors beyond the base ticket counter.

Compiled with AI assistance from official sources and public records, and published only after the checks in How we write these guides. Nobody from Traveliac has visited this place. Last updated 18 September 2026. How we rank and check places