Alwar and Sariska

Alwar & Sariska, in northeastern Rajasthan, lies along the Aravalli hills and grew into a major Rajput principality in the late 18th century. The modern city was founded around 1770 by Kachwaha Rajput chief Pratap Singh, who carved out an independent state from Jaipur’s territories and built his capital beneath the hilltop Bala Qila (Alwar Fort). Under the British, Alwar became a princely state; after aligning with them in the early 1800s, it retained internal autonomy until merging into Rajasthan in 1948. The city developed palaces, lakes like Siliserh, and later a railway connection, while today it is known as a district HQ and gateway to Sariska. Sariska, west of Alwar, was once a royal hunting preserve of Alwar’s maharajas. Declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1955, it became a tiger reserve under Project Tiger in 1978 and a national park in 1982. The landscape holds medieval temples and the Kankwari Fort, where Aurangzeb is said to have imprisoned his brother Dara Shikoh. Sariska gained global attention when tigers vanished due to poaching in the early 2000s, but India’s first tiger-relocation programme successfully re-established a growing tiger population, making Alwar–Sariska a notable story of both Rajput heritage and modern conservation.