A Royal Saga in Rural India

A stay at Fort Unchagaon is quite possibly the closest physical embodiment of what this magazine set out to achieve when it launched some 28 years ago. And should you choose to stay here, rest assured, you will, without a doubt, Discover India.

- Simon Clays

But, which India? For sure, it’s not the one proffering pillow menus at check-in or encyclopedic options for in-room dining to digest. To be honest, it’s not even the India with a dedicated concierge, a magnetic room key, television, or mini bar. Scary stuff, huh? Well, maybe for about 30 seconds until you realise that what Fort Unchagaon does have, in absolute spades, is timeless class, history, and juxtaposition. When these factors finally filter through your metro sapped, digitally disturbed synapsis and your senses start to drink in the serendipity of its nature, you’ll lose your heart to this fortressed folly.

For it is a folly; being eight parts palace and two parts thick-set, grey brick battlements that are more perimeter marker than serious defences. And, to be honest, these only make fleeting appearances, being largely shrouded by an army of electric pink bougainvillea. Two small blue cannon, that sit obediently on either side of the main gate, are the only other doff of a pith helmet towards any military intentions the fort might harbour. Still, it all goes to make your arrival feel that little shrapnel more regal.