The Fort Unchagaon

After the revolt of 1857 the British regime gave Unchagaon to Raja Gursahai Singh, a jat zamindar of Moradabad who had stayed loyal. On his death in 1898 the zamindari passed to his grandson Raja Karan Singh, who had no children, and in 1927 to his grand nephew Raja Surendra Pal Singh, then ten years old. The fort was completely renovated in 1933, when he married a daughter of Maharaja Kishan Singh of Bharatpur. It is run today as a hotel by Aspen.

The white facade of the Surya Mahal fronts 19 acres of mango groves at Unchagaon, 115 km from Delhi on National Highway 24. Rooms are divided between two buildings, the Fort House and the Collectors Court, and each one differs from the next. There is a billiards room with its trophies, a swimming pool, lawns and open sit out areas.

The Armory serves Indian and Continental food indoors. The Machan is the outdoor restaurant, used for evening barbecues. Off the estate there are bullock cart rides, jaggery site visits, pottery, walks through the orchards, and Gangetic dolphins on the river a quarter of an hour away.