Baral Fort, Pallandri: Gulab Singh's Hill Fort

Baral Fort is a square Dogra military fort on a low rocky hill at Baral village, south of Pallandri in Sudhnoti district, Azad Kashmir. Gulab Singh built it between 1837 and 1839, straight after crushing the Sudhan revolt of 1837, to hold the hill country his troops had just retaken. The outer walls and corner towers still stand; the wooden floors and gate are gone. It is a protected site with no visitor facilities, best seen as a detour on the Pallandri to Kotli road rather than a day out on its own.

This guide covers why Baral Fort was built, what survives, how to find it, and what else to see in Sudhnoti on the same trip.

Why was Baral Fort built?

Sudhnoti is Sudhan country, and in the 19th century the Sudhan tribes were the hardest people in Poonch for the Sikh Empire to govern. After years of resistance, Ranjit Singh came in person in 1832 with a large army and the Sudhan leaders submitted. In 1837, with rumours of a Sikh defeat at Jamrud spreading, the chieftain Shams Khan and the sardars Sabz Ali Khan and Malli Khan rose again.

Gulab Singh, then the Sikh-appointed Raja of Jammu and later the first Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, put the revolt down with great brutality. Wikipedia's account, drawing on the Gulabnama and Muhammad Yusuf Saraf's history, lists Baral among the battle sites, alongside Pallandri and Mong. The AJK Tourism and Archaeology Department says the fort was built in 1837 to 1839 to strengthen his government against the Muslim struggle for freedom. In plain terms, it was a garrison post planted in the middle of a district that had just been reconquered. Our page on the Mung martyrs' memorial covers the revolt itself in more detail.

A later account describes it as built to guard the road between Rawalpindi and Kotli, which fits its position near today's Kotli to Pallandri road.

The archaeology department also records a local tradition that Muslims were buried alive beneath the front pillar when construction began. It is part of how the fort is remembered in Sudhnoti, and it explains why local people tend to see it as a symbol of Dogra rule rather than a source of pride.

What does Baral Fort look like?

The heritage record describes the fort as follows:

• Plan: square, on a low rocky hillock, originally two storeys high.
• Entrance: a multi-cusped arched gateway on the south side, opening into a square inner chamber that is partly damaged.
• Towers: four octagonal watchtowers, one at each corner, set on round bases.
• Water tank: a tank of dressed sandstone in the centre of the courtyard, presumably the garrison's water store.
• Walls: the fortification walls survive to a height of about 18 metres from ground level, according to the record.

The upper storey was carried on wooden beams and pillars, and the gate was wooden too. These have rotted or been taken away, so what you see now is a stone shell open to the sky.

What condition is it in today?

The fort is protected under the AJK Preservation and Protection of Antiquities Act, 1986, and is listed as one of the territory's heritage sites. Protection on paper has not meant conservation on the ground: the loss of the timber, the damaged inner chamber and the open interior all point to a structure that has been left to the weather. We found no record of restoration work, a caretaker, opening hours or a ticket. Assume it is an unstaffed ruin, and do not climb the walls or towers.

How do you get to Baral Fort?

Start from Pallandri, the district headquarters of Sudhnoti, which is about 97 km from Rawalpindi by the Kahuta and Azad Pattan road. Our Pallandri guide covers that drive and the town. From Pallandri, take the road south towards Kotli; the federal heritage record says the fort is reached from the Kotli to Pallandri road, via a link road to Baral village.

The two published distances (12 miles south, or about 26 km south-west) do not quite agree, and village link roads in Sudhnoti are narrow and steep, so allow more time than the distance suggests and set off early enough to be back on the main road before dark. Signal is patchy away from the main road, so download an offline map first and ask in Pallandri bazaar for directions to Baral village. A car with decent ground clearance is wise after rain.

Coming from the south, the same road connects to Kotli, so Baral can also be a stop between Kotli and Pallandri; our guide to places to visit in Kotli covers that end.

What else is there to see nearby?

• Rani Baoli (Balaspuri baoli) on the outskirts of Pallandri, a large Dogra-period stepwell of dressed stone with rooms and bathing chambers, built for the Rani of Balaspur.
• The old DC House in Pallandri, a stone building from 1915, now a government office.
• The Yadgar-e-Shuhada at Mong, north-west of Pallandri, the memorial to the Sudhan leaders killed in the same revolt that led to Baral Fort being built.
• Rawalakot and Banjosa Lake, about 64 km from Pallandri, where most visitors base themselves; see our places to visit in Rawalakot.

Is Baral Fort worth the detour?

It suits people with a real interest in Kashmir's Dogra and Sudhan history, and anyone driving between Kotli and Pallandri anyway. Seen alongside the Mong memorial, it tells both sides of 1837 in one afternoon: the fort the victors built and the place the defeated are remembered.

It is not a family outing. There are no facilities or information boards that we could confirm, and the walk up a rocky hillock to a roofless shell will not hold children's interest for long. If you have only one day in Poonch and want scenery, spend it around Rawalakot and Banjosa instead. For other forts in the territory, our guide to forts in Azad Kashmir compares them, and the experiences page lists more ways to see the region.

Is it safe to travel to Sudhnoti?

Pakistani travellers drive the Pallandri and Kotli roads regularly, and Sudhnoti is away from the Line of Control. Azad Kashmir as a whole saw its deadliest unrest in years during the 2026 Joint Awami Action Committee protests from June, with road blockades and long internet shutdowns, so check local news and current police advice before setting out. As of September 2026 the UK government advises against all but essential travel to Azad Kashmir outside the 10-mile LoC zone; overseas visitors should check their own government's advice, since travelling against it can void insurance.

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