Multan Fort no longer stands as a fort. What you can visit today, on the mound called Qila Kohna Qasim Bagh in the middle of the city, is a stretch of old wall and a gate, a public garden, a cricket stadium and two of Multan's great shrines, all sharing the raised ground the fort once enclosed. It is free to walk around and usually combined with a visit to the tombs on the same mound.
This guide separates the fort's own history from the shrines that now dominate the site, and covers what physically remains, the stadium built inside the walls, and the route up from the gate.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Site | Qila Kohna Qasim Bagh, central Multan |
| Fort walls built | 17th century, under the Mughal prince Murad Bakhsh, on a much older mound |
| Destroyed | Mostly in 1849, by British artillery during the Second Anglo-Sikh War |
| What remains | Sections of wall, a gate, the raised ground itself |
| On the mound today | Qasim Bagh gardens, Ibn-e-Qasim Bagh Stadium, the tombs of Shah Rukn-e-Alam and Bahauddin Zakariya |
| Entry | Free |
| Time needed | 30 to 45 minutes for the fort remains alone; two to three hours with both shrines |
A fort built on much older ground
The mound itself is far older than the fort that once stood on it, raised above the surrounding plain and separated from the old city by what was then the course of the Ravi River, which has since shifted away. Multan's fort in the form most accounts describe was rebuilt with brick walls in the 17th century under Murad Bakhsh, a son of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, though the site had carried fortifications long before that. Inside the walls stood a citadel with around 30 towers, enclosing a governor's palace and, notably, the Multan Sun Temple, one of the most famous Hindu temples in the region in the centuries before the fort's final destruction.
Contemporary accounts describe walls 40 to 70 feet high running for about 6,800 feet, roughly two kilometres, around the mound, with 46 bastions and four main gates, and a deep ditch and glacis in front of them. None of that scale is visible today; it survives only in written descriptions and old drawings.
The sieges that brought it down
The fort was fought over more than once. An 1818 siege, part of the Sikh conquest of Multan, badly damaged the citadel and its buildings with sustained artillery bombardment. The fort's final destruction came thirty years later: in 1848–49, during the Second Anglo-Sikh War, British forces besieged Multan again and stormed the fort on 2 January 1849, reducing most of the walls and the citadel to ruins. What was left standing afterwards was, for the most part, the two great shrines on the mound, which the attacking forces largely spared, and fragments of the outer wall and one gate.
What you can actually see today
Walking onto the mound now, the fort is present mostly as terrain rather than structure: a raised, walled enclosure with one surviving gate and stretches of old brick wall, most obviously along the edge nearest the old city. The bulk of the space inside is given over to the Qasim Bagh gardens, laid out on the former fort's footprint, and a modern viewing platform, the Damdama, which gives a wide view over Multan and is a useful place to get your bearings before heading further onto the mound.
The two shrines that dominate the skyline, the tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam and the shrine of Bahauddin Zakariya, are covered in our separate Shah Rukn-e-Alam tomb and Bahauddin Zakariya shrine guides, since they are working shrines with their own history and etiquette.
The stadium inside the walls
Inside the fort's old footprint is the Ibn-e-Qasim Bagh Stadium, also known locally as the Qila Kohna Qasim Bagh Stadium, a multi-purpose ground built in 1975 with a capacity of around 18,000. It has hosted one men's Test match, against the West Indies in December 1980, and one-day internationals through the 1980s and early 1990s, and it is now used mainly for Pakistan Premier League football and domestic cricket rather than international fixtures. Unless there is a match on, it is not a visitor attraction in its own right, but its presence inside the fort walls is a reminder of how thoroughly the site's original military purpose has been replaced by civic and sporting use.
A walking route from the gate to the shrines
- Enter through the surviving gate on the old city side of the mound, where the remaining wall sections are most visible.
- Walk up onto the Qasim Bagh gardens and take in the Damdama viewpoint for an overview of the city before going further.
- Head to Shah Rukn-e-Alam's tomb at the south-western end of the mound, the more imposing of the two shrines.
- Continue to Bahauddin Zakariya's shrine at the opposite end, past the ruins of the Prahladpuri temple in between.
- Finish back at the gate, or continue down into the walled city's bazaars, which sit just below the mound.
Comfortable, flat shoes help, since the paths are uneven brick in places, and there is little shade on the mound itself.
Is the fort worth visiting on its own?
Not really, and that is worth saying plainly. If you are coming specifically to see a fort, the physical remains are modest: a gate, some wall, and a lot of open ground. What makes the visit worthwhile is the combination with the two shrines and the view from the Damdama. Treat Multan Fort as the setting for the shrines rather than a destination in its own right.
For the fuller picture of what else the mound and the walled city below it offer, our guide to places to visit in Multan sets the fort in context alongside the bazaars, Ghanta Ghar and the other shrines across the city.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an entry fee for Multan Fort?
No. The site, including the Qasim Bagh gardens and the shrines on the mound, is free to enter.
How much of the original Multan Fort still stands?
Very little of the fort structure itself. Most of the walls and the citadel were destroyed by British artillery in 1848–49, leaving one gate, sections of wall and the raised mound, now occupied mainly by gardens, a stadium and two shrines.
What is the stadium inside Multan Fort called?
The Ibn-e-Qasim Bagh Stadium, built in 1975, sometimes referred to locally as the Qila Kohna Qasim Bagh Stadium. It is used mainly for domestic cricket and football.
How long does it take to see Multan Fort?
Around 30 to 45 minutes for the fort remains and the Damdama viewpoint alone. Most visitors combine it with both shrines on the mound, which takes two to three hours in total.
Can I visit the fort and the shrines in the same trip?
Yes, and most people do. The gate, walls, gardens and both major shrines are all on the same raised ground, a short walk apart.
