Bahawalpur – Palaces, City History and Collections

Bahawalpur tells its story through more than just palaces: a preserved city gate and collections of objects from the time of the former princely state offer their own perspectives. Locally, palaces are known as mahals; well-known examples include Noor Mahal, Gulzar Mahal, Shimla Khoti and Darbar Mahal. Architecture, former rule, and museum and library holdings offer different cultural perspectives. For planning your trip, this gives you a concrete choice of focus without reducing Bahawalpur to a single landmark.

Palace architecture: distinct styles

Noor Mahal is a palace built in Bahawalpur in 1872. Its architecture resembles an Italian château and is in the Neoclassical style. During British rule, the building belonged to the nawabs of the princely state of Bahawalpur. It is protected under the Punjab Special Premises (Preservation) Ordinance of 1985.

Darbar Mahal was built in 1905 in the Bahawalpur Cantonment by Nawab Bahawal Khan V as his residence. Its architecture combines local, Arab and European influences. The exterior façade features elaborate carvings, tracery and stucco work. A comparison therefore brings different features into focus: Noor Mahal is Neoclassical and resembles an Italian château, while Darbar Mahal combines several influences and has a richly detailed façade.

Farid Gate: a historic entrance

Farid Gate offers another facet of the city’s history. It was the only entrance through which the rulers of Bahawalpur entered the city. The gate has been preserved in Bahawalpur amid a busy market. Unlike the palaces, the focus here is not a residence but the former connection between the rulers and the city. Together, the palaces and the city gate offer different starting points for exploring Bahawalpur’s history.

Museums and libraries: collections from different periods

The Bahawalpur Museum and the Bahawalpur Library house medals, stamps and coins from the former state of Bahawalpur, as well as manuscripts, wood carvings, paintings on camel skin, and stone carvings from the Islamic and pre-Islamic periods. The Bahawalpur Museum also houses objects made from date palm leaves and examples of Gandhara art. These collections range from evidence of the former state to art and crafts from different periods.

The Bahawalpur Central Library, also known as the Sadiq Reading Room, was founded in 1924 during the rule of Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi. A 2023 report cites more than 150,000 books, rare Quran manuscripts and thousands of newspaper files. These include editions from the time of the former state of Bahawalpur; the report notes that many of these files are now closed. The library’s holdings thus complement the perspective offered by museum objects with books and historical newspaper records.

Planning your visit and looking for a holiday rental

One important restriction concerns the entire Bahawalgarh Palaces Complex: since 1966, it has been leased to the armed forces, houses government and military facilities, and is not open to the public. Do not plan the complex as a generally accessible visitor attraction.

When looking for a holiday rental in Bahawalpur, you can use your cultural focus as your first filter: palace architecture, city history around Farid Gate, or museum and library collections each offer a different emphasis. This lets you tailor your search to the topics that interest you in Bahawalpur and assess the accommodation in the context of your personal travel plans.

For the broader travel overview: Bahawalpur.