Ruins of valour: The forgotten Gorkha fort of Banasar

Towering over Banasar village in Solan district, the 200-year-old Gorkha fort remains a weathered sentinel, echoing tales of its glorious past. Built in the early 1800s by Amar Singh Thapa, the legendary Gorkha commander who ruled the hills between 1805 and 1815, the fort was once a formidable outpost that safeguarded the Himalayan frontiers.

From its commanding vantage point, the fortress offered a panoramic sweep of the plains below, allowing its defenders to spot and strike any invading force marching towards Shimla. Its architecture was compact yet ingenious: four watchtowers, vertical rifle slits etched into steep walls and sheer slopes that made enemy advances nearly impossible. Unlike the grand palaces of the Mughals and Rajputs, these forts were functional, austere and wholly military in spirit designed to reflect the grit of Gorkha warriors, renowned as some of the fiercest infantrymen in history.

What remains today is but a skeleton of its past grandeur — walls split by crevices, foundations exposed and wild vegetation creeping across its stones. Yet, even in decay, the fort speaks of resilience. Built of stone and bound with a unique mortar of clay, ground lentils and animal lard, “Gorkhali” as historians call it, the structure has defied centuries of neglect and the ravages of weather.

The Banasar fort was one among 12 strongholds constructed by the Gorkhas during their rule in Himachal Pradesh, others being Malaun, Subathu, Dhar, Arki, Jaithak, Sirmaur and Jutogh. All share a strikingly similar layout, suggesting a standard military design employed by the Nepalese in their northern conquests. These forts, compact and rectangular, stand as the Gorkhas’ only architectural legacy in India — spartan monuments of discipline, endurance and strategy.

Military historian Dr Anand K Sethi has long urged the state government, the Archaeological Survey of India and cultural bodies like INTACH to conserve these structures. For beyond their military relevance, they are living testaments of Himalayan heritage, offering immense potential for cultural tourism and trekking trails.

Today, the ruins lie silent under pine canopies, their stones echoing the battles once fought, their crumbling towers still pointing towards the skies. They are relics of an era when Amar Singh Thapa and his Gorkha warriors held sway over the hills before history shifted and the British claimed their place.