Photo: Department of Archaeology & Museums, Government of PakistanField guides / Punjab / Attock / Begum ki Sarai
Field guide · Heritage
Attock
Attock District · Punjab, Pakistan
Begum ki Sarai
A Mughal caravanserai beside Attock Fort, where travellers on the Grand Trunk Road rested before crossing the Indus. Closed to visitors.
Begum ki Sarai stands on the Punjab bank of the Indus next to Attock Fort, at the old crossing of the Grand Trunk Road. Built in the early Mughal period, it was one of a chain of sarais on the Lahore–Peshawar road, with Sarai Akbari, Rawat and Gor Khatri, where merchants, couriers and armies halted in safety. Who built it, and which Begum it is named after, is not recorded.
Why go
- ✦A Mughal caravanserai at the Indus crossing
- ✦Beside Attock Fort on the Grand Trunk Road
- ✦Three of its four corner bastions survive
- ✦A pavilion with some twenty pillar inscriptions
History
Caravanserais were built at intervals along the Grand Trunk Road, the imperial highway from Agra to Jalalabad, so that traders, couriers and armies could stop for the night behind walls. Begum ki Sarai served the crossing of the Indus at Attock, the river that Attock Fort was built to guard. It dates from the early Mughal period; no record gives the exact year, its builder, or the Begum of its name.
Historical Significance
One of the better-preserved Mughal serais on the Grand Trunk Road, and evidence of how the imperial highway was actually operated.
Architecture
The sarai is a square walled enclosure about 112 yards a side, with rooms and verandahs set round the courtyard. Three of its four octagonal corner bastions still stand. A domed corner tower has windows looking out over the river, and a pavilion (baradari) inside, sometimes mistaken for a mosque, carries about twenty inscriptions on its pillars. The eastern gateway has gone, and much of the wall was repaired in stone in the late 19th century.
Why Visit
Walk one full side to feel the scale, and find the join where Victorian stone repair meets Mughal brick.
How to Reach
On the left (Punjab) bank of the Indus beside Attock Fort, across the Attock Bridge. The sarai is closed to visitors because it lies next to the fort; it can be seen from outside.
Interesting Facts
- It was one of a chain of sarais on the Lahore–Peshawar road, with Sarai Akbari, Rawat and Gor Khatri
- Its builder, and the Begum it is named after, are not recorded
- The pavilion inside carries about twenty inscriptions on its pillars
Planning tip
Best Time to Visit, October to March.
Getting there, On the left (Punjab) bank of the Indus beside Attock Fort, across the Attock Bridge. The sarai is closed to visitors because it lies next to the fort; it can be seen from outside.
Allow, Fifteen to thirty minutes to see it from outside.
What to Do
Nearby
Straight-line distance from Begum ki Sarai, within 5 km.
