Architecture as pure fantasy
In the heart of Junagadh stands one of India’s most extraordinary buildings: the Mahabat Maqbara, the mausoleum of the Nawabs of Junagadh, completed in the late 19th century. It is architecture as fantasy — a dense, joyous fusion of Indo-Islamic, Gothic and European styles, bristling with onion domes, fluted columns, horseshoe arches, intricate stone tracery and, it is said, doors of silver.
Its most famous feature is unforgettable: minarets wrapped in winding external spiral staircases, found almost nowhere else in the world. The complex includes the adjoining Bahauddin Maqbara and a mosque, all equally ornate.
Dazzling at any hour and magical at sunset, the Maqbara is often overlooked by visitors hurrying to Girnar — which makes stumbling upon it all the more of a revelation. It is, quietly, one of Gujarat’s great architectural marvels.
The Maqbara’s domes and minarets.
A mausoleum that ignored every rule
A late-19th-century masterpiece.
The Mahabat Maqbara is built for the Nawabs of Junagadh.
Indo-Islamic, Gothic and European elements fuse exuberantly.
Winding external spiral staircases make it world-famous.
A dazzling, under-visited architectural marvel.
Reasons to make the time
Spiral minarets
The four minarets are wrapped in external spiral staircases — the feature photographs travel the world.
Onion domes
The skyline is a range of bulbous, ribbed domes, unlike anything else in Gujarat.
Silver doors
The doors are famously said to be of silver, and they look it.
Style fusion
Indo-Islamic, Gothic and European classical elements fuse without restraint.
Nawabi heritage
The complex holds the tombs of Junagadh's Nawabi line.
Sunset magic
In the late golden light the carved stone glows — the best hour by far.
What to look for inside
THE MAQBARASpiral minarets
The fantastical main tomb.
THE COMPLEXDomes & tracery
Ornate tombs and mosque.
How to spend an hour or two
Take it all in
Stand well back first and absorb the façade whole; the detail comes after.
Find the minarets
Walk to the spiral external stairs on the minarets — the signature of the building.
Look for silver
Look at the famous doors, said to be worked in silver.
Study the tracery
Trace the carved stonework — tracery, arches and ornament packed to the edges.
See the complex
Take in the adjoining Bahauddin maqbara and mosque, as striking as the main tomb.
Stay for sunset
Come back for golden hour, when the domes light up.
Ornate Indo-Gothic detail.
A riot of domes and spirals
The Mahabat Maqbara crams an astonishing density of ornament into one composition: bulbous onion domes, slender fluted columns, horseshoe and Gothic arches, French-influenced windows and lace-like stone tracery, reputedly finished with doors of silver.
Its signature is structural theatre — minarets encircled by external spiral staircases that wind upward in the open air, a flourish almost unique in India. The result feels less like a solemn tomb than a jewelled confection in stone, and rewards slow looking from every angle.
This is one of many places worth seeing here — the full guide to Junagadh has the rest.
For more in the same vein, see heritage sites across Gujarat.
External spiral minaret stairs
Onion domes & tracery
Indo-Islamic–Gothic fusion
Reputed silver doors
When to go
November to February is Junagadh's season — ideal for the maqbara and Girnar both.
The monsoon greens Girnar behind the town and the light turns dramatic.
April to June is hot; see the maqbara late in the day, and eat Kesar mangoes after.
⏰ Visit in late-afternoon light to make the carved domes and minarets glow, and walk all the way around it.
Timings & entry
- The exterior can be admired any time
- Interior access can be limited — check locally
- Loveliest in late-afternoon light
- Allow 30–45 minutes
- No fee to view the exterior
- Be respectful — it is a mausoleum
- Dress modestly near the mosque
- Walk around for every angle
Getting there
By Air
Keshod Airport (~40 km) is nearest.
By Rail
Junagadh station is close to the complex.
On Foot
In the city centre, near the railway area.
Shooting the Maqbara
DOMES & SPIRALS
A jewelled tomb against the sky
What to shoot
The spiral-staired minarets.
Best light
Late afternoon and sunset light.
Detail
Tracery, arches and the silver doors.
Composition
The domes ranged across the sky.
Know before you go
More to see close by
Damodar Kund
Vaishnav temple beside Damodar Kund
ARCHITECTUREUparkot Buddhist Caves
A pillared mosque within the old fort
PILGRIMAGEGirnar
~9,999 steps to cliff-top Jain & Hindu temples
CAVESKhapra Kodiya Caves
Buddhist rock-cut monastic caves
SACREDDurbar Hall Museum
A holy bathing tank at the foot of Girnar
LEGACYNarsinh Mehta no Choro
Where Gujarat’s poet-saint sang his bhajans
Where to eat near Mahabat Maqbara
THALIKathiawadi Thali
Rotla, kadhi, shaak and ghee-rich fare.
SNACKSGanthiya & farsan
Saurashtra's beloved fried snacks.
STREET FOODChaat & kachori
Bustling old-city bazaar bites.
Kesar mangoes
Junagadh's Girnar-grown Kesar mango is famed (summer).
Mahabat Maqbara FAQ
What is the Mahabat Maqbara?
The ornate late-nineteenth-century mausoleum complex of the Nawabs of Junagadh — one of India's most flamboyant and least-visited buildings.
What makes it famous?
Its minarets wrapped in winding external spiral staircases, and the sheer density of its Indo-Gothic ornament — domes, tracery and carved stone without pause.
When was it built?
Between about 1878 and 1892, under Nawab Mahabat Khan II and his successors.
Are the doors really silver?
They are famously said to be of silver, and they are among the complex's most photographed details.
Is there an entry fee?
There is no fee to view the exterior; interior access varies and is often closed.
When should I visit?
Late afternoon into golden hour, when the western light fires the carved stone.
Where is it?
In central Junagadh, near the railway station area, minutes from the Durbar Hall museum.
Is it crowded?
Often surprisingly quiet — most visitors head straight for Girnar and Uparkot, and many never learn the maqbara exists.
Related places across Gujarat
CRAFTPatola Looms
Months of work in a single ikat sari
Sarthana & Wetlands
◐ Morning · birdlife
HERITAGEVadali
An old town of saints & shrines
COASTUbharat & Dandi
Quiet, palm-lined beaches on the Arabian Sea
COLONIALDutch Garden
Atmospheric Dutch-era cemetery & gardens
Tarnetar Trinetreshwar
The Tarnetar temple of the great fair
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Published 24 June 2026 · Updated 24 August 2026