PICS: A tour of India's majestic palaces and forts

Rediff.com brings you these awesome pictures of forts and palaces from India.

People play in an open area near Leh Palace in Leh. The World Monuments Fund reported on its website that the Buddhist dominated district of Ladakh is in the watch list of 100 Most Endangered Sites; across the world.

The list intends to raise international attention to the challenges and threats that cultural heritage sites in Leh and adjoining areas face.

Photograph: Amit Gupta/Reuters

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A worker sweeps the street as a reflection of Hari Palace museum is seen in a puddle of rain water in Jammu.

Photograph: Amit Gupta/Reuters

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A general view of the Jal Mahal also known as Water Palace is seen in Jaipur.

The Jal Mahal was built by Sawai Pratap Singh in 1799 AD in the midst of the Man Sagar Lake and the lake was formed by constructing a dam between the two hills.

Photograph: Vijay Mathur/Reuters

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The old quarters of Srinagar city is seen through the window of Hari Parbat fort after it was opened to public on the World Heritage Day in Srinagar.

The Hari Parbat fort built by an Afghan governor Atta Mohammed Khan in 1808 AD and positioned on top of a hill is thrown open to the general public after a gap of 17  years of separatist rebellion in the Himalayan region, authorities said.

Photograph: Fayaz Kabli/Reuters

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A security personnel stands guard at the Jaisalmer fort at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. The Jaisalmer fort was built in 1156 AD by the Bhati Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal.

Photograph: Vijay Mathur/Reuters

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A labourer carries a ladder inside Hari Parbat fort after it was opened to public on the World Heritage Day in Srinagar.

The Hari Parbat fort built by an Afghan governor Atta Mohammed Khan in 1808 AD and positioned on top of a hill is thrown open to the general public after a gap of seventeen years of separatist rebellion in the Himalayan region, authorities said.

Photograph: Fayaz Kabli/Reuters

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A couple walks in front of the historic Red Fort amid dense fog on a cold winter morning in the old quarters of Delhi.

Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

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A man walks through the corridor of Sovabazar Rajbari (Palace) in Kolkata.

Photograph: Parth Sanyal/Reuters

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A Buddhist monk looks out the window of Leh Palace in Leh.

Photograph: Amit Gupta/Reuters

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A girl stands in the premises of the Mubarakh Mandi Palace in Jammu.

Hundreds of Indian Kashmir's monuments are dilapidated and crumbling, prompting authorities and restoration experts to step up efforts to save the restive Himalayan state's unique cultural heritage.

Photograph: Amit Gupta/Reuters

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A man sits inside his shop of Hukkas at the Meharangarh Fort at the historic town of Jodhpur.

The Meharangarh Fort was built by Rao Jodhaa in 1459 and it is situated about 400-feet above the city with 117-feet high walls that dominate the surrounding plains.

The parts of the palaces and buildings inside the fort complex are converted into museums.

Photograph: Vijay Mathur/Reuters

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A tourist takes pictures through a window of the Amber Fort in Jaipur.

The structure known as Amber Fort contains several spectacular buildings and is actually the palace built by the great conqueror Raja Man Singh I who ruled from 1590-1614 AD.

Photograph: Altaf Hussain/Reuters

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Tourists walk inside the Meharangarh Fort at the historic town of Jodhpur.

Photograph: Vijay Mathur/Reuters

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The Chittaurgarh Fort is illuminated at Chittaurgarh in Rajasthan.

The fort was initially built between the 5th and 8th century and there are several temples, reservoirs, and palaces inside the complex of the fort.

Photograph: Vijay Mathur/Reuters

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A musician plays a traditional instrument to entertain tourists inside the Jaisalmer fort at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.

The Jaisalmer fort was built in 1156 AD by the Bhati Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal.

Photograph: Krishnendu Halder/Reuters

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