Rohtas is a fort built with a grudge. Sher Shah Suri, the Afghan ruler who drove the Mughal emperor Humayun out of India in the 1540s, ordered it to be raised in the Salt Range foothills, partly to command the road to Kabul and partly to keep the Gakhar tribe of the region in check. The Gakhars refused to cooperate with him, and the fort became a standing rebuke. Work began in 1541 and continued for years, though it was never fully completed, and Sher Shah died in 1545, before he could see his dream finished.
The scale is astonishing. A wall of roughly four kilometres, up to ten or so metres thick in places, winds along the ridge, with twelve main gates and dozens of bastions, in rough, honey-coloured sandstone. The Sohail Gate, with its carved stonework and Quranic inscriptions, is the most handsome, and the Langar Khani Gate and Khwas Khani Gate are also impressive. The fort was designed more to be a mighty statement than a practical garrison, and it was apparently never taken by force. The Mughals under Humayun returned to power in 1555, and the fort's role faded. UNESCO listed it in 1997.
The surroundings are dry, rocky and quiet, a landscape of ravines, scrub and low hills with the Kahan river valley below. There is not much shade, so the walk around the walls is hot work, and the views over the plain are wide. Wild flowers appear after spring rain. A small village sits at the foot of the fort, with a tea stall, and the people are curious and friendly.
The riding is straightforward, with the Grand Trunk Road and the roads from Jhelum, about fourteen kilometres away, in decent condition, though crowded with trucks and buses. The last stretch is narrow and sometimes rough, and summers are severely hot, so go in winter or spring. In the monsoon the ravines can flood.
Jhelum has fuel, banks and plenty of places to eat, and you should fill up there. Take water, a hat and sun protection, since the fort offers little shade.
Allow at least two hours to see the main gates and walls, and aim for the late afternoon, when the light on the stone turns warm and the heat eases.