Literally known as ‘entrance’ or ‘gate’, Dakhil Darwaza in Malda is one of the oldest and the majestic architectural structure erected during the Sultanate Bengal. Built with small red bricks portraying terracotta work, Dakhil Darwaza located in Malda looks imposingly striking and one of its kind.
The establishment of the Darwaza can be traced back to Shahi Period in 1425 A.D. by Barbak Shah. This fascinating Darwaza or gateway was built with a purpose to provide access towards the walled city of Lakhnauti, the present day Gaur Castle in Malda.
Standing through ages, the glorious structure Dakhil Darwaza Malda , in fact, demonstrates the fondness of the Mughals towards the magnificent architectural establishments. Spell-bounding its beholders, the Dakhil Darwaza in Malda is also renowned as ‘Salami Darwaza’ owing to the fact that cannons were fired from here.
This ancient gateway to a fort is 21meters tall and 34.5 meters wide. The Darwaza has four corners, which are topped with towers that are 5-storey high. The massive entrance opens through the 20 meters docks encompassing the remnants of an age-old castle.
The entrance is built of bricks except for the piers. The dimension of the piers amid the doorways facing towards the arches are 102.5m by 22.5m. It consists of a path through the middle of the structure, which is 4.5 m wide. There are 2 guardrooms on each side of the corridor which have the dimension of 22.70m by 2.90m with 2 outlets leading outside. The height of the entrance was estimated to be 14.95m in which the entry arch stands to a height of 10.35m.
