Red Fort: Exploring the Colorful Beauty of Delhi
Red Fort facts pages repeat one another, and the errors repeat with them. The British did not take the Koh-i-Noor from the fort. Nehru’s first flag-hoisting here was on 16 August 1947, not the 15th. The 255-acre figure quoted almost everywhere cannot be right for walls that run 2.41 km. This page gives 15 Red Fort facts with the source named where it matters, then lists what changed for visitors in 2025 and 2026.
Quick answer
The Red Fort (Lal Qila) is a Mughal palace-fortress in Old Delhi, built for Shah Jahan between 1638 and 1648 and named for its red sandstone walls. UNESCO listed the Red Fort Complex in 2007. Since a February 2026 ASI order the fort is reported to open daily, with entry from ₹35 online for Indian visitors.
Key facts at a glance
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Also called | Lal Qila; originally Qila-i-Mubarak, the blessed fort |
| Built | 1638 to 1648 under Shah Jahan (some sources give 1639 as the start) |
| Design credited to | Ustad Ahmad Lahori |
| Walls | Perimeter 2.41 km; 18 m high on the river side and 33 m on the city side |
| Area | UNESCO core zone of about 49 hectares (roughly 121 acres), covering the Red Fort and Salimgarh together |
| Status | UNESCO World Heritage Site (Red Fort Complex, 2007), managed by the ASI |
Red Fort facts about its origins and design
1. It was built to anchor a new capital
Shah Jahan moved his capital from Agra to Delhi and built the fort as the palace and citadel of Shahjahanabad, now Old Delhi. Work began in 1638 (1639 in some sources) and ended in 1648.
2. Its first name was Qila-i-Mubarak
The Mughals called it the Blessed Fort. Lal Qila is the Hindi and Urdu name, and it simply means Red Fort.
3. The colour story is more complicated than the name
The name comes from the red sandstone walls. Some sources describe the fort as originally red and white, with white lime plaster and marble on parts of it. Available sources do not establish the popular claim that the British repainted it red.
4. The design is credited to Ustad Ahmad Lahori
He is often called the architect of the Taj Mahal too, though careful sources say only that he may have designed it. A few sources add Ustad Hamid as a co-designer, so Ustad Ahmad Lahori alone is the safer attribution for the fort.
5. The 255-acre figure does not fit the walls
Many guides give 254.67 acres, and they also give a wall perimeter of 2.41 km. Both cannot be true. Even a perfect circle with a 2.41 km perimeter would enclose only about 46 hectares, roughly 114 acres, and the fort is not a circle. UNESCO’s core zone is about 49 hectares, roughly 121 acres, and it covers the Red Fort and Salimgarh together. Use the UNESCO figure.
6. The plan is an irregular octagon
The walls are asymmetrical because they wrap around the older Salimgarh Fort, built in 1546, which an arched bridge still links to the Red Fort. UNESCO treats the two as one complex.
7. The gate count depends on the source
Wikipedia and INTACH treat the Lahori and Delhi gates as the two main gateways. A PIB backgrounder lists four gates: Lahori, Delhi, Yamuna and Salimgarh. Other pages add the river-side Khizrabad or Water Gate. We found no source that says whether the Yamuna and Khizrabad gates are the same opening, so state the count with its source. The Lahori Gate faces Lahore and is the ceremonial entrance. The UNESCO dossier says the Delhi Gate was used mainly by soldiers and people working in the fort.
Red Fort facts from the Mughal court to 1947
8. Aurangzeb changed the approach to the gates
Aurangzeb added a barbican about 10.5 m high in front of each main gate, so the approach no longer ran straight in. Shah Jahan, then under house arrest, is said to have written to him that he had made the fort a bride and set a veil on it.
9. The two audience halls had different visitors
The Diwan-i-Aam, the Hall of Public Audience, handled petitions from commoners, including tax, inheritance and endowment disputes. The Diwan-i-Khas was for nobles and the royal family. A Persian couplet attributed to Amir Khusrow, saying that if paradise exists on earth it is here, is inscribed over its arches.
10. Only royalty could stay mounted at the drum house
Music was played at set times in the Naubat Khana. Everyone except royalty had to dismount while it played.
11. Nadir Shah took the Peacock Throne in 1739
Nadir Shah plundered Delhi in 1739 and carried off the Peacock Throne. The Koh-i-Noor reached him another way. The Encyclopaedia Iranica says he extorted it from the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah, and the turban-swap story belongs to that handover. The diamond went to Queen Victoria under Article 3 of the treaty that surrendered Punjab, ratified on 29 March 1849. The British did not take it from the fort.
12. The Marathas melted a silver ceiling in 1760
With Ahmad Shah Durrani’s army threatening Delhi, the Marathas took down the silver ceiling of the Diwan-i-Khas and melted it to pay for the defence. The ceiling there today is a wooden restoration.
13. The last Mughal emperor was tried inside the fort
Bahadur Shah Zafar left the fort in September 1857, was brought back, tried in 1858 and exiled to Rangoon on 7 October that year. The British then demolished most of the inner buildings and put up barracks.
14. INA officers were tried and held here
The first Red Fort trial of Indian National Army officers ran from November to December 1945. Chambers of the fort’s stepwell were used as a prison for officers including Shah Nawaz Khan, Prem Sahgal and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon.
15. Nehru raised the flag here on 16 August 1947
Hilal Ahmed’s account in ThePrint, drawn from Mountbatten’s papers, puts the main flag ceremony on 15 August at Princes Park near India Gate. Nehru hoisted the flag at the Red Fort and gave his first Independence Day speech there the next morning. Every Prime Minister since has spoken from the ramparts on 15 August, including at the 80th Independence Day in 2026.
Myths versus facts
Red Fort facts that older pages still get wrong
| Common claim | What the sources show |
|---|---|
| The British painted the fort red | The walls are red sandstone, and some surfaces were originally white. Available sources do not establish the repainting story |
| The British took the Koh-i-Noor from the fort | Nadir Shah got it from Muhammad Shah in 1739; it reached Queen Victoria under the 1849 Punjab treaty |
| The fort covers 255 acres | A 2.41 km perimeter cannot enclose that much; UNESCO’s core zone is about 49 hectares |
| Nehru raised the flag here on 15 August 1947 | The Red Fort hoisting and speech were on the morning of 16 August |
| The Diwan-i-Khas was the public hall | It was the Hall of Private Audience |
| The fort is closed on Mondays | An ASI order dated 13 February 2026 opened it daily; confirm before you travel |
| Ustad Ahmad Lahori designed the Taj Mahal | He may have; careful sources do not state it as fact |
Recent changes and visitor updates
- The army held much of the fort until 22 December 2003, when it passed to the ASI for restoration.
- Four museums in the British-era barracks opened in 2019, on the 1857 uprising, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Subhas Chandra Bose and the INA, and Indian art.
- An Indo-Italian study published in 2025, run by India’s Department of Science and Technology and Italy’s foreign ministry, found black crusts of gypsum and heavy metals such as lead, zinc, chromium and copper forming on the sandstone. PTI called it the first comprehensive study of pollution damage to the fort.
- A blast at the Red Fort on 10 November 2025 killed 15 people, according to PTI. Security around the complex has been heavy since.
- The fort closed from 5 to 14 December 2025 for a UNESCO committee session and reopened to visitors on 16 December.
- An ASI order of 13 February 2026 ended the Monday closure.
- The ASI closed the fort from 15 July to 15 August 2026 under an order dated 9 July, and suspended online booking for that period. A senior official said such orders are issued every year.
Entry fees and hours
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Indian, SAARC and BIMSTEC visitors | ₹35 online, ₹50 cash |
| Other foreign visitors | ₹550 online, ₹600 cash |
| Children | Free below 15 years |
| Hours | Business Today reported sunrise to 9 pm under the ASI order; some guides still list shorter hours |
Confirm the hours on the ASI e-ticketing site before you go. For routes, what to see inside and how to reach the fort, read our Red Fort complex guide (/blog/red-fort-complex/).
Frequently asked questions
Who built the Red Fort, and when?
Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built it as the citadel of his new capital, Shahjahanabad. Work began in 1638 (1639 in some sources) and finished in 1648. The design is credited to Ustad Ahmad Lahori, who is also linked to the Taj Mahal.
Why is it called the Red Fort?
The name comes from the red sandstone used for its walls. Lal Qila is the Hindi and Urdu form of the same name. UNESCO says the fort is named for its massive enclosing walls of red sandstone. Its original Mughal name was Qila-i-Mubarak.
Did the British paint the Red Fort red?
Available sources do not establish that. The walls are red sandstone, and some sources describe the fort as originally red and white, with white plaster and marble on parts of it. The colour history is more mixed than the popular story.
How big is the Red Fort?
Use UNESCO’s figure: a core zone of about 49 hectares, roughly 121 acres, covering the Red Fort and Salimgarh together. Guides often say 254.67 acres, but that cannot fit inside walls with a 2.41 km perimeter, which would hold at most about 114 acres even as a perfect circle.
How many gates does the Red Fort have?
It depends on the source. The Lahori and Delhi gates are the two main gateways. A PIB backgrounder lists four gates (Lahori, Delhi, Yamuna and Salimgarh), and other sources add the river-side Khizrabad or Water Gate. Visitors enter through the Lahori Gate.
Who designed the Red Fort?
The design is credited to Ustad Ahmad Lahori. Some sources add Ustad Hamid as a co-designer, which is why attributions vary. Lahori is often called the Taj Mahal’s architect too, but careful sources say only that he may have designed it.
Did the British take the Koh-i-Noor from the Red Fort?
No. Nadir Shah took the Peacock Throne in 1739, but according to the Encyclopaedia Iranica he got the Koh-i-Noor from the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah himself. The diamond reached Queen Victoria under the treaty that surrendered Punjab in 1849, long after it had left Delhi.
When did Nehru first hoist the flag at the Red Fort?
On the morning of 16 August 1947. The main flag ceremony on 15 August was at Princes Park near India Gate. Many pages put the Red Fort hoisting on 15 August, but accounts based on the Mountbatten papers place it a day later.
Who was tried at the Red Fort?
Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, was tried there in 1858 and exiled to Rangoon. After World War II the British also held the first INA trial at the fort, from November to December 1945. Both trials took place inside the fort’s walls.
Is the Red Fort open on Monday?
An ASI order dated 13 February 2026 ended the Monday closure, so the fort is reported to open daily. Older guides still list Monday as closed, and one guide says some museums may stay shut that day. Check the ASI e-ticketing site first.
Why is the Red Fort closed in July and August?
The ASI closes it each year ahead of Independence Day so security agencies can prepare for the Prime Minister’s address from the ramparts. In 2026 the closure ran from 15 July to 15 August. A senior ASI official said such orders are issued every year, so plan around a similar closure before 15 August 2027.
What is the Red Fort entry fee?
Indian, SAARC and BIMSTEC visitors pay ₹35 online or ₹50 in cash. Other foreign visitors pay ₹550 online or ₹600 in cash. Children below 15 enter free. The light and sound show is a separate ticket that is not included.
Next step
Before you quote any of these Red Fort facts, check the ASI e-ticketing site for the day’s hours. If you want a guide through the fort, the Delhi Tours Old Delhi heritage tour covers it along with Chandni Chowk and Jama Masjid; check the tour page for the current price. For the evening show, see the Red Fort light and sound show page (/red-fort-light-sound-show).
Last updated: 16 October 2026.
