Jahaz Mahal is Mandu's postcard monument: a long, two-storey palace built between two artificial lakes in the Royal Enclave. Its balconies, chhatris, and open terraces are designed for air, water, and spectacle rather than defence.
The building was probably used as a pleasure palace by the Malwa sultans, and it still feels unusually light for a ruin of this size. Climb to the roof for the best sense of the design. In the monsoon, when the tanks hold water, the whole composition finally makes sense.