The Chunar fort, located in the Vindhya Range of Mirzapur district is at a distance of around 45kms from Varanasi. The fort was established by the king of Ujjain, Maharaja Vikrmaditya to commemorate the stay of his brother Raja Bhartihari who had taken his Samadhi in alive stage. Earlier the fort was known as Charanadri. 

Chunar Fort, overlooking the Ganges, has had a succession of owners representing most of India's rulers over the last 500 years. It is said that at first it was under the possession of Mughal Dynasty Babar in 1525 AD. Then Sher Shah took it from Humayun after defeating him in 1540 and then in 1575 Akbar recaptured it for the Mughals and then it passed to the nawabs of Avadh in the 18th century. Finally in 1772 AD, it was captured by the British and used it as a warehouse of weapons and missiles. The tombstones of the British can be seen at this place. One can also find a stone umbrella inside the fort, which was built by King Sahadeo to commemorate his victory on 52 rulers. 

Chunar sandstone is very famous which has been used for centuries. Ashoka pillars is the best example, which was built with chunar sandstone.