Kumbhalgarh- A wonder- Longest wall in India

In the last week, I had written about the Terracotta Warriors in my blog post and there was a mention of Great Wall Of China in it. So this time I had thought of taking you to the Great wall Of China. But then I thought that let me first take you to The Great Wall Of India. Most of you won't be knowing about it.

The second longest wall in the world is in India and is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is about 90 km from Udaipur - The city of lakes in Rajasthan state of India. It is a wall built for protection, around the Fort Kumbhalgarh.

Kumbhalgarh Fort
📷 Girish Tilak

Fort Kumbhalgarh is located in Aravalli ranges at a height of 1100 meters. It is situated in Kumbhalgarh wild life sanctuary in Rajsmand district of Rajasthan. It's location and architecture made it one of the strongest forts of Mewar region. It's location made it nearly inaccessible and the hilly terrain makes it invincible.

It was built in 15th century by Rana Kumbh. Not only the fort but even the history of Mewar remembers his name as a warrior hero. He unified various small states in Rajasthan and bravely fought with invaders and various Muslim sultanates. His rule was from Ranthambor from Rajsthan to Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.

Maharana Kumbh
📷Commons Wikimedia.org

He has either built or reconstructed 32 forts in Mewar. He has also constructed Kirti Stambh or Vijaystambh in the Fort Chittor. It is a seven storied beautiful tower erected to commemorate the victory in the battle with Mahammad Khilji.

Kirtistambh built by Maharana Kumbh, Chittor garh.
📷Commons Wikimedia.org

Maharana Kumbh was a Veena ( a musical instrument) player and had a deep interest in music. He was well versed with Ved and Upnishads.

It is said that the Kumbhalgarh site was developed by a Jain prince in 2nd century. But afterwards it was neglected for many centuries in the dense forest. It was Maharana Kumbh could recognize the importance of it's strategic location and importance. So he built a fort on that location. The architect of the fort was Madan, a very well known architect in that period. The construction was going on from 1443- 1458.

At present it is the highest fort in Rajasthan. You can go by road either from Udaipur or from Jodhpur. Both these cities are worth visiting in your Rajasthan tour.

Visitor's vehicles are not allowed inside the fort. There are many gates throughout the vast expanse of the fort and they are known as Pols. So you will be seeing Hanuman Pol, Ram Pol etc.

View of the Fort From Parking lot
📷 Girish Tilak

Ram Pol

There is a residential area inside the fort. You can see many present day houses and buildings inside the fort. But you can't miss the beautiful old buildings which are scattered in the vast area.

Inside the fort

The fort is built on various hills using their natural contours. So at many places it's very steep climb. You can see the difference in levels of road in the above photograph as well.

There are many Hindu and Jain temples in the area. The number is believed to be more than 300!

Temple in the fort
📷 Girish Tilak

One of the Temples in the fort.

The Fort

View of the Kumbh Mahal from lower level

Beautiful walls of the fort.

From the upper level you can see the vastness of the fort as well as the long wall. Kumbhalgarh is known for the wall, the second longest wall in the world. It is 32- 36 kilometers long wall passing through the forest as well. You can take a complete tour by walking on the wall. But please take a guide with you as there are wild animals in the sanctuary. It will take at least two days to come back to the starting point.

View of the Fort and Wall from the upper level.

Fort, wall and the Aravalli ranges.

The Great Wall Of Kumbhalgarh
📷 Girish Tilak

The wall is so broad at some points that eight horses can walk side by side on it. The interesting fact is that the wall is not straight, but it turns as the hills turn. It is built on different hills and uses their original contours.

On the fort there are some sharp turns so that it will be difficult for enemy to conquer the fort. This fort could be conquered only once and that too, by the deceitful ways of Mugals. But they could not retain it and was taken back by the Rajputs. It surely has a history of many wars and battles and quest for the Power.

There are watch towers at many places on the wall. There are small openings in the wall from where archers can take aim on the enemy.

Watch Tower

The area on the fort is really very large so better to take a guide with you. Guides are available at the ticket counter near the parking area.

There are only walls on the fort, nothing inside the walls. All paintings and artifacts are moved to various museums and hotels.

Near the Pagada Pol is a distinguished place for which all Indians proudly remember this fort. It is the birth place of Maharana Pratap. Maharana Pratap resisted the Mugal Power, fought with Mugal King Akbar through out his life. The famous Haldi ghati battle was fought by Maharana Pratap.

Birthplace Of Maharana Pratap

This building is shown as birthplace of Maharana Pratap. There is one more legend attached to Kumbhalgarh. Panna dayi, a maid to Queen Karnavati and nursemaid of Uday singh (second) saved life of infant king Uday Singh second by sacrificing her son Chandan's life. Then king Uday Singh was brought secretly to Kumbhalgarh for safety. He was raised in Kumbhalgarh in disguise. Later he was crowned in Kumbhalgarh and his son Pratap Singh who later came to be known as Maharana Pratap was born in Kumbhalgarh Fort. There is one place named after Panna Dayi at Kumbhalgarh.

Badal Mahal

The topmost building Badal Mahal is the most recent building on the fort. It was built by the Raja Fateh Singh in 19th century. It has two separate wings, most probably male and female residential places and a passage connected with stairs to these wings.

The joining passage

View from Badal Mahal

Windy Window Of Badal Mahal
📷 Girish Tilak

View from the highest point on the fort is worth climbing all the stairs and steep roads!! They say that if the weather is clear, then we can see even the dessert from this point.

There is a light and sound show in the fort at sunset. Don't miss that. The entire fort is illuminated by lights for one hour after the show. It must be surely a sight for photographers! We could not see it, as we had to leave for Pushkar.

Though there are not any paintings and other artifacts in the fort, Kumbhalgarh is surely a must visit place for the Great wall, the beautiful architecture, Birthplace of Maharana Pratap and the scenery of Aravalli ranges.

The best time to visit Kumbhalgarh is from October to March. Even in the rainy season, it's green and beautiful everywhere, but the roads become slippery. The climb is really steep. So if you have any problem in climbing, it will be advisable if you take a walking stick with you. Don't miss it.

If you want to see most of the temples, then you will have to spare a complete day for Kumbhalgarh. Otherwise 3-4 hours will be sufficient.

Till you come very near to the fort, you won't able to see it. Due to it's special design and the curves of the road such gigantic structure can remain completely hidden. This is also a wonder! This is the reason why this Fort Kumbhalgarh had served as a safe and protective place for the Rajput Kings and always saved them.

#TheLongestWallInIndia #SecondLongestWallInWorld #RajputKingsLegends #GreatWarriorMaharanaPratap #WondersOfArchitecture #PlacesToSeeInRajasthan #WhatShouldYouKnowBeforeTravellingToRajasthan

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आदल्या संध्याकाळी भुरभुरत असलेल्या पावसाने हवेतला गारवा अजूनच वाढवला होता. इतक्या लहान तंबूमध्ये झोपण्याची पहिलीच वेळ होती. पण सुरुवातीचे दोन तास सोडले तर नंतरचे पाच तास चांगली झोप झाली. अगदी प्रसन्न जाग आली.काल एकदाच क्षणभर का होईना, मनात तरळून गेलेला,"आपण ट्रेक इथेच थांबवावा का?"ह्या विचाराचा आज कुठे मागमूसही उरला नव्हता. मनात होते, "इरादे अगर पक्के हो, तो डगमगाए कदम क्यु? हौसले बुलंद हो तो सहमा सा हो मन क्यु? मंज़िल अब दूर नहीं.. बस संभल के चलना, कभी न रुकना, हार ना मानना, बस्स .. चलते रहना।" - वृंदा टिळक आमच्या सगळ्याच कॅम्पसाईट्स भन्नाट जागांवर होत्या. आजची स्यालमीची कॅम्प साईट देखील त्याला अपवाद नव्हती. नजर पोचेल तिथपर्यंत फक्त पर्वत रांगा आणि जंगल. मानवी वस्तीची जवळपास काहीच चाहूल नाही. 📷Samrat Darda सगळ्यांचे आवरून वॉर्म अप करून आम्ही निघालो. आजचा सगळा रस्ता सुंदर असणार होता. काल इतके चढ उतार चढून उतरून आता सगळ्यांची चांगली तयारी झाली होती. शिवाय आज मी नीकॅप्स देखील घातल्या होत्या!! त्यामुळे समजा जरी आज रस्ता अवघड असला असता तरी काळजीचे काही कारण नव्हते....

ग्यानबोक पॅलेस, सेऊल, साऊथ कोरिया

राष्ट्रीय अस्मितेची चिन्हे परकीय आक्रमक पुसून टाकायचा प्रयत्न करतात, करतातच. जगभर अशी असंख्य उदाहरणे सापडतील. कारण त्याशिवाय त्यांना त्यांची सत्ता निर्माण करता येणार नसते. पण मग त्या त्या देशातील, देशावर प्रेम असणारे लोक काय करतात हे जाणून घ्यायचे असेल तर एक उदाहरण सांगते. आपल्याला सेऊल मधील ग्यानबोक पॅलेस याच्याविषयी वाचायला हवे. ------------- तसा पोचायला आम्हाला थोडा उशीरच झाला होता. शेवटची इंग्लिश गाईडेड टूर चुकते की काय अशी भीती वाटायला लागली होती. अनेक कोरियन युवक युवती राजवाड्याकडे जाताना दिसत होते. विशेष म्हणजे त्यांनी पारंपरिक कोरियन पोशाख घातले होते. फार छान दिसत होते ते सगळे. आम्ही गेलो होतो, कोरियाच्या सार्वभौमत्वाचे मानचिन्ह असलेल्या ग्यानबोक पॅलेसला ( Gyeongbok Palace ) भेट देण्यासाठी. तिकिटाच्या काउंटर जवळच राजवाड्याचे मुख्य प्रवेशद्वार आहे. त्याचे नाव आहे ग्वान्गमन गेट.( Gwanghwamun) . सेऊलच्या पुरातन इतिहासाचे प्रतीक असलेले हे प्रवेशद्वार १३९५ मध्ये बांधले गेले आहे. आज हे प्रवेशद्वार कोरियाची ओळख बनलेले आ...

Deoriatal - Chandrashila trek - Part 1 - Preparation

We dream… we dream about many things … but we strive to make only few of them a reality and leave the rest of the dreams as dreams only, to cherish them someday in our leisure time. A high altitude trek was one such dream of mine, always enthralling and yet a little daunting. So for years that dream remained a dream without becoming a reality. In November, my friend Dhanshree Jagtap did the Deoria Tal Chandrashila trek with Indiahikes. While chatting with her, I could get detailed information about this trek. She told that in March and April, rhododendron flowers will be blooming in this region … and the dormant dream was awakened once again. It is said that DeoriaTal is the lake where the famous Yaksha and Yudhishthira conversation had taken place. On the way to the summit, Tungnath is the highest temple of Shankara in the world, one of the Panch Kedars. It is said to have been built by the Pandavas. The summit point of the trek is Chandrashila. The place where Chandra did Tapas. It i...

Deoriatal Chandrashila trek - Part 2- - Sari to Deoriatal.

The next morning, the trek started with a steep climb!! At one point during the climb, we turned back and bade goodbye to the Sari base camp. It was not known whether we would successfully complete the trek or not. But I was sure that we will definitely come back with a life changing experience. Sari Base camp 📷 Supan Shah The road was paved with rough stones. But while climbing I was telling myself that these stones were better than walking in the slippery soil. 📷 Pawan Gowda You can guess how much the climb was, from this photo, but if you want to know how we were climbing, there is a video! विडिओ - सम्राट दर्डा https://youtube.com/shorts/CJuWDSml8XU?feature=share The initial, few meters part of the road passed through populated areas. But the houses there were very few and sparse. Green fields were visible everywhere. Farming was done on the mountain slopes, by step method. This greenery enlivened the entire slope. The view 📷 Supan Shah 📷 Samrat Darda After walking o...

Deoriatal Chandrashila trek - Part 3- Deoriatal to Syalmi

That was the third day of the trek. I was feeling contented. Yesterday's journey from Sari to Deoria was beautiful. Neither were my legs paining nor was I feeling tired. Today was surely going to be a tough day. I had read the description on the Indiahikes website, which gave a rough idea about the day. Today the distance was more than nine kilometers. But there were many peaks which will be visible on the way. We were going to pass through a dense forest, so there was a chance to watch variety of birds. So I was curious and excited about the journey. All of us, left from Deoriatal campsite and started our journey. Even though we had only been there for a day, we had already grown attached to the place. Even if it has only been a day, surely there is always attachment with the place.There was a fork in the forest path on the left side of the road to Deoriatal. We went that way. After walking for a while, most likely we were goi...

Deoriatal Chandrashila trek - Part 5(Last part)- Baniyakund - Tungnath- Chandrashila

📷Samrat Darda A beautiful photograph of the moon taken from Baniyakund campsite, April 15. That day should be Saptami or Ashtami of Shukla Paksha. Because Ram Navami was on 17th April. In the intense and tranquil darkness of the beautiful night, though the full moon day was still seven or eight days away, the moon was already bright. The shining moon, occasionally hiding behind the clouds, the curiosity of the summit in our minds.. it was a very unique night. There was going to be a two o'clock wakeup call tomorrow. we had to pack up, have breakfast, and be ready to leave for the day at three o'clock. I packed the essential things in the day pack and packed everything else in the bag to be offloaded. That bag was to kept in the main tent while leaving in the morning. Tomorrow, in few hours we would gain an altitude of 4000 ft. I closed my eyes to sleep, but even before my closed eyes, the images of the snow-capped peaks were floating. I woke up at quarter to two in ...

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