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Kumbhalgarh
City Tour Guide |
Kumbhalgarh (Kumbhalmer) is a Merwar fortress in
the Rajsamand District of Rajasthan state in
western India. The fort has perimeter walls that
extend 36 kilometres in length, claimed to be
the longest in the world after the Great Wall of
China. Over 360 temples are within the fort, 300
ancient Jain and the rest Hindu. The vista from
the palace top typically extends tens of
kilometers into the Aravalli Range. Built during
the course of the 15th century AD, and enlarged
through the 1800s, it is now accessible to the
general public as a museum.
Kumbhalgarh is also a birthplace of Maharana
Pratap, the great king and warrior of Mewar.
According to legend the Maharana of Kumbhalgarh
tried so many times to build the wall of the
fort but each time failed to do so. They
consulted a local pilgrim about their
construction problems. The pilgrim advised that
he be beheaded and after cutting his head to
build a temple where the head should fall, and
to build the wall and the fort where the rest of
his body lay. Following his advice, they succeed
in building the world's second largest wall. |
Kumbhalgarh is the
second most important bastion in the Mewar region,
after Chittorgarh. Where it now stands, was once the
site of an ancient citadel dating back to the 2nd
century AD. That citadel belonged to a Jain
descendant of India's Mauryan emperors. Rana Kumbha
founded the fort of Kumbhalgarh in the 15th century.
Kumbhalgarh in Rajasthan, India is one of the few
forts in India that remain unconquered till date.
One of the reasons behind this is the
inaccessibility and hostile topography of the fort.
Maharana Fateh Singh got the fort renovated in the
19th century.
The fort provided refuge to the rulers of Mewar in
the times of conflict, especially Udai, the baby
king of Mewar. It is also the birthplace of Maharana
Pratap, a legendary King of Mewar. The fort was made
in such a way to protect it against the enemy
forces. Encircling the fort is a 36 km long wall,
with width thick enough to accommodate eight horses
abreast. A self-sufficient fort, Kumbhalgarh was
built with almost everything within its premises,
with a view to endure a long siege. A number of
palaces as well as temples inside the fort add to
its appeal. Only once in its lifetime, the fort fell
to the combined Mughal and Amber armies, that to
because of a scarcity of drinking water.
Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary
Spread over an area of 578 sq km, the Kumbhalgarh
wildlife sanctuary is home to a wide variety of
wildlife. Wolf, leopards, sloth bear, hyena, jackal,
jungle cat, nilgai, four horned antelope, chinkara,
grey jungle fowl and a number of other animals
inhabit this sanctuary. A birds watcher's paradise,
the sanctuary serves as a habitat of peacocks,
doves, red spur owls, parakeets, golden oriole, gray
pigeons, bulbul, white breasted kingfisher, etc.. |
