The land of the royal tales...Chittorgarh

Right after missing our bus from Bundi for Chittorgarh, we boarded the one going to Kota. Waited for a couple of hours in Kota and finally got a bus for Chittor. We reached around 11 p.m. and took an auto rickshaw to the nearest hotel. We booked the same auto rickshaw driver for our full day Chittorgarh trip. We fixed the ride for a pickup from hotel to Chittor fort and back, sightseeing in the fort with guided tour (he was also our guide) and evening pickup and drop from hotel for the light and sound show at the fort. We paid him Rs. 1000 for the whole day.

The fort is one of the largest forts in Asia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The region and the fort of Chittor also called Mewar was ruled by Mewar dynasty in the 7th century. Later the fort was ruled by Parmar dynasty from 9th till the 13th century when Alauddin Khilji attacked the fort. The fort was then ruled by Rana Kumbha in the 15th century. Later it was attacked by Mughals. The fort's history boasts of the valour and sacrifices made by the great rulers (and their wives) of Chittor to save and serve their folks. The fort has seen numerous battles and was attacked several times. Now what remains is nothing but ruins. The famous personalities who have lived in this fort include Mauryan king Chitrangad (who is said to have built the fort and was called Chitrakut), Bappa Rawal, Ratan Singh, Rani Padmini, Rana Sanga, Raja Bhoj, Rani Mirabai, Rana Kumbha, Uday Singh (Udaipur was named after him and the legendary folklore of Panna Dai who replaced her son with Udai Singh to save his life and instead got her son got killed) and many more.

The famous sites of the fort include- seven gates of the fort (very strategically built called 'Pols'), Hill view of the city of Chittor, Kumbha Palace (built by Rana Kumbha and is the main palace, ticket Rs. 10; also the place where Mirabai lived, Rani Padmini committed Jouhar, Panna Dai replaced Udai Singh), Vijay Stambh (errected by Rana Kunbha after his victory over Mahmud Khilji, ticket Rs. 40 for the entire premise), Gaumukh (built near the Vijay Stambh in the same premise, main source of water and is a spring), Shiva Temple (inside the Vijay Stambh premise), Mirabai temple (inside the Vijay Stambh premise) , Kali temple, Jain temple- Kirti Stambh, Fateh Prakash Palace (museum, ticket Rs. 10), Padmini's Palace, Shiva Temple (three states/expressions of lord Shiva can be seen in the deity) and other small sites.