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KUMBHALGARH
Built in the 15th century by Rana Kumbha of Chittaurgarh, Kumbhalgarh is Rajasthan's highest fort, and its most formidable. If its air is rife with medieval tales of intrigue and treachery, it is because its history is characterised by some of the pivotal points that characterised the Sisdia dynasty.

Kumbhalgarh is one of the finest examples of defensive fortification in Rajasthan. Kumbhalgarh is about 85 km from Udaipur. The Kumbhalgarh fort was the second most important fort of the Mewar kingdom after Chittorgarh. This fort is rising from a prominent ridge at a height of 1914 meters high from the sea level. The fort was built in 15th century AD by Rana Kumbha. The climate in Kumbhalgarh is temperate. In summers the temperature is about 42.6 degree Celsius and in winters it is about 11.6 degree Celsius. The best season to travel to Kumbhalgarh is from October to February. English, Hindi and Rajasthani are the common languages which are spoken here.

HISTORY
Udai Singh ascended the throne of Mewar with Kumbhalgarh as his residence and later established Udaipur-the beautiful lake city. Within the fort are many magnificent palaces and an array of ruined temples. The most picturesque of the palace is the ‘Badal Mahal’ or the palace of the cloud. The palace has got its name for being the highest of all the structures. It offers a superb bird’s eye view of the countryside surrounding the fort as well as of other ruins within the fort. The ancient ruins of the temples within the fort date back to the Mauryan period built during the reign of the grandson of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka who belonged to the Jai community. Most of the ruins in Kumbhalgarh are of the Jain temples of various periods.



Places to see

Kumbhalgarh Fort
Kumbhalgarh Fort Of the thirty-two forts that the great warriors King, Rana Kumbha built all over Mewar, the most spectacular was Kumbhalgarh. In many ways, in fact it is even more impressive than the Mewar citadel of Chittorgarh itself. Built high in the hills wests of Chittorgarh in the mid-15th century Kumbalgarh was called the "eye of Mewar" because of its strategic position in relation to the Kingdom's aggressive neighbours in Gujrat and Marwar. It was impregnable, having withstood several attacks from the armies of Gujrat, Malwa and the Mughals. Even Emperor Akbar after the conquest of mighty second gate.

Badal Mahal
At the citadel lies Badal Mahal with its beautiful apartments painted with delicate pastel-coloured murals in the 19th century. In these chambers you can see an ingenious "air conditioning" system with a series of ducts that draw cool air into the rooms and ventilate them from the bottom rather than from the top as conversation might dictate.

Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary
The 586 sq. km. Sanctuary supporting a rich variety of wildlife like the panther, sloth bear,wild boar, four horned antelope and scientifically bred crocodiles in the lake, are the major attractions.The sanctuary is also noted for flamingoes, cormorants, spoonbills and egrets usually seen in winter.