A city on a rock
The plateau: narrow, rising about 180 metres above the plains of eastern Mewar, beside the Gambhiri and Berach rivers.
Among the largest forts in India: its walls enclose about 280 hectares.
A whole city inside: palaces, temples, towers, water tanks, gardens and the remains of whole neighbourhoods.
- Height
- About 180 m above the plains
- Area
- About 280 hectares, among India's largest
- Capital of Mewar
- For more than 800 years, until 1568
- UNESCO
- 2013, Hill Forts of Rajasthan
- Rivers
- Gambhiri and Berach
- What the name means: when Indians hear Chittor, they think first of courage and of loss.
- The first fort: tradition says a ruler of the Mori clan built it in the seventh century, and the Mewar ruler Bappa Rawal took it in the eighth.
- Mewar's seat: from then until 1568 it was the seat of the Guhila and later Sisodia rulers, the house that went on to found Udaipur.
- The town below: modern Chittorgarh spreads across the plains, a busy market and railway town. The fort above still feels apart, a place of wind, crows and stone.
- The six Hill Forts: UNESCO inscribed Chittorgarh in 2013 alongside Kumbhalgarh, Amber, Ranthambore, Gagron and Jaisalmer.
- A whole landscape: the listing recognises its walls, gates, water systems and religious buildings together.
- Monument by monument: our full guide to Chittorgarh Fort.
The climb through seven gates
The seven gates in order: Padan Pol, Bhairon Pol, Hanuman Pol, Ganesh Pol, Jorla Pol, Laxman Pol and finally Ram Pol, which opens into the palace area.
Why the zigzag: no attacker could charge straight up the hill, and each gate could be defended on its own.
- The climb
- About a kilometre, zigzag road
- First gate
- Padan Pol
- Last gate
- Ram Pol, into the palace area
- Etiquette
- Don't climb the memorials
- Look back: our driver stops at several gates, so you can see over the plains how the road was designed.
- The warriors' chhatris: small memorials between the gates honour those who died defending them.
- Jaimal and Patta: some memorials honour the defenders of the last siege of 1567 to 1568, who held the fort for Udai Singh II.
- Living memorials: local people still stop to touch them and leave flowers, and you'll often see red thread and coconuts at the gates.
- Please: don't climb on them for photographs.
The three sieges, told with care
Both jauhar and saka are remembered in Rajasthan as acts of extraordinary courage, and both are also tragedies. We find that the best way to visit is to listen, ask questions and leave room for silence.
Jauhar: the mass self-immolation of the women of a besieged fort, chosen rather than capture.
Saka: the final charge of the men, dressed in saffron, who rode out to fight to the death.
- First siege
- 1303, Alauddin Khalji
- Second siege
- 1535, Bahadur Shah of Gujarat
- Third siege
- October 1567 to February 1568, Akbar
- Padmavat written
- 1540, by Malik Muhammad Jayasi
- 1303: Alauddin Khalji, Sultan of Delhi, besieged Chittor for several months and took it. The ruler was Rawal Ratan Singh.
- Padmini in poetry: the story of his queen, Rani Padmini, and the sultan's desire for her was written down by the Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi in Padmavat in 1540, more than two centuries after the siege.
- What the chronicler says: Amir Khusrau, who accompanied the sultan, describes the capture but does not mention a queen. Historians treat Padmini as a figure of tradition and poetry.
- In Mewar: she is revered as entirely real, and our guides tell her story in that spirit. Read more in the story of Padmini.
- 1535: Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat, attacked during the troubled reign of the young Rana Vikramaditya.
- Rani Karnavati: the widow of Rana Sanga led the women in jauhar, while the men rode out in saka. The infant prince Udai Singh was taken to safety before the fort fell.
- The rakhi story: that Karnavati sent a rakhi to the emperor Humayun asking for help is much loved, but historians are less sure of it.
- 1567: in October the emperor Akbar camped below the fort. Udai Singh II had withdrawn to the hills on his council's advice, leaving the defence to Jaimal Rathore and Patta Sisodia.
- February 1568: after about four months, Jaimal was killed by a musket shot while repairing a breach. That night the women performed jauhar, and next morning the defenders rode out to die.
- The end of a capital: Akbar's troops took the fort, and a great many people sheltering inside were killed. The court of Mewar never returned.
- How the memories are told: our journal piece on Rani Padmini and Chittor.
The towers, palaces and temples
- Vijay Stambha
- Nine storeys, about 37 m, 15th century
- Kirti Stambha
- About 22 m, 12th century
- Padmini's palace
- Largely a 19th-century rebuild
- Getting around
- By car between monuments
Vijay Stambha, the tower of victory
Why it was built: Rana Kumbha raised it to celebrate his victory over Mahmud Khalji of Malwa in 1440. It rose through the middle decades of the fifteenth century.
Its size: nine storeys, about 37 metres.
- An encyclopedia in stone: carved inside and out with Hindu gods and goddesses.
- Climbing it: a narrow internal stair reaches the top, though access is sometimes closed.
- Best light: late afternoon, when the sandstone glows warm orange and it becomes the emblem of the whole fort.
Kirti Stambha, the tower of fame
Older and quieter: this slender Jain tower, about 22 metres tall, dates from the twelfth century.
- Who built it: inscriptions credit a Jain merchant named Jija.
- Dedicated to: Adinath, the first tirthankara, whose figures are carved on its sides. A Jain temple stands beside it.
- Why it matters: a reminder that Chittor's merchants built as grandly as its kings.
The palace of Rana Kumbha
What it is: the oldest and largest palace ruin on the plateau, near the Ram Pol.
- Inside: stables, courtyards, a temple and the remains of the women's quarters.
- Panna Dhai: tradition says this is where she saved the infant Udai Singh by giving up her own son.
- Best light: much of it is roofless, and the walls and arched doorways are most atmospheric in the low early-morning light.
Padmini's palace
What you see: a pale three-storey pavilion beside a large tank, with a smaller pavilion in the water.
- Its age: associated with Rani Padmini, but the present building is largely a nineteenth-century reconstruction.
- The mirror legend: guides say Alauddin Khalji was allowed to see Padmini only as a reflection. The mirror is already in Malik Muhammad Jayasi's poem Padmavat of 1540; the pool at the pavilion is a later local telling.
- Sunset: the reflections in the water need no legend.
Kalika Mata and Samadhishvar
Kalika Mata: dedicated to the goddess, thought to have begun as an early sun temple and later rededicated. Busiest during Navratri.
- Samadhishvar: a Shiva temple, older than most buildings around it, carved with dancers and guardian figures.
- Etiquette: both are working temples, so dress modestly and leave your shoes outside.
Gaumukh Kund
The name: a deep tank on the western edge, fed by a spring flowing from a stone carved as a cow's mouth, which is what gaumukh means.
- Chittor's lifeline: the plateau holds many tanks and reservoirs.
- What locals do: families come to feed the fish.
- The view: west over the plains, one of the best on the fort.
Fateh Prakash Palace
What it is: a later palace built for Maharana Fateh Singh, now a museum.
- The collection: sculpture, weapons and local crafts gathered from across the fort.
- Why go first: it is small, but seeing the finest carving up close helps you spot its companions still in place on the plateau.
Meera Bai, the princess who sang to Krishna
Her family: Meera Bai was born around 1498 into a Rathore Rajput family and grew up at Merta in Marwar.
A bride at Chittor: in 1516 she married Bhoj Raj, the crown prince of Mewar and son of Rana Sanga.
Widowed young: her husband died a few years later of wounds from battle.
- Born
- Around 1498, a Rathore of Merta
- Married
- 1516, to crown prince Bhoj Raj
- Later years
- Vrindavan and Dwarka, it is believed
- Her temple
- Beside the Kumbha Shyam temple
- Given to Krishna: devoted since childhood, in widowhood she gave herself to him entirely, singing and dancing in the temple in a way that scandalised the royal household.
- The stories: her in-laws tried to stop her, even to harm her, and she survived every attempt through her faith.
- Leaving Chittor: she is believed to have spent her last years in the Krishna pilgrimage towns of Vrindavan and Dwarka.
- What history knows: little firm evidence survives, and only some of the many songs sung in her name are thought to be truly hers.
- Her bhajans: songs of longing for Krishna, whom she called Giridhar Gopal, still sung across India on the radio, at weddings and in temples.
- In the fort: the Kumbha Shyam temple, from the time of Rana Kumbha, stands beside a smaller temple associated with Meera, where devotees come to sing.
- Follow her further: to Mathura and Vrindavan, where she is also remembered.
The rulers who made Chittor
Rana Hammir: after 1303, Mewar was lost for a generation. Hammir, of the Sisodia branch, won it back in the fourteenth century, and his descendants ruled Mewar from then on.
Rana Kumbha: in the fifteenth century he made Mewar a great power, built the Vijay Stambha and Kumbhalgarh, and supported the Jain temple at Ranakpur.
- Rana Hammir
- Won Mewar back, 14th century
- Rana Kumbha
- 15th century, built Vijay Stambha
- Rana Sanga
- Defeated at Khanwa, 1527
- Udai Singh II
- Founded Udaipur
- Maharana Pratap
- Fought to win Chittor back
- Rana Sanga: Kumbha's grandson united many Rajput houses against Babur, the first Mughal emperor, and was defeated at Khanwa in 1527. He is remembered for the many wounds he carried from earlier battles.
- Udai Singh II: Sanga's son, saved as a baby by Panna Dhai, ruled when Akbar besieged Chittor in 1567.
- The new capital: he had already begun Udaipur, and after Chittor fell it became the seat of Mewar.
- Maharana Pratap: his son spent his life trying to win back what was lost. It is said he vowed to live without luxury until Chittor was free.
- The fort returned: not in Pratap's lifetime. Under a peace with the Mughals in the early seventeenth century, it came back on condition that it would not be refortified.
- The families: our guide to the Rajput dynasties.
The town below, and the crafts nearby
The town: busy and unglamorous, with markets, cement works and a large railway junction. Its people are proud of the fort and welcoming, though few tourists stay long.
In the bazaar: local sweets, brassware, glass bangles and the bright tie-dye fabrics worn across Mewar.
Kavad of Bassi: in the village north-east of town, carpenters make kavad, painted wooden shrines with many folding doors.
- How a kavad works: a storyteller opens the doors one by one as he tells a story from the epics, so the box is a portable temple and a picture book at once.
- Toys too: some Bassi families also make painted wooden toys and figures.
- Dabu of Akola: in the villages around Akola, printers practise dabu, a mud-resist block printing in indigo and earthy colours.
- Buy from the makers: we arrange visits to working families and buy directly, not through middlemen.
- Menal: on the road east towards Bundi, medieval Shiva temples stand beside a gorge and a waterfall that runs in the monsoon.
- Why stop: one of the most beautiful and least known sites in this part of Rajasthan, it makes the drive on to Bundi a pleasure.
Where to stay near Chittorgarh
Castle Bijaipur
The building: a sixteenth-century castle in the village of Bijaipur, about an hour from Chittorgarh.
- Inside: a courtyard garden, a pool and rooms looking out over the Vindhyan hills.
- Who runs it: the family who own it. It is our favourite base for this part of Mewar.
- Also suits: travellers heading east to Bundi.
From Udaipur
A long day out: many guests stay in Udaipur and leave early to reach the fort in the morning light.
- What makes it work: a private chauffeur.
- Every option: our guide to luxury hotels near Chittorgarh, including heritage hotels in the town itself.
When to come, and how to get here
October to March: warm, bright days, pleasant for exploring the plateau on foot. December and January mornings are cool.
April to June: very hot, and the fort has little shade, so we start at opening time and finish by late morning.
July to September: the monsoon turns the plains green and fills the tanks. On a cloudy day the fort is at its most dramatic.
- Best months
- October to March
- Hot season
- April to June, start at opening
- Monsoon
- July to September
- From Udaipur
- About two hours by expressway
- To Bundi
- About three hours north-east
- Nearest airport
- Udaipur
- Navratri: in autumn the Kalika Mata temple is full of worshippers.
- More detail: our guide to the best time to visit Chittorgarh.
- Light and sound show: in the evenings it tells the story of the sieges and of Meera Bai. Like Kumbhalgarh's, it is dramatic and patriotic, and our guides translate. Check the language and timing with us on the day.
- From Udaipur: about two hours south-west by expressway. Udaipur's airport is the nearest.
- From Bundi: about three hours north-east, so Chittorgarh is a natural stop between Udaipur and Hadoti.
- By train: Chittorgarh is a major junction, with trains to Udaipur, Jaipur and Delhi.
- Castle Bijaipur: about an hour's drive from the fort, through farmland and villages.
- On the plateau: you'll need a car between monuments. Distances are long and the sun is strong.
One full day at Chittorgarh
- More detail: our piece on Chittorgarh in a day and our Chittorgarh itinerary.
- As part of a journey: Offbeat Rajasthan links Chittor with Bundi and Dungarpur.
Morning, the gates and the palaces
Early: leave Udaipur and arrive as the fort opens.
- The climb: drive up through the seven gates, stopping at the memorials.
- Soft light: walk through Rana Kumbha's palace, then the Meera and Kumbha Shyam temples while the courtyards are quiet.
Midday, the towers and the museum
- Late morning: the Vijay Stambha and Kirti Stambha, then the museum in Fateh Prakash Palace.
- Lunch: in the town, or a picnic we arrange in a shady spot.
Afternoon, the water palaces and the view
After the heat: Gaumukh Kund, Kalika Mata and Padmini's palace.
- Sunset: the western ramparts, as the sun goes down over the plains.
- Night: return to Udaipur, or continue to Castle Bijaipur.
Who Chittor is for
History lovers: anyone moved by history, who likes to walk and piece a story together from fragments.
Meera's listeners: anyone who has ever sung, or heard, one of her songs.
Photographers: the long views from the ramparts and the light on the two towers.
- Travellers of Indian descent: many tell us it was the most emotional day of their journey, because these are the names from their school textbooks and their grandparents' stories.
- Children: those who enjoy forts usually love the gates, the tanks and the scale of it, especially with a guide who brings the stories to life.
- Less suited to: travellers who want comfort and polish. The plateau is hot and exposed, the monuments are scattered and many ruined, and the town is a working place, not a resort.
- Short on time: with only a few days in Mewar, you may be happier with Udaipur's palaces, lakes and gardens.
- Three or four nights in the region: Chittor adds a depth nothing else in Mewar matches, and makes the Udaipur palaces easier to understand.
- How we fit it in: our Mewar Lakes and Temples journey.
What we tell guests before Chittor
Hire a good guide: without one, the fort is a series of ruins. With one, it becomes the most moving historical site in Rajasthan.
Places of grief: these sites hold real grief and pride for many Indians. Keep your voice low at the jauhar sites and memorials.
- Sun protection: carry water, a hat and sun cream. There is little shade on the plateau.
- Slip-off shoes: you will enter several working temples.
- Leave before dusk: unless you're staying for the show, the drive back to Udaipur is easier in daylight.
- Ask about Meera: hearing one of her songs inside the fort is unforgettable.
- Linger at Kirti Stambha: don't let anyone hurry you. It is older, quieter and, for many guests, the finest carving on the plateau.
