Why one fort means so much
History, legend and devotion run together on this rock, and the best guides know which is which, and tell you.
Eight hundred years of rule: this rock was the seat of the rulers of Mewar, first the Guhilas and then their Sisodia branch, whose descendants founded Udaipur.
Three sieges: by Alauddin Khalji in 1303, by Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in 1535, and by the Mughal emperor Akbar in the winter of 1567 to 1568.
- Built
- An early fort traditionally of the 7th century
- Built by
- The Mori clan by tradition; then the Guhilas and Sisodias
- Open
- Daytime; we confirm timings on the day
- Allow
- A full day, or an afternoon and a morning
- Best time
- Late afternoon and early morning; October to March
- Photography
- Welcome at monuments; ask inside temples
- Getting there
- About two hours from Udaipur; a car on the plateau
- What the stories say: each time, the women of the fort chose death by fire over capture, and the men rode out in saffron to die.
- After Akbar: the court never came back. Chittor became a memory, and memories in Rajasthan are kept with great care.
- How we tell it: not as an adventure story, and we ask guests not to treat it as one. Local people lower their voices in places, and still leave flowers at memorials.
- Not only about death: this is the fort of Rana Kumbha, the scholar-king who raised the Vijay Stambha, and of Meera Bai, whose songs to Krishna are sung across India.
- A whole city: Jain towers built by merchants, temples older than the sieges and the ruins of streets and houses.
- The wider story: our page on Chittorgarh covers the town and the sieges. This page takes you round the fort itself.
- Bhim's tank: some people in Chittor say the fort was first raised by Bhim, the mighty Pandava hero of the Mahabharata, and point to a tank his strength is said to have opened.
- The early rulers: tradition says a ruler of the Mori clan built an early fort here in the seventh century, and that Bappa Rawal, founder of Mewar's ruling line, took it in the eighth.
A city on a rock, kept alive by water
The plateau: long, narrow and of hard rock, rising above the plains of eastern Mewar.
The walls: they follow the edge of the cliffs all the way round.
Inside: palaces, temples, towers, gardens, fields and the remains of houses where thousands once lived.
- Area
- About 280 hectares
- Height
- About 180 metres above the plains
- Rivers
- Gambhiri and Berach
- Greatest tank
- Gaumukh, spring-fed
- UNESCO
- 2013, Hill Forts of Rajasthan
- A ship and a town: from the plains it looks like a long grey ship. From the top you realise it is a town in the sky.
- The answer is water: the plateau was once dotted with dozens of tanks, wells and reservoirs, cut into the rock or built up with stone, storing the monsoon for the dry months.
- Still holding water: many remain, and some hold water all year, from the large tank beside Padmini's palace to small pools hidden among the ruins.
- Why sieges were long: with water, grain and stout walls, the fort could hold out against an army for a very long time.
- How they ended: all three great sieges ended not because the water ran out, but because the walls were breached.
- Its UNESCO sisters: Kumbhalgarh, Amber, Ranthambore, Gagron and Jaisalmer. UNESCO recognised the walls, gates, water systems and sacred buildings together.
- Compare them: our journal on the UNESCO forts of Rajasthan.
The ascent through seven gates
Jorla Pol: really two gates joined together, its upper arch running into the base of the next.
Defence by design: each gate could be held on its own, and each turn in the road exposed an attacker's flank to the defenders above.
Stop and look back: our driver pauses at several gates so you can see how the road was designed.
- Bottom
- Padan Pol
- Then
- Bhairon Pol, Hanuman Pol, Ganesh Pol
- Double gate
- Jorla Pol
- Then
- Laxman Pol
- Main gate
- Ram Pol, onto the plateau
- The chhatris: small domed memorials between the gates to warriors who fell in the last siege.
- Jaimal and Kalla: tradition says that after Jaimal Rathore, the fort's commander, was wounded in the leg, his kinsman Kalla Rathore carried him into battle on his shoulders.
- Four arms, two swords each: the two men fought as one, and both died near the gates. Kalla is still worshipped as a folk hero in parts of Rajasthan.
- Patta's memorial: near Ram Pol, associated with Patta Sisodia, the young commander who fought beside Jaimal and died in the final charge.
- Akbar's tribute: it is recorded that after the siege he set up statues of Jaimal and Patta on stone elephants at a gate of his fort at Agra.
- One word for courage: in Mewar the two names are always said together, Jaimal-Patta.
Walking the plateau, monument by monument
The palace of Rana Kumbha
Where: just beyond Ram Pol, the largest palace ruin on the plateau, named after Rana Kumbha, who ruled Mewar in the fifteenth century.
Inside: courtyards, stables for elephants and horses, a small Shiva temple and the remains of the women's quarters.
- Meera Bai: tradition says she lived here as a bride.
- Panna Dhai: here, tradition says, the nurse of the infant prince Udai Singh saved him from the usurper Banbir by putting her own sleeping son in his place.
- When: early morning, with low light through the roofless arches, it is the most atmospheric place on the fort.
Nau Lakha Bhandar and Shringar Chauri
The treasury: the ruins of the Nau Lakha Bhandar, whose name suggests nine hundred thousand coins.
- The Jain shrine: close by, the Shringar Chauri, small and finely carved, of the mid-fifteenth century, with a pillared pavilion inside.
- Don't walk past: it is easy to miss.
Fateh Prakash Palace and the museum
The palace: built in the time of Maharana Fateh Singh, who ruled Mewar from 1884 to 1930.
- The museum: sculpture, weapons and local crafts, much of it gathered from across the plateau.
- Why first: half an hour here makes it easier to spot the carved pieces' companions still in place on the temples.
The Kumbha Shyam and Meera temples
Two temples, one compound: the larger Kumbha Shyam temple, from Rana Kumbha's time in the fifteenth century, in the tall-spired north Indian style, carved with gods and dancers.
- Meera's temple: the smaller one is associated with Meera Bai, who came to Chittor in 1516 as the bride of Bhoj Raj, son of Rana Sanga.
- Still sung: devotees come to sing her songs to Krishna here.
- Manners: shoes come off at the gate.
Vijay Stambha, the tower of victory
Why it stands: Rana Kumbha raised it to celebrate his victory over Mahmud Khalji of Malwa in 1440.
Size: nine storeys, about 37 metres.
- The carving: every surface, inside and out, shows Hindu gods, goddesses and scenes, many labelled with their names.
- The stair: narrow and inside, though access is sometimes closed.
- An emblem: of the fort and of Rajasthan's sense of itself. It has its own section below.
The Samadhishvar temple and the Mahasati ground
The temple: a Shiva temple older than most buildings around it, carved with dancers, musicians and guardian figures.
- Inside: a great three-faced image of Shiva.
- The open ground: tradition associates it with the jauhar of the fort's women and the cremation of its royal dead.
- More than one site: different guides point to several places connected with the sieges. Keep your voice low here.
Gaumukh Kund
The name: a spring flows from a stone carved as the mouth of a cow, which is what gaumukh means.
- Its role: the fort's most reliable water through the sieges.
- Today: local families feed the fish, pilgrims bathe, and the view west over the plains is one of the finest on the plateau.
- Take care: the steps down the cliff edge are steep.
Padmini's palace
The setting: a pale three-storey pavilion beside a large tank, with a smaller pavilion standing in the water.
- The association: Rani Padmini, whose story we tell below as Mewar tells it, as tradition.
- The building: largely a nineteenth-century reconstruction.
- When: late afternoon, when its reflection in the still water is lovely. One of the calmest corners of the fort.
Kalika Mata temple
Its past: thought to have begun as an early temple to the sun and been rededicated to the goddess Kali after it was damaged.
- A working temple: busiest during Navratri, full of worshippers and lamps.
- Manners: dress modestly and leave your shoes outside.
Suraj Pol and the eastern wall
The gate of the sun: it opens towards the sunrise on the eastern side.
- The walls: among the best preserved, with a wide, quiet view east over the fields towards the hills of Hadoti.
- A midday stop: for water and shade.
Kirti Stambha and the Jain temple
The tower of fame: the older and slenderer tower, about 22 metres tall, from the twelfth century.
Its builder: credited in inscriptions to Jija, a Jain merchant.
- Its dedication: Adinath, the first Jain tirthankara, a teacher who showed the path to liberation, whose figures are carved on its sides.
- Beside it: a Jain temple.
- Our guests' verdict: few visitors linger, and many think it the finest carving on the fort.
The palace of Ratan Singh and the northern tank
Where: in the north of the plateau, beside a large tank.
- Whose: associated with Rana Ratan Singh II, who ruled briefly in the early sixteenth century.
- Don't confuse him: with Rawal Ratan Singh, the ruler of 1303 and the husband of Padmini in the old story.
- Why go: ruined, but peaceful by the water, and in winter the tank draws birds.
Reading the tower of victory
Rana Kumbha: ruled Mewar from the 1430s to 1468, one of the most remarkable kings of his age.
Soldier and builder: he built forts including Kumbhalgarh, and was patron of temples such as the great Jain temple at Ranakpur.
Scholar: of music and literature.
- Raised by
- Rana Kumbha
- Victory
- Over Mahmud Khalji of Malwa, 1440
- Height
- Nine storeys, about 37 metres
- Builders
- Sutradhar masons of western India
- Dome
- Repaired in the 19th century
- The masons: of the old sutradhar tradition, working from architectural texts handed down through their families. It took years to complete.
- The structure: a high plinth, nine storeys and a domed top, with balconies and windows on each storey to light the narrow stair.
- The gods: Vishnu in many forms, Shiva, Brahma, the goddesses, the guardians of the directions, rivers personified as women, and scenes from the epics, many labelled in old script.
- An encyclopedia in stone: our guides call it that for the gods of fifteenth-century Mewar, and it is barely an exaggeration.
- Weathering: lightning damaged the upper part over the centuries.
- Its older rival: the Kirti Stambha, the Jain tower of fame, is three centuries older, smaller and more delicate.
- Two faiths: Kumbha's tower answers it in scale and confidence. Together they show Hindu kings and Jain merchants building side by side.
The stories, and how we tell them
The legend of Padmini: in the version every guide tells, she was the beautiful queen of Rawal Ratan Singh, and Alauddin Khalji besieged Chittor in 1303 because he desired her.
The mirror: allowed to see her only as a reflection in water or a mirror, the sultan took the king prisoner by treachery.
The palanquins: he was tricked in turn when palanquins said to carry Padmini and her maids proved full of warriors. In the end the fort fell, and Padmini led the women into the fire.
- 1303
- Alauddin Khalji takes the fort
- 1535
- Bahadur Shah of Gujarat; Rani Karnavati
- 1540
- Jayasi writes Padmavat
- October 1567
- Akbar camps below the fort
- February 1568
- Jaimal killed; the fort falls
- Where the story comes from: first written down by the Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi in his poem Padmavat in 1540, more than two centuries after the siege.
- The eyewitness: Amir Khusrau, who was with the sultan in 1303, describes the capture of the fort but does not mention a queen.
- So: historians treat Padmini as a figure of poetry and tradition. In Mewar she is revered as real, and our guides tell her story in that spirit.
- Read more: our journal pieces on the story of Padmini and Rani Padmini and Chittor.
- The rakhi of 1535: Rani Karnavati, widow of Rana Sanga, is said to have sent a rakhi, the thread a sister ties on a brother's wrist, to Humayun asking for help. Historians are less sure of it.
- More certain: the infant prince Udai Singh was taken to safety before the fort fell.
- Panna Dhai and Banbir: her sacrifice belongs to the troubled years that followed. Banbir, it is said, also built the Tulja Bhavani temple on the plateau.
- The best-recorded siege: Udai Singh II had withdrawn to the hills, leaving the defence to Jaimal and Patta. After about four months Jaimal was killed by a musket shot while repairing a breach.
- After the fall: a great many people sheltering inside were killed, and Mewar's court made Udaipur its capital.
- Maharana Pratap: spent his life fighting to win back what was lost. Our journal on Maharana Pratap and Haldighati tells his story.
The best hours and the best season
Afternoon visit: spend the last two hours of light at the Vijay Stambha, Padmini's palace and Gaumukh, and watch the sun go down from the western ramparts.
Morning visit: stay nearby, then return at opening time for Rana Kumbha's palace, the Meera temple and the Kirti Stambha while the air is cool and the plateau is nearly empty.
- Ideal
- Late afternoon, then the next early morning
- Best season
- October to March
- Cool mornings
- December and January
- Very hot
- April to June
- Monsoon
- July to September, most dramatic
- Navratri
- Autumn, Kalika Mata full of lamps
- Only one day: start at opening time, rest through the middle of the day, and finish on the ramparts at sunset.
- Winter: warm, bright days. Bring a light jacket for December and January mornings.
- Summer: little shade, so we start at opening time and finish by late morning.
- Monsoon: the plains turn green, the tanks fill and storm clouds build over the fort. On a cloudy day Chittor is at its most dramatic.
- Light and sound show: in the evening, telling the story of the sieges and of Meera Bai, dramatic and patriotic. Our guides translate. Timings and languages vary, so we confirm on the day.
- More: our guide to the best time to visit Chittorgarh.
How to visit well
Hire a good guide: without one, the fort is a series of ruins. With one, it is the most moving historical site in Rajasthan. Ours know the stories, the history and the difference between them.
A car: the monuments are spread over several kilometres, and the sun is strong. Your driver waits at each stop.
Time: a full day, or an afternoon and a morning with a night nearby. Half a day covers the main towers and palaces in a rush.
- Guide
- Essential
- Transport
- A car on the plateau
- Shoes
- Easy to slip off, good grip
- Carry
- Water, hat, sun cream
- Shoes: you will enter several working temples, and need grip on stone steps, especially at Gaumukh.
- Supplies: there is little shade on the plateau, and few places to buy anything.
- Accessibility: your car reaches most monuments, and the Meera temple compound and the base of the Vijay Stambha are close to the road.
- Harder places: Gaumukh, the palace ruins and the tower stairs involve steep steps and uneven ground. Tell us and we will plan around them.
- Photography: welcome around the monuments. Inside working temples, ask first, and never photograph people praying at memorials without permission.
- Respect: keep your voice low at the memorials and the jauhar sites. For many Indians these are places of real grief and pride.
What most visitors miss
The Kirti Stambha, in quiet
- Often skipped: the older tower is out of the way.
- Why go: finer carving, a quieter setting and the story of a merchant who built as grandly as a king.
The labels on the gods
- Named in stone: on the Vijay Stambha, many figures are labelled in old script beneath them.
- Ask your guide: to read a few aloud. A wall of carving becomes a cast of characters.
The memorials on the ascent
- Most cars drive straight through: stop at the chhatris of Jaimal and Kalla, and at Patta's memorial.
- Why: you will understand the last siege better than any museum could explain it.
The plains from the western wall
- At sunset: walk to the edge near Gaumukh and look out over the fields.
- Why: the height, and how far a defender could see, explain why Chittor was built here.
A song for Meera
- Ask: whether anyone is singing in the Meera temple compound.
- Sit quietly: if a group of women is there with a harmonium, sit at the back for a few minutes. Hearing her songs here is unforgettable.
What to pair with Chittor, and where to stay
- Favourite base
- Castle Bijaipur, about an hour away
- Closer
- Bassi Fort Palace
- Udaipur
- Two hours away
- Mewar journey
- Six nights
- A single day: our Chittorgarh itinerary and our journal on Chittorgarh in a day set out the timings.
- All of Mewar: our Mewar Lakes and Temples journey brings together Udaipur, Kumbhalgarh, Ranakpur and Chittor in six nights.
Castle Bijaipur, our favourite base
The castle: sixteenth-century, in the village of Bijaipur, about an hour from the fort.
- Inside: a courtyard garden, a pool and rooms looking out over the Vindhyan hills.
- Run by the family who own it: the ideal base for an afternoon and a morning at Chittor.
Bassi, closer to the fort
Bassi Fort Palace: a heritage hotel in an old fort of a Rajput noble family, north-east of Chittorgarh and closer than Bijaipur.
- Kavad makers: the village is known for carpenters who paint folding wooden shrines used by storytellers.
- Every option: our guide to luxury hotels near Chittorgarh.
Udaipur, two hours away
A long day out: many guests stay in Udaipur and leave early to reach the fort in the morning light.
- The contrast: after ruins and stories, the lakes and palaces feel all the more gentle.
- Where the court went: after 1568, as our guide to the City Palace of Udaipur shows.
Bundi and Menal, to the east
On the road to Hadoti: stop at Menal, where medieval Shiva temples stand beside a gorge and a monsoon waterfall.
- Then: continue to Bundi with its painted palace and stepwells.
- Our journey: the Offbeat Rajasthan journey links them.