Kumbhalgarh, Rana Kumbha's fortress in the Aravallis

A fortress on the border of two kingdoms

• The old name: Kumbhalmer, used on older maps and in British accounts.
• Why this hill: the fort crowns a cluster of hills about 1,100 metres up, ringed by deep valleys and forest, so an army had to approach through narrow passes in full view of the walls.
• Watching the frontier: lookouts could see far across the border with Marwar, kingdom of the Rathores of Jodhpur, and down the routes into Gujarat.
• A refuge: when Chittor was in danger, the royal family and its treasure were sent here.
• A fortified valley: inside the walls is a whole hill town, with palaces, temples, water tanks, farmland and ruined houses, big enough to grow food and sit out a siege.
• UNESCO: inscribed in 2013 as one of the six Hill Forts of Rajasthan, alongside Chittorgarh, Ranthambore, Gagron, Amber and Jaisalmer. More in our piece on the UNESCO forts of Rajasthan.
• The quiet: it is far enough from the cities that most of the day it is peaceful, with langurs on the walls, parakeets in the trees and wind in the gateways.

Rana Kumbha, the king who built and wrote

• A builder of forts: tradition credits him with building or strengthening a great many of Mewar's forts. Kumbhalgarh was the greatest.
• A cultured king: he is credited with works on music, including the Sangitaraja, and was a patron of poets, architects and temple builders of every faith.
• Ranakpur: under his rule, and with his patronage, the Jain merchant Dharna Shah raised the marble temple at Ranakpur, on the forested valley floor west of Kumbhalgarh. The town still carries the king's name.
• A bitter end: in 1468 Kumbha was killed by his own son, Udai Singh I, while at prayer near the Mamadev temple inside the fort.
• Uda the murderer: Mewar remembers Udai Singh as Uda Hatiyaro. He ruled only a few years before his brother Raimal took the throne.

The fort that saved a dynasty

• Still told nightly: her story is part of the evening show inside the fort.
• Pratap's birth: Udai Singh's eldest son, Maharana Pratap, was born here to Jaiwanta Bai, his first wife.
• Mewar's great hero: Pratap refused to submit to Akbar and fought the Mughal army at Haldighati in 1576.
• The birth rooms: guides show the palace rooms where he is said to have been born. Whatever their exact history, standing in them is moving, and you may see Rajasthani families touching the walls in respect.
• The one fall: after Haldighati, Akbar's general Shahbaz Khan besieged the fort in 1577. In 1578, after some months and a shortage of drinking water, Mughal forces took it.
• Not for long: Pratap won it back in the early 1580s and held most of western Mewar until his death.
• What you walk on: the ramparts that kept his long resistance alive.

Walking the great wall

• Beyond the crowds: most visitors walk a short stretch near the main gates and climb to the palace.
• The best views: the sections either side of the main entrance show the wall looping over the hills, and early in the morning they are almost empty.
• A longer walk: with a local guide and a vehicle waiting at the end, past ruined temples and into the farmland inside the walls.
• The whole circuit: a serious undertaking over steep, broken ground, best done over two days with support.
• When we walk: the first two hours after sunrise, when the stone is cool and the light comes sideways across the hills.
• Our favourite routes: our journal piece on the Kumbhalgarh wall walk.

Inside the walls, from the gates to the palace of clouds

The light show and the lit fort

• The best part: after the show, when the walls and bastions are lit and the whole fort glows against the dark hills. One of the most beautiful sights in Rajasthan.
• Why few see it: most visitors have a long drive back to Udaipur. It is the main reason we suggest a night here, not a day trip.
• Cold nights: winter nights are cold, so bring a warm layer for the show.
• Kumbhalgarh Festival: in early December, three days organised by Rajasthan Tourism in honour of Rana Kumbha's love of the arts. Read about the Kumbhalgarh Festival.
• What happens: classical and folk dancers perform at the fort, with craft stalls, puppet shows and turban-tying contests by day.
• Dates: set each year, so ask us before you plan around them.

The forest around the fort

• The chausingha: the shy four-horned antelope, found only in the Indian subcontinent.
• How to see it: a morning jeep drive with a naturalist, or on foot with a local guide along the old forest paths.
• Leopards: a matter of luck here.
• Birds: reliable. Look for grey junglefowl, peafowl, red spurfowl, flycatchers and raptors over the ridges.
• Monsoon: the forest turns dense and green, and streams run in every valley.
• Winter: the leaves thin and wildlife is easier to spot near water.
• The walk to Ranakpur: a classic descent through the sanctuary to the western side of the hills. A long, steep day, arranged only with forest permission and an experienced guide. Walkers come out close to the marble temple.
• For big cats: combine Kumbhalgarh with Jawai, where leopards live among granite hills and are seen far more often.

The people of the hills

• Bhil villages today: scattered through the valleys, with small fields of maize and wheat, mud houses with tiled roofs and shrines to local deities under the trees.
• The Rabari: herders in white with red turbans, moving camels, sheep and goats between grazing grounds as their families have for generations.
• Rabari women: they wear heavy silver and dark wool skirts and often manage the herds.
• Visiting: our guides know families in the area and can arrange a village visit or a morning with herders, always on the community's terms.
• How we work with herders: our page on the Rabari herders of Jawai.
• Lives tied to the land: most villages around Kumbhalgarh are poor, and closely bound to the forest and the rains.

Where to stay near Kumbhalgarh

When to come, and how to get here

• April to June: hot, so we plan visits for early morning and evening.
• Month by month: our guide to the best time to visit Kumbhalgarh.
• From Udaipur: about 85 kilometres south, roughly two and a half hours by road through the hills.
• To Ranakpur: about an hour west, down a winding road through the sanctuary.
• To Jodhpur: about four hours via Ranakpur, so Kumbhalgarh is a natural stop between Udaipur and Jodhpur.
• By air: the nearest airport is Udaipur's Maharana Pratap Airport.
• Motion sickness: the road is narrow and twisting in places. Sit in front and take it slowly.

A day and a night at Kumbhalgarh

• More ideas: our Kumbhalgarh itinerary and things to do near Kumbhalgarh.
• Through the pass: Mewar and Marwar is the journey that links the two kingdoms here.

What our guides tell their own guests

• Hide your lunch: the langurs on the walls are bold, and they know what a lunch bag looks like.
• Water and a hat: there is little shade on the ramparts.
• Working temples: shoes off, shoulders covered, and no photographs of worshippers without asking.
• A warm layer: for the evening show between November and February. The hilltop is much colder than Udaipur.
• Panna Dhai on the spot: ask your guide to tell her story where it happened. Every Mewari child grows up with it.