What comes to the mind when you hear the word Rajasthan- The land of Rajputs, a vibrant place of royalty and culture, and impressive architectural forts amidst lots of sand or sometimes greenery. Yes! you read that right, greenery! Each city or district holds a different gem in this versatile state. Each fort or temple is telling you its individual story, just like we came across during our visit to the city of lakes, Udaipur. This experience is about a road trip to the forgotten fort, Kumbhalgarh and the serene spiritual Jain temple of Ranakpur.
We started our journey from Udaipur early in the morning. We have pre-booked the taxi(max 4 persons) and it costed us ₹2300. It took us three hours to reach Kumbhalgarh fort as the road conditions were not right in certain areas. It is a picturesque journey especially if one is travelling in monsoon (Lucky us, yay!) . We were moving amidst the Aravalli ranges, passing through several small streams, and feeling the verdure. We bought the entrance tickets which costed us ₹80 and decided to have breakfast at a Dhaba, which is right in front of the entrance. We ate the standard north Indian breakfast - paranthas, curd, and tea(costed us ₹200). With our bellies full, we started with the fort exploration.
Kumbhalgarh Fort is named after the ruler of Mewar Kingdom, Rana Kumbha in the 15th century. It is built on the top of a hill and has a military-style architecture. Being the highest fortress of Mewar Kingdom once, it is encircled by a 36 km long ,15 feet thick wall. Construction of this massive wall at Kumbhalgarh took nearly a century and made this fort almost impregnable. Known as the Great Wall of India, it is the second-largest in the world and was declared as the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
As we advanced, we came across the birthplace of the great warrior, Maharana Pratap, and also got to know more about Rana Kumbha. He was a great King, one who never lost a battle, but sadly killed by his own son. He was an excellent diplomat. The 'Vijay Stambh' of Chittorgarh was built by him on his Malwa victory. He carved the word 'Allah' on it to ensure that if Chittor was ever captured by Muslim invaders, this structure would not get destroyed. A security guard accompanied us in the Kumbha Palace and narrated us several stories associated with fort. From there, we went to the rooftop, and woah! witnessed a 360 degrees spectacular view.
Though most of the places inside the fort are not opened up for the public, the associated stories with them will surely give you a sense of pride and honor. On our way to fort exit, we visited the shiva temple and came to know that there are around 360 temples inside.
Carrying a lot of stories with us, we moved towards our next stop- the famous Ranakpur Jain temple. It was monsoon time and mild showers were our constant companion amidst those vast greener forests and snake like roads. After an hour's journey, there we were at the Ranakpur Jain Temple- located in the heart of the bewitching valley of the Aravallis and engulfed in the surrounding woods. We relaxed for some minutes,stretched ourselves, gulped some water, and continued towards the ticket section. The entrance tickets costed us ₹110. As we moved towards the temple entrance, we were mesmerized by the magnificent structure, an exquisite work of art seemed as if someone versed a poem into a stone.
This three-storeyed marble temple is composed of 1444 pillars and each has its own set of designs and carvings with none of them obstructing the glimpse of the Lord from any corner. One can feel the peace inside while moving around as if the temple itself is meditating. We stayed inside for an hour and relaxed. It is rightly said, "Art is a form of a higher state of consciousness." We walked a bit in the premises of the temple and then we embarked on our return journey to Udaipur.
It was mid afternoon and being super hungry, we stopped at a Dhaba alongside a stream. We were surprised to see a very traditional irrigation system, Rahat, at the entrance and more surprised when we saw the overpriced menu. Well, we ate noodles(Rs300 , for ones who are noting expenses ;p ) and left. We reached udaipur around 4 p.m. and enjoyed walking back to our hostel amongst showers.
Well this is it, fellas! Stay tuned for more stories from our trip to Udaipur!
All expenses mentioned ( Taxi - ₹2300, Tickets - ₹190, Food - ₹300)are roughly for 2 persons which may give you a rough idea.
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