Chittaurgarh Things to Do

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There is much to see, once one leaves Chittorgargh fort. The surrounding countryside is littered with shrines, chattris and baolis (resevoirs) The scenery is beautiful, with prolific birdlife, colorful bougainvillia,trees & mountains. We saw women along the way , dressed in colourful saris. Just driving around, there are many good photo opportunites.
The picture is of a newly wed couple asking for a blessing from the Goddess Sati.
These Sati shrines dot the roadways, and there always seemed to be a woman offering flowers or gifts.

Sati was a funeral practice among some Hindu communities in which a recently-widowed woman would either voluntarily or by use of force and coercion immolate herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. This practice is now very rare and banned in modern India.
The term is derived from the original name of the goddess Sati

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The 8th Century Fort stands atop a hill, with a 1km climb to the top. The views are spectacular from the ramparts. It is the largest fort in Asia.
Entering the fort, there are 7 gates .. The actual Main Gate of the fort is called Surajpol.
Once inside, the ruins lie there, waiting to be explored. This fort was sacked 3 times. In the 14th Century, it was attacked in order to capture Padmini, the beautiful niece of the king. The Pathan ruler of Delhi had seen her, and fell in love with her. Rather than surrendering, the warriors went out to battle, and when it became evident that the battle would be lost, they all committed suicide. The women inside the fort barracaded themsleves inside a tunnel,which can still be seen, and immoliated themselves. The tunnel is now barred from entering, but one can see it from the outside. In the 16th century there was another attack, and similar outcome.
The final attack came 35 years later , led by Akbar. It is after this that Udai Singh (the Mewar King at Chittor) fled to Udaipur and established his new capital. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of these former inhabitants of Chittor gave their lives rather than be captured.

This Fort is also the largest in Rajasthan. It is well worth a visit. There were busloads of Indian schoolchildren visiting while we were there, with their friendly smiling faces & questions they were a pleasure to talk to.

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padmini's palace is inside the lotus pool, this palace was built for her only no other queens were allowed to enter. Padmin was inside the palace when ala-ud-din saw her reflection from outside mirror of the lake and attacked chittor to get her. the big bronze gate were stolen off by akbar and now is in agra gate. and ala-ud-din didnt get padmini she commit a jahaur and brave man of rajput chittor fought till the last man standing.

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First thing that i saw was tower of victory,which is main identity of chittor. Build by Rana Kumba in 1458, it took thirty years to completed. The victory tower also known as JAYA STAMBA which was build to celebrate the victory over mahmud khilji of malwa in 1440, victory tower stands at 37m in rise a nine storeys high, each nine storeys are carved beautifuly,allthough you can climb all the way up for the beautiful views.

Chittaur (as it used to be known) is a stunning large fort on an outcrop that dominates the town at it's foot. It somewhat reminded me of the geography of Durham in Northern England. There is a Legend that in the 14th century the stunning beauty Queen Padamih saw her face in the reflection of a mirror and was struck by her mesmerising beauty. As the city was being attcked, and certain to fall, she ignored this point and promptly commited suicide.

130 odd years later came an attack from , the Sultan of Gujarat. The then Queen followed in her ancestors footsteps and plunged in the knife. Fortunately, her son, Udai Singh was smuggled out and survived to inherit the throne. Thirty years later , another attack was on. Udai Singh fled again under his own steam this time and went on to establish a new Capital, Udaipur. He left behind two 16 year old boys to defend the city against Akbar - they lost.

Although Akbar razed the fort, there is still much to see. When compared to the many overwhelming sights of Rajastan this place is relatively quiet - do make sure you hire a guide to get the best out it (ask at the Tourist information office)

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Chittaurgarh is situated on a table mountain with several water reservoirs to ensure the water supply of its inhabitants. One of them is the Gaumukh Reservoir with its bright green colour. I couldnt trust my eyes but there were plenty of fish in it.

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The Fort is more or less a huge area of ruins and water reservoirs on top of a mountain. But the temples are well preserved and are still in use. Jain Temples are famous for their stonecarvings. Even if this temple here is not as magnificent as those in Ranakpur, it still is worth a visit!

I'm fairly certain this building to the left is the Padhmini's Palace, which has a small lake pavilion next to it.

The first siege of the fort, in 1303, was focused not only on taking the land, but also on taking Rani Padhmini, who was a renowned beauty.