Chittorgarh

Chittorgarh, Rajasthan

This post has been pending since a long time. Being a lover of forts and monuments, visiting Chittorgarh Fort was definitely on top priority when I visited Udaipur. Chittorgarh lies just at a distance of 112 kms from the city of Udaipur in Rajasthan. You can take a local bus through which you can reach there in three to four hours enjoying the local bus ride or you can hire a cab. But I would suggest if you are rough and tough like me then only opt for a local bus otherwise take a cab. 

Native of the place- Inside the local bus

Considered to be the largest fort of India in terms of area, it is spread in an area of 700 acres, extending to 3 kms in length and 13 kms in its peripheral length. Standing on an elevated hill of 180metres, the fort is an epithet of chivalry and pride of the Rajputs. According to historians it was constructed by the Mauryans during the 7th century AD and hence derives its name after the Mauryan ruler, Chitrangada Mori as per inscriptions on coins of the period. Historical record shows that Chittorgarh fort was the capital of Mewar for 834 years. It is not one of the maintained forts of Rajasthan, but it is definitely one of the significant forts in the history of Rajasthan.

View from the fort

Since it is on a hill we took a local tempo (bigger one) to visit the place. It was a bright and sunny afternoon, quite a hot day. The fort houses many historical places. The first palace after entering the fort is- Rana Kumbha’s Palace. Though not very maintained, its structure is still attractive. Its structure definitely gives a glimpse of the royal era gone by.

Rana Kumbha's Palace

Rana Kumbha's Palace

Rana Kumbha's Palace

This fort is dotted by number of palaces, temples and water bodies. It includes- Rana Kumbha’s Palace, Kumbhashyam Temple, Mira Temple, Vijay Sthambh, Rani Padmini’s Palace, Gaumukh Kund. My personal favourite was Rani Padmini’s Palace mainly because it is well maintained than any other spots there and secondly there were interesting versions of stories told by different guides there. It is very evident that during Padmini’s time, this must have been a really wonderful place, with beautiful flower gardens and a lotus filled pond. But today, the stagnant pond is dull and the localities use it as a spot to dry the clothes.

From the top I can see the whole city and the view was simply beautiful.

View from top of  the fort

Our guide cum auto driver also showed us an area where opium is legally grown under very strict conditions for medicinal purposes. Though Chittorgarh is in decay today, still it is one of the oldest forts of India. It has survived through various decades and conquered from one ruler to another.  

Here are some interesting facts about this historical fort-

·       Chittorgarh Fort is the largest fort in India.

·      Chittorgarh Fort complex has a total of 65 medieval structures which includes 4 palaces, 19 temples, 4 war memorials or the Stambhs and 22 water bodies.

      Entrance to this massive hill fort is through seven colossal gates, which are named Bhairon Pol, Lakshma Pol, Padan Pol, Hanuman Pol, Jorla Pol, Ganesh Pol and the formidable final gate named Ram Pol.

·    Some of the major attractions inside Chittorgarh fort include the two towers known as the 'Kirti Stambh' (Tower of Fame) and the 'Vijay Stambh' (Tower of Victory)

 Chittorgarh Fort has witnessed 3 sieges and 2 acts of jauhars by the ladies of the Sisodia Rajput court.

·         Jauhar or the self immolation in fire was first performed by Rani Padmini in 1433 AD when Alaudin Khilji defeted the forces of Rana Ratan Singh.

·      It was performed yet again by Rani Karnavati in 1535 AD and it is said that 13,000 Rajput ladies participated in the act even as 3000 Rajput warriors rode out to their certain death.

·     
    The Padmini palace, residence of legendary beauty Rani Padmini is another major attraction inside Chittorgarh Fort.
  The fort and the city of Chittorgarh host the biggest Rajput festival called the "Jauhar Mela" (February - March) which takes place every year on the anniversary of one of the Rani Padmini’s jauhar.

CORBETT

The Forest Safari

The smell of greenery, the freshness of air and above all, the whole feel of the forest was simply unique. This was my first visit to a place like this. I hope to visit many more forests like this. Although I get over-excited only when I have to visit monument(s), but this time I was super excited to visit the Forest of Jim Corbett. The obvious reason is definitely that this was my first visit to any forest and secondly I love tigers. Though we could not site even a single tiger in the woods, still we were able to see many beautiful animals and birds there.

The forest is divided into four parts- Durga Devi, Jhirna, Bijrani, Dhikala. The Durga Devi is located on the Northeastern boundary of the park. This tourism zone is opened from the 1st November to 30th June and is closed during monsoons.

Jhirna is located on the southern periphery of Corbett Tiger Reserve. Jhirna was one of the three villages which have been relocated to other places for the sake of the conflict. This particular zones village namely Jhirna, Dhara and Kothirau transformed into densely forested and grassland habitat which is excellent for bird viewing. Jhirna zone is open throughout the year. Since we went in October, we went to this part of the forest.

Bijrani being one of the 3 zones was once a shooting block having crossing jungle roads. Located on the eastern side of the of the Corbett national park, Bijrani house a wide variety of flora which includes of pure Sal forests on the upper reaches and tropical moist, deciduous mixed forests in the valley and plains. The Bijrani tourism zone is open from 15th October to 30th June.

Dhikala has the widest range of the forest rest house accommodation in the park. The reservoir created by Ramganga falls into this particular stretch of land. The Dhikala tourism zone is open from 15th November to 15th June.

We opted for jeep safari, although elephant safari is also available there. 

Our visit was welcomed by Tusker, a kind of elephant. The first animal we spotted was a pair of Tusker, they crossing the pass. They were crossing the road and were quite irritated with the sound of jeeps that stopped by to watch the. Our driver was smart and he switched off the engine of car as soon as we sighted them. So, as soon as other jeeps left the place thinking that Tusker is not going to come out, they crossed the road. The huge Tusker was a sight to watch.

Then we saw number of beautiful birds. Though our guide was informing us about the name of the birds still I don’t remember their names. Some of the birds that we sighted and whose name I remember were- Green Manakin, Wild Hens White Dove and Hornbill.

As we drove deeper into the forest, we saw giant ant hills, peacock, an Indian grey mongoose, lots of langurs and a couple of deers. One of the most amazing sights was when langurs were shrdding of leaves from tree and deers standing under the tree were eating those leaves. There was mutual understanding between langurs and deers. At times we stopped the jeep just because we thought we heard some rustles inside the nearby bushes. At one turn the driver stopped our jeep and showed us tiger pug marks on the sand. But the beautiful tiger was nowhere in sight.

We then moved to a small guest house made amidst the forest. While all the jeeps stayed there for tea and snacks. We decided to move from there quickly. Since there are lesser chances to sight any animals when there are many jeeps travelling in a row, we decided to leave the rest of the group behind and started from there without waiting any longer.

Our jeep wondered in the deep forest. There was a time when no one spoke a single word we were just enjoying the dense forest, the silence of forest, the smell of greenery. The cool breeze touching our face was simply refreshing.  We got so mesmerized by the beauty of the forest that it was quite late when we realised that it’s time to rush back to the gate. Our guide and driver was in real hurry, we rushed back to the gate. On the way we get to spot a herd of spotted deers that were glowing in the twilight. And while we were rushing back to the gate I managed to click some photos of sun set also.

Though we could not get even a glimpse of the majestic tiger still the whole experience was simply wonderful. OPne thing is sure I an going to plan more trips to forests now.