Kumbhalgarh – Famous for Massive fort and Wildlife Sanctuary

Kumbhalgarh is a Mewar fortress in the Rajsamand district of Rajasthan India. It was constructed in 15th century by Rana Kumbha. It is an interesting destination that attracts domestic as well as international tourists. There were around 84 forts in the dominion of Rana Kumbha, 32 out of these are designed by the Rana himself, of which Kumbhalgarh is the largest and most elaborate. It is also a birthplace of Maharana Pratap, the great warrior king of Mewar. This was inaccessible in the 15 century because of its strategic location. The fortress was built on a 3500 feet high hill overlooking the approaches from Ajmer and Marwar. It is located 82 km from Udaipur that is second most important fort in Mewar after Chittaurgarh Fort. This fort fell only once in its history due to a shortage of drinking water against the combined forces of Mughal Emperor Akbar and his Hindu allies. It was occupied till late 19th century that is now open to the general public. It is a recommended travel destination in your Rajasthan Tour. Kumbhalgarh Fort is the most-remarkable of forts and was constructed in the 15th century and wall surrounding it, is supposed to be the second longest wall after the Great Wall of China. It is encircled by thirteen mountain peaks, guarded by seven huge gates and seven ramparts, strengthened by rounded bastions and tall watchtowers. This mountain fortress has witnessed many battles. The winding road leads through deep ravines and thick forests. The most beautiful palace is the Badal Mahal (palace of clouds) that is located at the top of the fort encloses beautiful rooms with pleasant color schemes of green, turquoise and white, which provides a fascinating contrast to the fortress. The legendary Maharana Pratap was born here. The most interesting part is that this fort has a fort within itself named Kartargarh, the inner fort has a palace built by Maharana Fateh Singh after he had pulled down the old palace built by Rana Kumbha. Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary holidays has many wild life that includes panthers, wolf, leopards, sloth bear, hyena, jackal, jungle cat, smabhar, nilgai, four horned antelope, chinkara, hare and crocodiles etc. Crocodiles are scientifically bred in the lake within the sanctuary tour package . You may also stay overnight at a guest house near the Crocodile Farm that belongs to the Forest Department. You may see different birds here too such as flamingoes, saras cranes, spoonbills, painted storks, cormorants, purple heron, egrets, duck, and rosy pelican in winter. There are enough all seasons birds also available such as chakor partridge, crow pheasants, jungle warblers, golden orioles, gray jungle fowl, and the usual peacocks; parrots, pigeons and doves. Many travel companies provide Wildlife holiday packagesto the travelers. Nearest airport to Kumbalgarh is Udaipur, which is about 84 km from the city. Nearest rail head is Phalna, a junction railway station, which is well connected to Mumbai, Ajmer, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Jodhpur. Rajasthan State Government Roadways ordinary and deluxe buses have stop at Kumbhalgarh. You can also book your flight tickets from travel companies and can get cheap air tickets with other services like hotel accommodation, train tickets and online bus booking services.