Kumbhalgarh Fort

Kumbhalgarh Fort is a Mewar fortress on the westerly range of Aravalli Hills, in theRajsamand District of Rajasthan state in western India. It is a World Heritage Siteincluded in Hill Forts of Rajasthan. Built during the course of the 15th century by Rana Kumbha and enlarged through the 19th century, Kumbhalgarh is also the birthplace ofMaharana Pratap, the great king and warrior of Mewar. Occupied until the late 19th century, the fort is now open to the public and is spectacularly lit for a few minutes each evening. Kumbalgarh is situated 82 km northwest of Udaipur by road. It is the most important fort in Mewar after Chittaurgarh.

In 2013, at the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Phnom Penh,Cambodia, Kumbhalgarh Fort, along with five other forts of Rajasthan, was declared aUNESCO World Heritage Site under the groupHill Forts of Rajasthan.

The fort has the second largest wall in the world after the Great Wall of China and the second largest fort in Rajasthan afterChittorgarh Fort.

Construction

Built on a hilltop 1,100 m (3,600 ft) above sea level on the Aravalli range, the fort of Kumbhalgarh has perimeter walls that extend 36 km (22 mi), making it the second longest wall in the world. The frontal walls are fifteen feet thick. Kumbhalgarh has sevenfortified gateways. There are over 360 temples within the fort, 300 ancient Jain and the rest Hindu. From the palace top, it is possible to see kilometers into the Aravalli Range. The sand dunes of the Thar Desertcan be seen from the fort walls.

According to legend, in 1443 CE, the Maharana of Kumbhalgarh, Rana Kumbha, was initially repeatedly unsuccessful in attempts to build the fort wall. A spiritual preceptor was consulted about the construction problems and advised the ruler that a voluntary human sacrifice would solve whatever was causing the impediment. The spiritual advisor advised building a temple where the head should fall and building the wall and the fort where the rest of his body lay. As can be expected, for some time no one volunteered, but one day, a pilgrim (some versions suggest a soldier, and some, that the spiritual preceptor and the pilgrim were one and the same) volunteered and was ritually decapitated. Today the main gate of the fortress, Hanuman Pol, contains a shrine and a temple to commemorate the great sacrifice.

According to popular folklore, Maharana Kumbha used to burn massive lamps that consumed fifty kilograms of ghee and a hundred kilograms of cotton to provide light for the farmers who worked during the nights in the valley.

Its wall is the second largest wall in the world, after the Great Wall of China and is known as the Great Wall of India.