Kumbhalgarh Fortress (India)

The Kumbhalgarh Mewar fortress located in the Rajsamand District of western Rajasthan state of India. It is a world heritage site included in the Hill Forts of Rajasthan.

Built during the fifteenth century by Rana Kumbha and expanded through the nineteenth century, Kumbhalgarh is also the birthplace of Maharana Pratap, the great king and warrior of Mewar. Busy until the late nineteenth century, the fortress is now open to the public and is spectacular on for a few minutes every night. Kumbalgarh is located 82 km northwest of Udaipur on the road. It 's the most important fort in Mewar after Chittaurgarh.

Built on a hillside at 1,100 meters above sea level, the fort of Kumbhalgarh has perimeter walls that extend 36 km, it is the second longest wall in the world. The front walls are thick five meters. Kumbhalgarh has seven fortified gates. There are over 360 temples within the fort, 300 ancient Jain and the rest Hindu. From the top of the building, you can see kilometers into the Aravalli range.

The sand dunes of the Thar desert can be seen from the fortress walls.

According to legend, in 1443, the Kumbhalgarh Maharana, Rana Kumbha, was initially several times without success in an attempt to build the strong wall. A spiritual preceptor was consulted on the construction issues and advised the king that a voluntary human sacrifice resolve any was causing the clog.

The spiritual adviser recommended to build a temple in which the head must fall, and the construction of the wall and the fortress where the rest of his body was lying. As you can expect, for some time no one volunteered, but one day, a pilgrim (some versions suggest a soldier, and a little ', the spiritual preceptor and the pilgrim was the same thing) voluntarily and was ritually beheaded. Today the main gate of the fortress, Hanuman Pol, includes a shrine and a temple to commemorate the great sacrifice.

According to popular tradition, Maharana Kumbha used to burn huge lamps that consume fifty kilograms of ghee and a hundred pounds of cotton to provide light for the farmers who have worked during the night in the valley.

The wall is the second largest wall in Asia, and the world.

The Kumbhalgarh was built and ruled by Kumbha and his dynasty who were descendants Sisodia Rajputs.

Kumbhalgarh in its current form was developed by, and said he was personally designed by, Rana Kumbha. Reign of Rana Kumbha of Mewar stretched from Ranthambore to Gwalior and included large tracts of former Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Of the 84 strong in its domain, Rana Kumbha is said to have designed 32 of them, including Kumbhalgarh is the largest and most complex.

Kumbhalgarh Mewar and Marwar also separated from each other and it was used as a place of refuge for the rulers of Mewar in case of danger. A notable example is in the case of Prince Udai, the King of Mewar who was smuggled here in 1535, when Chittaur was under siege. Prince Udai who later succeeded to the throne was also the founder of Udaipur City. The fort remained impregnable to direct attack, and fell only once, because of a shortage of drinking water, the combined forces of Mughal Emperor Akbar, Raja Man Singh of Amber, Raja Udai Singh of Mewar, and the Sultan of Gujarat.