How to approach the fort
Not a single palace: unlike Amber or Mehrangarh, Chittorgarh is a walled city on a rock, with ruined palaces, working temples, towers, water tanks and the remains of old neighbourhoods.
What you need: a car to move between monuments, a good guide to make sense of them, and enough time to walk at each stop.
- Area
- About 280 hectares
- Sieges
- 1303, 1535 and the winter of 1567 to 1568
- Morning
- Gates, Kumbha's palace, temples
- Midday
- Towers, museum, a rest
- Late afternoon
- Water palaces and ramparts
- Why a guide: without one, many visitors find a confusing scatter of ruins. With one, it becomes the most moving historical site in Rajasthan.
- We follow the light and the story: cool stone and quiet courtyards in the morning, the plains turning gold below in the late afternoon.
- Read first: our main Chittorgarh guide tells the history, and our Chittorgarh Fort guide walks it monument by monument.
- Grief and pride: the three great sieges are remembered here as acts of terrible courage.
- Respect: keep your voice low at the memorials and jauhar sites, and listen when our guides tell their stories.
The gates and the royal palaces
- Road up
- About a kilometre, on a zigzag
- Gates
- Seven, Padan Pol to Ram Pol
- Memorials
- Jaimal and Patta, last siege
- Biggest palace ruin
- Rana Kumbha's, near Ram Pol
- Museum
- Fateh Prakash Palace
Drive slowly through the seven gates
The design: from Padan Pol at the foot of the hill to Ram Pol at the top, set on a zigzag so no army could charge straight up.
- Stop at several: ask your driver, and look back from the upper gates over the plains to see how the road was designed.
- The memorials: between the gates stand small shrines to warriors who died defending them, including Jaimal and Patta of the last siege.
- Still honoured: local people leave flowers, red thread and coconuts.
Walk the palace of Rana Kumbha at dawn
Where: near Ram Pol, the largest and oldest palace ruin on the plateau.
- What: roofless courtyards, stables, a temple and women's quarters, most atmospheric in the low early light.
- Panna Dhai: tradition says the nursemaid saved the infant Udai Singh, future founder of Udaipur, here by giving up her own son in his place.
- Told in place: our guides tell it in the courtyard where it is said to have happened, and it rarely leaves a dry eye.
See the Fateh Prakash Palace museum
What: a later palace built for Maharana Fateh Singh, now a small museum of sculpture, weapons and local crafts gathered from across the fort.
- Why: see the finest carved pieces up close before you look for their companions on the plateau.
- When: a cool, shaded stop for the middle of the day.
Find the quiet corners near Suraj Pol
What: the gate of the sun on the eastern side, facing the sunrise and the plains.
- Why: few visitors come this way. The walls are high and the views wide.
- Company: on a winter morning, perhaps only langurs and a shepherd.
- Scale: a good place to understand the size of the fort and the length of its walls.
The towers and temples
- Vijay Stambha
- Rana Kumbha, after 1440
- Its height
- Nine storeys, about 37 metres
- Kirti Stambha
- Twelfth century, the merchant Jija
- Its height
- About 22 metres
- Dedicated to
- Adinath, first Jain tirthankara
Read the Vijay Stambha
Why it stands: Rana Kumbha raised the tower of victory after defeating Mahmud Khalji of Malwa in 1440, and it rose through the middle decades of the fifteenth century.
The carving: surfaces inside and out covered with Hindu gods and goddesses, labelled in places with their names.
- How we read it: like an encyclopedia, storey by storey.
- The stair: sometimes closed.
- Come back: in the late afternoon, when its sandstone glows orange.
Do not hurry past the Kirti Stambha
What: the tower of fame, older, smaller and far less visited, built according to its inscriptions by a merchant named Jija.
- Why: its carving is finer and more delicate than the tower of victory. For many guests it is the most beautiful thing on the plateau.
- Beside it: a Jain temple.
- How: sit here for ten minutes in the quiet.
Listen at the Meera and Kumbha Shyam temples
Two temples: the Kumbha Shyam temple from Rana Kumbha's time, and beside it a smaller temple associated with Meera Bai.
- Meera: the Rajput princess who came to Chittor as a bride in 1516 and became one of India's best-loved poet-saints of Krishna.
- Bhajans: devotees still come to sing her devotional songs.
- Stay and listen: if a group of women is singing, ask our guide to translate a verse. Read more in our Chittorgarh guide.
Visit Kalika Mata and the Samadhishvar temple
Kalika Mata: dedicated to the goddess, thought to have begun as a temple to the sun before it was rededicated. A living temple, busiest during Navratri.
- Samadhishvar: a Shiva temple older than most buildings around it, carved with dancers and guardian figures.
- Inside: a great three-faced image of Shiva.
- Manners: dress modestly and leave your shoes outside both.
Look for the Jain temples of the plateau
Merchant builders: Chittor's Jain families built many temples, some grouped in clusters of small shrines.
- What to expect: quiet, carved with great care, and often locked outside prayer times. Our guides know which are open and when.
- Why go: a reminder that this was a city of traders and scholars as well as warriors.
Water, memory and the evening light
- Padmini's palace
- Largely a 19th-century reconstruction
- Padmavat
- Jayasi, 1540
- Gaumukh
- Spring-fed tank, western edge
- Sunset
- Western ramparts above Gaumukh
- Evening show
- Evenings; we check timings on the day
Stand by the water at Padmini's palace
What: a pale three-storey pavilion beside a large tank, with a smaller pavilion in the water, largely a nineteenth-century reconstruction.
The legend: associated with Rani Padmini, the queen of the 1303 siege.
- History's view: historians treat Padmini as a figure of tradition and poetry, first written about by the Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi in 1540.
- Mewar's view: she is revered as entirely real.
- At sunset: the reflections need no legend. Read the story of Padmini.
Feed the fish at Gaumukh Kund
What: a deep tank on the western edge, fed by a spring that flows from a stone carved as a cow's mouth, which is what gaumukh means.
- Today: steps lead down to the water, and local families feed the fish.
- The view: west over the plains, one of the best on the fort.
- When: a cool, calm place in the afternoon, when our guides explain how the tanks kept people alive through months of siege.
Pause at the jauhar ground
Where: near the Samadhishvar temple, the open ground associated with the jauhar of the fort's women.
- Little to see: and that is part of its power. Many Indian visitors stop in silence, and some leave flowers.
- Only if you wish: we ask everyone to treat it as a memorial.
- Read more: our journal on Rani Padmini and Chittor.
Watch the sunset from the western ramparts
Where: along the western walls above Gaumukh, where the plateau drops away to the fields and the town.
- What happens: the sun sets over the plains, the towers turn orange behind you and the crows wheel home.
- Our habit: a flask of chai and a few snacks.
- Why: the moment many guests remember most, with the whole of eastern Mewar laid out below.
Stay for the light and sound show
What: an evening show telling the story of the sieges and of Meera Bai, with the monuments lit in turn.
- Style: dramatic and patriotic. Our guides translate as it goes.
- Timings: they and the languages vary through the year, so we check on the day.
- Stay nearby: in Chittorgarh town or at Castle Bijaipur.
The town and the craft villages
- Kavad
- Painted folding shrines, Bassi
- Dabu
- Mud-resist block printing, Akola
- Thewa
- Gold on glass, Pratapgarh
- Bazaar
- Bangles, brassware, tie-dye
Wander the bazaar below the fort
The town: busy and unglamorous, a market and railway junction rather than a tourist town, which is why its bazaar is worth an hour.
- What to look for: glass bangles, brassware, local sweets, and the bright tie-dye fabrics worn across Mewar.
- A stop: a hot kachori or a glass of sweet chai at a busy stall.
- The people: proud of the fort and curious about visitors. You will be asked where you come from many times.
Meet the kavad makers of Bassi
What: in Bassi, north-east of the town, carpenter families make kavad, painted wooden shrines with many folding doors.
How it works: a storyteller opens the doors one by one as he tells a story from the epics or the life of a local hero.
- Both at once: a portable temple and a picture book.
- How we arrange it: visits to working families, where you watch the painting and buy from the makers.
- A souvenir: a small kavad is one of the best in Rajasthan. See our crafts page.
See dabu printing at Akola
What: dabu, a mud-resist block printing practised in the villages around Akola.
- How: a paste of mud, lime and gum is stamped on cloth with carved wooden blocks, then the cloth is dyed, often in indigo, so the printed areas stay pale.
- The result: soft, earthy and beautiful.
- A lovely morning: watching printers lay out yards of cloth to dry. Buying from them supports the craft. Read our block print buying guide.
Look for thewa from Pratapgarh
What: in the small town of Pratapgarh, south of Chittorgarh, fine gold sheet is worked into tiny scenes of gods, hunts and court life and fused onto coloured glass.
- Made by few: only a few families, and the best pieces, set into pendants, earrings and boxes, are small works of art.
- Buy carefully: good thewa is not cheap and imitations are common, so buy only from a source we trust.
- More: our Rajasthani jewellery guide.
Forests, lakes and the countryside
- Bassi sanctuary
- Dry forest, lakes, antelopes
- Leopards
- Present, rarely seen
- Poppy fields
- Licensed, flowering in late winter
- Menar lakes
- Wintering birds, November to February
Drive into Bassi wildlife sanctuary
What: a small sanctuary near Bassi, of dry forest, rocky hills and lakes.
- Wildlife: antelopes, wild boar, jackals and a great variety of birds. Leopards are present though rarely seen.
- Set expectations: it is not a tiger reserve, so don't expect big sightings.
- When: an early morning drive is peaceful, especially after the monsoon. Combine it with the kavad makers.
Walk the countryside from a castle
How: if you stay at a castle hotel near Chittorgarh, walk into the fields at dawn or dusk with a guide.
In winter: the land is green with wheat and mustard.
- Poppy fields: in some villages, grown under government licence for medicine, flowering in late winter.
- Village life: women carry water from the wells, cattle come home along the lanes, peacocks call from the walls.
- Why: it is the Mewar the fort was built to protect.
Go birding on the way from Udaipur
Where: the village of Menar, on the road from Udaipur, with two lakes.
- When: about November to February, when they fill with wintering waterbirds, protected for generations by the villagers.
- How: an hour with binoculars early in the morning starts the drive to Chittorgarh well. See our birding page.
Temples and day trips from Chittorgarh
- Sanwaliya Seth
- About 40 km
- Nagari
- About 16 km north
- Menal and Bijolia
- Towards Bundi
- Bhainsrorgarh and Baroli
- A long day; better overnight
- Udaipur
- About two hours south-west
Sanwaliya Seth at Mandaphiya
What: the temple of Sanwaliya Seth, a dark form of Krishna, one of the most visited shrines in this part of Rajasthan.
- The name: farmers, traders and businesspeople offer a share of their earnings, believing the god their partner in business, the merchant.
- The feel: living, crowded, devoted and fascinating.
- How: dress modestly and go on a weekday if you can.
Nagari, one of the oldest towns in Rajasthan
Where: beside the Berach river.
- What: the site of an ancient city that historians identify with Madhyamika, mentioned in early Sanskrit texts.
- Finds: coins, sculptures and inscriptions from more than two thousand years ago.
- How: little remains above ground, so it needs a guide who knows the site. For history lovers it adds a deep layer to Chittor's story.
Menal and Bijolia
Menal: medieval Shiva temples beside a gorge where a waterfall plunges in the monsoon, with superb carving and often no other visitors.
- Bijolia: a group of Hindu and Jain temples showing the same skill.
- On the way: both make the drive from Chittorgarh to Bundi a pleasure.
- More: read about offbeat forts and places beyond the usual route.
Bhainsrorgarh and the Baroli temples
Bhainsrorgarh: further east, a fort above the Chambal where it runs between cliffs, now a small heritage hotel.
- Baroli: nearby, early medieval temples carved with some of the finest sculpture in Rajasthan.
- How: a long day from Chittorgarh, better as an overnight on the way to Kota or Bundi. See our luxury hotels near Chittorgarh guide.
Udaipur and the lake country
The new capital: the city the Mewar rulers built after Chittor fell.
- Why together: seeing the old capital and the new one makes both easier to understand.
- Read more: about Udaipur, and our things to do in Udaipur.
Chittorgarh by interest
- Photographers
- Opening time and the last two hours
- Families
- A short morning, a long lunch
- Indian roots
- More time at temples and memorials
- Architecture
- Kirti Stambha, Samadhishvar, Menal, Baroli
For photographers
At opening: the light comes low across the plateau and the Vijay Stambha glows.
Midday: scout angles rather than shoot.
- Last two hours: the towers and Padmini's palace, then the western ramparts at sunset.
- Composition: include the plains below for scale. In the monsoon, storm clouds over the fort make extraordinary pictures.
- More: our photography tips page.
For families with children
Turn it into a story: the zigzag road built to stop an army, Panna Dhai and the baby prince, the fish at Gaumukh, the tower climb when open.
- Pacing: keep the morning short, break for a long lunch and a rest, and come back for the evening.
- The guide matters: one who is good with children makes all the difference. See travelling with children.
For travellers with family roots in India
The most emotional day: many guests of Indian descent tell us that is what Chittor was.
- Familiar names: Padmini, Rana Kumbha, Rana Sanga, Meera Bai, Maharana Pratap, from school textbooks and grandparents' stories.
- How we plan it: more time at the temples and memorials, and a guide who can sing a Meera bhajan or recite the old ballads.
- A day to feel: as much as to see.
For lovers of architecture
The guide: ask for one who knows temple architecture.
- Spend longer: at the Kirti Stambha, the Samadhishvar temple and the Kumbha Shyam temple, which span several centuries.
- Compare: the twelfth-century Jain tower with the fifteenth-century tower of victory.
- Then drive out: to Menal or Baroli, the same traditions in a quieter setting. Our architecture guide explains the terms.
Festivals, songs and how locals keep the fort
Navratri: the nine nights of the goddess in autumn fill the Kalika Mata temple with worshippers from the town and villages, and the plateau comes alive with prayer and colour.
For Meera Bai: around Sharad Purnima, the full moon of autumn, the town holds a festival of devotional music and dance.
- Navratri
- Autumn, Kalika Mata crowded
- Meera festival
- Around Sharad Purnima
- Jauhar commemoration
- Yearly, by the Hindu calendar
- Dates
- We confirm each year
- Remembering the jauhars: each year the Rajput community holds a commemoration.
- Across Rajasthan: our Navratri page explains the festival.
- Ordinary days: couples taking photographs at Padmini's palace, schoolchildren on outings, old men resting under trees, women stopping at the shrines between the gates.
- Join their rhythm: greet people with khamma ghani, and you will be welcomed.
What we tell guests before Chittorgarh
Hire a good guide: the single most important thing you can do here.
Follow the light: start at opening time, rest at midday and come back for the last two hours of light.
- Sun: carry water, a hat and sun cream. There is little shade on the plateau.
- Dress: shoes that slip off easily for the working temples, and clothes that cover shoulders and knees.
- Respect: keep your voice low at the memorials and the jauhar ground, and ask before photographing people at prayer.
- No climbing: on memorials or ruined walls for photographs.
- Stay a night nearby: to see the fort at dawn and dusk and catch the light and sound show.
- Etiquette: read our temple etiquette page before you go.
