The wall, in a few facts
The length: about 36 kilometres over ridges and down into valleys, punctuated by round bastions and watchtowers.
The ranking: often called the second-longest wall in the world after the Great Wall of China. That claim comes from tourism material rather than a formal survey, so we simply say it is one of the longest fortification walls anywhere.
- Builder
- Rana Kumbha of Mewar, ruled 1433 to 1468
- Architect
- Mandan, his chief builder
- Length
- About 36 kilometres
- UNESCO
- 2013, one of the Hill Forts of Rajasthan
- From Udaipur
- About 85 km, two and a half hours
- The width: broad enough on top, our guides like to say, for several horsemen to ride side by side, and several metres thick in places.
- The purpose: a refuge for the royal family and treasure of Mewar when Chittor was in danger, with lookouts over the frontier with Marwar.
- The old name: Kumbhalmer, which you will see on old maps and in British accounts.
- Inside: palaces, water tanks, farmland and more than three hundred temples, Hindu and Jain, by the usual count.
Our favourite routes, short to long
The sunrise hour near the main gates
Time: one to two hours, starting at first light.
Where: the stretches either side of the main entrance, which give the classic view of the wall looping over the hills.
- Effort: easy to moderate, with some steps and slopes.
- Why we love it: the stone is cool, the light comes sideways across the ridges, and in winter the valleys are full of mist.
- Who it suits: almost everyone, including older children and gentle walkers.
The temple walk inside the walls
Time: a half day, on paths and short stretches of rampart.
- Where: Neelkanth Mahadev, the Vedi temple near Hanuman Pol, the Parshvanath temple and the Bawan Devi, the fifty-two shrines.
- Effort: moderate, with rough ground between temples.
- Why we love it: one of the quietest half days in Rajasthan, with working shrines and ruined ones side by side.
The long rampart day
Time: a half day to a full day, with a vehicle waiting at the end.
- Where: well beyond the crowds, past ruined temples and into the farmland enclosed by the walls.
- Effort: demanding, on uneven stone with steep steps up and down bastions.
- Who it suits: fit walkers who want the wall to themselves.
The full circuit
Time: two days, with support.
- Where: the whole perimeter, over steep and broken ground.
- How we arrange it: an experienced local guide, a support vehicle where tracks allow and a planned night's rest.
- Who it suits: serious walkers only, in the cool months.
The forest walk down to Ranakpur
Time: a long, steep day.
- Where: from the fort down through the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary towards Ranakpur, on the western side of the hills.
- Permission: we arrange it only with forest permission and an experienced guide, in the cool months.
- The reward: you come out of the forest close to the marble temple. Our Ranakpur temple guide tells you what you are walking towards.
A sunrise walk, step by step
In the dark
Wake early: sleep at a hotel below the walls, so the drive to the gate is only a few minutes.
- Tea in a flask: we bring chai and a few biscuits. There is nothing to buy on the wall at that hour.
- A warm layer: from November to February the hilltop is much colder than Udaipur.
At the gate
- Walk through the gates: Ram Pol and Hanuman Pol are set at sharp angles so that no army or war elephant could charge straight through. Ask your guide to show you how.
- Climb onto the rampart: your guide chooses the stretch with the best light that morning.
First light
Stop and watch: the sun rises over the eastern ridges, and the wall turns from grey to gold bastion by bastion.
- In winter: the valleys hold mist, and the wall seems to float.
- In the monsoon: clouds drift across the ramparts and through the windows of Badal Mahal at the summit.
The walk back
- Neelkanth Mahadev: stop at the fifteenth-century Shiva temple, where local families come in the morning to pour water and milk over the lingam.
- Breakfast: back at your hotel by about nine, before the heat and the day visitors from Udaipur.
What you see from the wall
The plains of Marwar: to the west, the land falls away towards the old kingdom of the Rathores of Jodhpur, Mewar's great neighbour and rival.
The Aravalli forest: ridge after ridge of dry deciduous forest, green in the monsoon, thin and gold in winter.
- Badal Mahal: the palace of clouds at the summit, added much later in the time of Maharana Fateh Singh, with pastel rooms open to the wind.
- Kumbha's palace: below it, the older, plainer rooms where guides show the birthplace of Maharana Pratap.
- The farmland inside: small fields, shrines and the ruins of houses, the reason the fort could sit out a siege.
- The langurs: grey langurs sitting on the battlements, watching you with great dignity and your lunch bag with great interest.
- The birds: peafowl, parakeets, grey junglefowl and raptors circling the ridges.
- The shepherds: Rabari herders in white with red turbans, and Bhil villagers carrying fodder along the paths.
Reading the wall as you walk
It follows the hills: the wall runs along the ridges and drops into valleys rather than cutting straight across, so defenders always held the high ground.
Round bastions: they jut out from the line of the wall so that archers and later gunners could fire along its face at anyone climbing.
- The battlements: the notched parapet, kangura, gave cover to defenders while they fired between the gaps.
- Gates on bends: at the entrance, the gates are set at sharp angles, and the old doors carry iron spikes against war elephants.
- Water inside: tanks and reservoirs fed from the slopes kept the garrison alive. The one time the fort fell, in 1578, it fell for lack of water.
- Fields inside: the wall encloses farmland, so a besieged garrison could grow food. That is why it is so long.
- A written science: Mandan, Kumbha's architect, wrote treatises on building that still survive. Ask your guide how the turns and spikes reflect them.
The story under your feet
In 1468 Rana Kumbha, the king who built this wall, was killed by his own son while at prayer near the Mamadev temple on the lower slope. Mewar remembers the son as Uda Hatiyaro, Uda the murderer. We always stop there on the way down. It is a quiet place, and most people walk past without knowing.
Rana Kumbha: soldier, scholar and patron of music, temples and forts, who also raised the Vijay Stambha at Chittorgarh.
- Mandan: his chief architect, whose treatises on building still survive.
- Panna Dhai: the nurse who, the story says, saved the infant Udai Singh by putting her own son in his place. The prince was raised in hiding and crowned here.
- Maharana Pratap: born here, his birth usually dated to 9 May 1540. Read our piece on Maharana Pratap and Haldighati.
- The only fall: in 1578, after a siege by Akbar's general Shahbaz Khan and a shortage of water inside. Pratap won it back in the early 1580s.
- The listing: in 2013 UNESCO inscribed Kumbhalgarh as one of six Hill Forts of Rajasthan. Our guide to the UNESCO forts compares them.
The wall through the year
October and November
- Green after the rains: the forest is still lush, the air clear and the mornings fresh.
- Our favourite months: for a first walk.
December and January
- Mist in the valleys: the most magical dawns, and the coldest. Bring gloves and a warm layer.
- The Kumbhalgarh Festival: in early December some years, with dance and music at the fort. See the Kumbhalgarh Festival.
February and March
- Warm days, cool mornings: good walking, and wildlife easier to spot near water as the leaves thin.
April to June
- Hot: walk only in the first hour after sunrise and be in the shade by mid-morning.
- Shorter routes: the sunrise hour near the gates, nothing longer.
July to September
- The monsoon: clouds drift through Badal Mahal, streams run in every valley and the hills turn emerald.
- The trade-off: slippery stone and wet paths. Walk carefully, and keep to shorter stretches.
The forest beside the wall
The wolves: the sanctuary is known for them, present in good numbers for an Indian forest but rarely seen.
The cats: leopards live here, but a sighting is a matter of luck. For leopards, add Jawai, where they are seen far more often.
- Sanctuary
- Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary
- Area
- About 610 square kilometres
- Known for
- Wolves, rarely seen
- Also
- Leopards, sloth bears, four-horned antelope
- Best for birds
- Early morning, October to March
- The chausingha: the shy four-horned antelope, found only in the Indian subcontinent.
- The birds: grey junglefowl, peafowl, red spurfowl, flycatchers and raptors over the ridges. Bring binoculars on the wall.
- A morning drive: after an early walk, a short jeep drive with a naturalist fits easily before lunch.
- Read more: our Kumbhalgarh guide covers the sanctuary and the Bhil and Rabari villages around it.
What to bring
Proper shoes: the stone is polished smooth by centuries of feet and the steps are uneven. Sandals are a mistake.
Water: there is little shade on the ramparts and nothing to buy along the wall.
- Shoes
- Closed walking shoes with good grip
- Water
- At least a litre each
- Sun
- Hat, sunglasses, sun cream
- Layers
- A warm top, November to February
- Extras
- Binoculars, a small torch, a scarf for temples
- A scarf: for covering shoulders at the working temples inside the fort.
- Shoes you can slip off: or patience with laces, because you remove them at every shrine.
- A small bag: with food kept out of sight. The langurs know exactly what a lunch bag looks like.
- A torch: useful for dark stairways inside bastions and for the evening light show.
- A light snack: dates, nuts or a banana for after the walk, eaten off the wall and away from the langurs.
- Cash for the temples: small notes for offerings at Neelkanth Mahadev, if you wish to leave one.
Walking safely
No railings: many stretches have drops on one or both sides. Stay back from the edges and keep children close.
Steep steps: bastions rise and fall in steep, uneven flights. Take them slowly, and use your hands where needed.
- Polished stone: especially slippery after rain or dew.
- Langurs: wild animals. Do not feed them, do not stare them down, and keep food hidden.
- Heat: start early and turn back if you feel unwell. Our guides carry extra water.
- Go with a local guide: they know which stretches are safe, where the paths come down and when to turn back.
- Tell us about your health: we tailor the walk to each guest. Our accessible travel notes cover limited mobility.
After the walk, and where to stay
The evening before: climb to Badal Mahal for the late light, stay for the light and sound show in Hindi, and then for the lit walls afterwards. Our guides translate quietly.
On the slopes below the walls: a handful of resorts, comfortable rather than grand, sit a few minutes from the gate. The Aodhi is one we use often. Our guide to luxury hotels near Kumbhalgarh compares them.
- Noble houses within reach: Rawla Narlai, Deogarh Mahal and RAAS Devigarh, for a slower loop through the hills.
- With the leopards: SUJAN JAWAI, about two and a half hours west.
- Next stop: drive down to Ranakpur after breakfast, about an hour west, and on to Jodhpur or Narlai.
- More ideas: our things to do near Kumbhalgarh and our Kumbhalgarh guide.
Fitting the walk into a journey
Udaipur, Kumbhalgarh, Ranakpur, Jodhpur: the classic route over the Aravallis. Our note on Udaipur to Jodhpur via Ranakpur has the drive.
With Jawai: two nights of leopards after the fort and the temple.
- Mewar in depth: our Mewar Lakes and Temples journey brings together Udaipur, Kumbhalgarh, Ranakpur and Chittor.
- Mewar and Marwar: our Mewar and Marwar journey crosses the old border through this pass.
- From Udaipur in the afternoon: leave after lunch, stop at Eklingji or RAAS Devigarh on the way, and reach the fort for the late light and the evening show.
- Towards Narlai: after Ranakpur, the granite hills and stepwell dinner of Narlai make the softest landing after a dawn walk.
What most walkers miss
The view back to the gate: walk ten minutes along the wall, then turn round. The bastions stepping down the hill behind you make the finest photograph of the morning.
The Mamadev temple and tank: on the lower slope, where Rana Kumbha was killed. Quiet, and deeply moving once you know the story.
- The Bawan Devi: the cluster of fifty-two shrines, easy to miss without a guide.
- The ruined houses: stone foundations among the fields inside the walls, the remains of a whole hill town.
- The lit walls after the show: most people leave as the narration ends. Stay twenty minutes and watch the fort glow against the dark hills.
- Panna Dhai's story on the spot: ask your guide to tell it where it belongs, at the fort where the prince she saved was crowned.
Who will love the wall walk
Walkers: the long rampart day and the forest descent to Ranakpur are among the best walks in Rajasthan.
Photographers: the sunrise light along the ridges is extraordinary.
- Couples: a flask of chai on an empty bastion at dawn is hard to beat.
- Families: older children love the bastions and the langurs. Keep little ones close on unrailed stretches.
- Gentler walkers: the first stretch near the gates is enough to see the wall at its best.
- Less suited to: anyone with vertigo or knee trouble on long steep steps. Watch the sunrise from the gate area instead.