It was a deathly combination to not take off on a trip. We picked up the phone and called Club M to make a reservation either in Madikeri or Thekkady or any resort in the cooler climes to beat the Hyderabad heat. “Madam, the resorts are all booked up to mid July. Do you want to make a reservation in July?” Of course not…. We wanted to go NOW! NOW NOW NOW!!!
We make a last attempt and say “Is there an opening in any of your resorts in May?” After putting us on hold for what seemed a lo(oo)ng time, the customer service executive replies “We have 5 days available in Kumbalgarh”.
The ignorant me “Where is this?”
Reply “Rajasthan Madam”
Rajasthan? In peak summer. You must be crazy…….
Hmm....what the heck… Let’s take a shot. (As Guru reasoned out, 42 degrees cannot be worse than 40 degree!). We sought our friends opinion on Facebook for our plan and got a thumping ‘Thumbs up’.
Fort Kumbalgarh
Location: 85 km from Udaipur, Rajasthan
Built in: 15th Century AD
Popular as: The second most important fort after Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan
When to visit: October to March
‘Impregnable’ that’s the description that crossed our minds when we first caught the glimpse of Fort Kumbalgarh. It had to be. Built on a hilltop at 1900 m altitude, the fort has a protective perimeter wall of 36 km. In fact it is the second largest after the Great Wall of China.
The fort was built by Maharan Kumbha in the 15th Century AD and houses 365 Jain and Hindu temples within its area. The design of the entire fort is very strategic with the intent of confusing and foxing the enemy. The person standing on the fort can easily see the approaches made by any individual from Ajmer and Marwar making it practically impossible to approach the fort in stealth. Its strategic location and structure helped the fort to 
withstand the offensive of invading armies for several decades except once, when it fell to the combined forces of Akbar, Malwa and the Sultan of Gujarat!
Atop is the Badal Mahal built by Rana Fathe Singh in the 19th century and is believed to be the birth place of Maharana Pratap the Great King and warrior of Mewar.
A visit to the fort is incomplete without catching the sight of this magnificent fort at night – all lit up – in its resplendent glory! A sight, I promise, you will remember for years to come.
What else?
If you are the type to get up early in the morning, you could also visit the Kumbalgarh wildlife sanctuary which covers an area of about 57,778 Sq Km and is an abode to a huge variety of wildlife as well as several exotic birds. Also, you could visit the Haldighati, the place where the heroic Maharana Pratap lost his fabled loyal horse Chetak, while fighting the forces of Akbar.
How we got there?
We took a flight from Hyderabad to Ahmedabad and after spending two nights, we traveled by a half AC / half non AC / half sleeper / half seater bus (no kidding!!) to Udaipur. We had asked the resort car to pick us up from Udaipur for the onward journey of 85 km. One also has the option of flying in directly into Udaipur. If you are travelling on a shoe string budget, you can take the road transport corporation buses from Udaipur to Kumbalgarh which plies quite frequently.
Stay options
Club Mahindra has a new resort which is built to depict the space, luxury and art of the Rajput era. Club M takes bookings from non member also. For bookings call their central reservation number 3988 0000 or log on to http://www.clubmahindra.com/
The Aodhi, Kumbhalgarh is a sanctuary-resort which is run by HRH Group of Hotels belonging to the Royal family of Rajasthan. If you are looking for an authentic heritage property, this is the one for you. For bookings call +91 294 2528008 or log on to http://www.eternalmewar.in/
If you are the type to get up early in the morning, you could also visit the Kumbalgarh wildlife sanctuary which covers an area of about 57,778 Sq Km and is an abode to a huge variety of wildlife as well as several exotic birds. Also, you could visit the Haldighati, the place where the heroic Maharana Pratap lost his fabled loyal horse Chetak, while fighting the forces of Akbar.
How we got there?
We took a flight from Hyderabad to Ahmedabad and after spending two nights, we traveled by a half AC / half non AC / half sleeper / half seater bus (no kidding!!) to Udaipur. We had asked the resort car to pick us up from Udaipur for the onward journey of 85 km. One also has the option of flying in directly into Udaipur. If you are travelling on a shoe string budget, you can take the road transport corporation buses from Udaipur to Kumbalgarh which plies quite frequently.
Stay options
Club Mahindra has a new resort which is built to depict the space, luxury and art of the Rajput era. Club M takes bookings from non member also. For bookings call their central reservation number 3988 0000 or log on to http://www.clubmahindra.com/
The Aodhi, Kumbhalgarh is a sanctuary-resort which is run by HRH Group of Hotels belonging to the Royal family of Rajasthan. If you are looking for an authentic heritage property, this is the one for you. For bookings call +91 294 2528008 or log on to http://www.eternalmewar.in/
There are many budget stay options that can be explore.
When to visit?
The climate of Kumbhalgarh is tropical. Summers are warm with the maximum temperature climbing up to around 42° C. Kumbhalgarh weather experiences delightful and pleasant winters. The average temperature in the winter season falls in the range of 25° C (max) to sometimes 2° C (min). The climatic conditions of Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan during monsoons are quite humid. The annual total rainfall averages around 88 cm. The best time to visit the city of Kumbhalgarh is during the months of October to March.
Reference: kumbalgarh.in, wiki page on Kumbalgarh
Reference: kumbalgarh.in, wiki page on Kumbalgarh
Nice write up. One of these days when we come home we would like to visit Rajastan.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Arathi. Let us know when you are planning the trip. We can give you a detailed run down of our experiences at Rajasthan.
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