Rajput Forts of Chittorgarh and Amer - Rajasthan, India
What is It - The Indian state of Rajasthan attracts many visitors from around the world. It includes well-known cities like Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Pushkar. Over most of the past thousand years, Rajasthan was made up of about 20 independent Hindu kingdoms. Although occasionally united and sometimes conquered by outside empires, the Rajput maharajas who ruled these kingdoms built numerous forts and fought valiantly for the protection of their kingdoms and their wealth. After India’s independence from Britain in 1947, they retained their titles and some of their properties, but many of their citadels were later converted into national museums or heritage hotels.
Centuries of Famous Battles
While traveling in India, we visited several forts with fascinating histories but the one with the most unusual legends attached to it is at Chittorgarh. Chittorgarh Fort originally was built on a plateau high above the surrounding plains in the 8th century. It protected the temples, palaces, stables, and memorials of the Maharana of Mewar for many centuries until it was conquered by the Mughal Emperor Akbar and abandoned by the Rajputs in the 16th century. Most of the sturdy walls, gates and several dozen buildings within this ancient fortress remain intact.
Chittorgarh has several features worth noting. The 122-foot-high Victory Tower, built on a ridge by Maharana Kumbha in 1448 to honor a military victory over a rival Rajput sultan, is magnificent. This sandstone tower is engraved with images of numerous gods, and the vestibule at the top of the staircase offers a commanding view of the entire fort and the countryside. Another unusual feature is the large reservoirs carved into the rock face that hold spring water and rainwater and allowed the fort to withstand many attacks over the centuries.
Perhaps the most compelling reason to visit Chittorgarh is to visualize the legends that surround this fort. The Rajputs glorify their military history and have a tradition of often fighting to the last man and woman in battle. Legend has it that on each of the three occasions when the Chittorgarh Fort was conquered, thousands of Rajput warriors fought to their death rather than surrendering, while thousands of Rajput women committed mass suicide by immolation to escape capture.
Queen Padmini and the Sultan
Another legend features the beautiful queen Rani Padmini who became an object of desire for the Sultan Alauddin Khilji of Delhi in 1303. To avoid a siege, the Maharaja allowed the Sultan to visit the fort and glimpse his queen’s reflection in the water of a reservoir through a mirror placed in a nearby building. This experience (which can be duplicated by tourists today) only heightened the sultan’s determination to conquer the fort, but in the end Padmini escaped capture by committing suicide with the rest of the women in the fort so the furious Alauddin sacked the city. So, while many historians claim that Alauddin conquered Chittorgarh to gain control of Mewar’s trade routes, Rajputs believe in the more epic explanation.
Amber Fort
Another fort that we visited in Rajasthan is the Amber Fort in Amer. This fort generally referred to as the Amber Palace was constructed by the renowned Rajput ruler Man Singh I in 1592 and it served as the capital of the Kachhawaha kingdom until the 18th century when the palace was relocated to present-day Jaipur. Amber Fort is situated in a scenic location on a natural ridge that stretches for many miles above a narrow valley. There is a pleasant lake below the fort as well as a small island covered by a Mughal-style garden.
The main entrance to Amber Fort is a stone pathway that climbs to the top through a series of switchbacks. Although a back road can be used to drive to the fort, most people reach the fort on the back of one of the several dozen village elephants who have ferried people during morning hours to the top for generations. Guided by a driver or mahout while seated sideways on a small platform, the ride provides an exhilarating view of the village and lake far below. The fort itself features many bejeweled chambers which were used by the royal family or by the Mughal Emperor when he visited his Kachhawaha allies. It also combined both elements of Hindu and Muslim architecture reflecting the uneasy political alliance of the rulers of this region.
Interesting Facts - Some other forts around Rajasthan that are worth seeing include the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, built on top of a sheer rock cliff; the Kumbhalgarh Fort, located at a height of 3,500 feet and surrounded by 22 miles of interlocking walls; and the Gwalior Fort, which changed hands among many rulers over the centuries. Directly above Amber Fort is a second fort called the Jaigarh Fort, which provided further protection for the palace and the villages below. Visitors to Jaigarh can admire a 50-ton cannon on wheels that guarded the valley in the 1700s.
How to Get Here - People often visit Chittorgarh Fort on a day trip from Udaipur by driving east on Route 9 for about two and a half hours. Amber Fort is located only about eight miles north of Jaipur on the main road out of the city called the Amer Road. Along the way you pass a large lake with what appears to be a floating red sandstone palace on it known as the Jal Mahal. There are numerous domestic airline flights to both Jaipur and Udaipur from Delhi and Mumbai.
When to Go - The proximity of the desert to most parts of Rajasthan makes the season from late April to September extremely hot with monsoon rains in August and September. Early spring and fall are generally more pleasant, and the winter months can be enjoyable with some cold weather at times.
Where to Stay - Udaipur has many fine hotels such as the Leela Palace as well as several heritage hotels that formerly served as royal residences such as the Taj Lake Palace which would serve as an excellent base of operations for touring Chittorgarh and the surrounding area. In Jaipur, the Trident Hotel located in between Jaipur and Amer across from the lake is an excellent and affordable property.