Chittaurgarh Fort

	Chittaurgarh Fort
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The ascent to Chittaurgarh Fort, protected by massive bastions, begins at Padan Pole in the east of town and winds upwards through a further six gateways ( poles ). Close to the second pole stand the chhatris of Kalla and Jaimal, heroic fighters who lost their lives in the final sacking of 1567. The houses of the small community that still inhabits the fort are huddled together near the final gate, Rama Pole .

As you enter the fort you pass the fifteenth-century Shingara Chauri Mandir, a highly adorned Jain temple dedicated to Shantinath, the sixteenth tirthankara . Ahead of this, the slowly deteriorating fifteenth-century Palace of Rana Kumbha - built by the ruler who presided over the period of Mewar's greatest prosperity - remains a classic example of Rajput architecture, and is immortalized as one of the scenes of johar.

Nearby, the modern Fateh Prakash Palace, built for the maharana in the 1920s, is the site of a small, dimly lit archeological museum, filled with weapons (daily 10am-4.30pm; Rs3). Also in the palace compound is the Kumbha Shyama temple, crowned by a pyramidal roof and lofty tower, whose eighth-century sanctuary enshrines an image of Varaha, the boar incarnation of Vishnu.

Slightly to the south, a smaller temple with a delicate curved tower, also constructed by Rana Kumbha, is dedicated to Meerabai , a Jodhpur princess and poet famed for her devotion to Krishna.

The main road within the fort continues south to its focal point, Jaya Stambh , the soaring "tower of victory", erected by Kumbha to commemorate his 1437 victory over the Muslim Sultan Mehmud Khilji of Malwa. This magnificent sand-colored tower, whose nine stores rise 36m, took a decade to build; its walls are lavishly carved with mythological scenes and images from all Indian religions, including Arabic inscriptions in praise of Allah. You can climb the dark narrow stairs to the very summit for Rs1 (daily dawn to dusk; free on Fri). more...