BIRTHPLACE OF MEWAR'S LEGENDARY KING, MAHARANA PRATAP
Kumbhalgarh, a small town in district Rajsamand is known world wide for its great history and architecture. Here lies the great Kumbhalgarh fort which was built during 15th century by Maharana Kumbha. Enlarged during 19th century, this fort is also the birth place of Maharana Pratap, the great king and warrior of Mewar. This almost invincible fort is the highest and most formidable in the state of Rajasthan. Even the mighty mughal couldn’t capture it alone and it took the combined armies of Delhi, Amber and Marwar to breach its defences. Standing majestically on 1180m high ridge and representing the past glory of the Rajput rulers, the Fort also provides a panoramic view of the countryside from the top. Thirteen mountain peaks of the Aravali range protect this impregnable fortress. Seven huge and imposing gates stand like sentinels at the approaches and seven ramparts, one being folded within another with crenulated walls strengthened by rounded bastions and immense watch towers, make this an impregnable mountain fortress. It's serpentine 15 kilometres long wall is thick and broad enough for eight horses to ride abreast. This wall is second longest only to the 'Great Wall of China'. This grand fort also has 360 temples within the walls.
Kumbhalgarh fort is surrounded by a majestic thick wall which is approximately 15 KMS long. It has seven huge gates and claims to be the second longest wall in the world after the Great Wall of China. The width of wall varies from 15 to 25 feet. It is mentioned in the various books of history that eight horses could run on this wall side-by-side. This wall runs through surrounding mountain cliffs of the Aravali range. The wall is a great example of architecture brilliance of Rajput Era. Its architectural brilliance is proved by the fact that in spite of being around 700 years old it is still intact and in a very good shape. This wall is not in a regular straight pattern but it runs through mountain cliffs and valleys. It has steep ascend and descend throughout its length the wall has stairs and walk way which is evident from the photographs. The wall runs through the forest area which falls under Kumbhalgarh National Park. This national park is abode of great variety of flora and fauna. It provides shelter to number of endangered species of Indian wild-life. It is famous for panthers and leopards. Other wild life in this national park is Hyena, Toddy cats, Wolf, Chansinga, Neelgai, Sambhars, Crocodiles, Grey Jungle fowl, Peacocks, Wild boars, Beers etc.
