Chittaurgarh Tour & Travel Guide

Earful Stories of Rajputana Bravery, Pride and Passion

Named after the imposing Chittor Fort, Chittorgarh city is in the southern part of Rajasthan state, and on the banks of Berach River. It is around 182 km from Ajmer and had served as the capital to the Sisodia clans of Mewar Rajputs for long. The humongous forts and palaces, which claim to be the largest amongst all Rajput palaces, and the legendary stories of Queen Padmini (also known as Padmavati) and her act of Jauhar fascinates tourists making this a most visited destination in Rajasthan.

Chittorgarh has always had a turbulent and boisterous past. Rules by number of rulers, and frequent wars shaded this place with colours of rivalry, revenge and instability. Books say that Mori dynasty possessed the fort when Bappa Rawal seized Chittor fort in 734 AD and made it the capital. The palace had faced three violent attacks, first in 1303 by Ala-ud-din Khilji - Sultan of Delhi, second in in 1533 it was Bahadur Shah - the Sultan of Gujarat and third it was in 1568 when Mughal Emperor Akbar attacked and seized the fort. It was in 1616, Jahangir returned the fort to the Rajputs.

Chittorgarh is a must visit place when one is touring Rajasthan and the Chittorgarh Fort scores high as the prime attractions here. It is believed that Bheem, the Pandava brother, started building this Chittor fort. But History books sight that Chittorgarh fort was constructed by the Maurayans in 7th century AD.

The architecture of this huge fort and the number of magnificent monuments in-house, which makes it a must see. Another, fascinating place here in Chittorgarh is the Rani Padmini's Palace, which is built on the banks of a lotus pool. It was in this pool where Ala-ud-din Khilji spotted Queen Padmini’s reflection and so captivated he was by her beauty that he fought a war to abduct her. The Vijay Stambh is another sightseeing point. It was built by Maharana Kumbha sometime between 1440 - 1448 AD to commemorate his victory over the Muslim rulers of Malwa and Gujarat.

This land has great influence of Jain Gurus and is also known for several Jain pilgrim points. A Tower of Fame called the Kirti Stambh is also here in Chittorgarh dedicated to Adinathji, the 1st Jain Tirthankara. The fort of Chittorgarh has six Jain temples and the largest one is the temple of Bhagawan Adinatha that has 52 ‘devkulikas’. Other famous temples here in Chittorgarh are Kalika Mata Temple, Tulja Bhavani Temple, Kumbha Shyam Temple, and Meerabai Temple in the classic North Indian style, Ancient temples of Baroli like the Rawatbhata. Other places of tourist interest here are Fateh Prakash Palace, Bhainsrorgarh Fort, Ratan Singh Palace, Rana Kumbha Palace, Jaimal and Patta’s Palace - Bhamashah Ki Haveli. Nagari is a nearby town famous for the Ancient Shiva Temple, Hathiyon ka Bara, and Ubhdivat or the Prakash stambh.