Kumbalgarh Fort |
Shortly after leaving Udaipur we slipped onto back roads, with all the lurching, pothold-skirting, cow-avoidance, horn-beeping, people-dodging and so forth that this involves. The land rose before us and green ridges strode away to the horizon. Green ridges in Rajastan? I clearly have the sand-blown Rajastan of Jaisalmer firmly in my mind, not the Rajastan of Udaipur and Kumbalgarh in the days immediately following the monsoon. This Rajastan is green and almost mountainous. Crops stretch up towards the sun; cattle circle with the mill wheel shackled behind them; lone bicycles weave between ditches. A rural scene.
After we had driven for a couple of hours, and Guy had turned faintly green, we arrived at Kumbalgarh - the fortress that has never been sacked. Its position is so lofty that this comes as no surprise, even if you don't know that the fort was the childhood home of our unbeatable friend, Maharana Pratap Singh. The temples within the walls lacked the fine detail of those at Chittorgarh but the fort's jaunty position, high in the hills, is unbeatable. We strolled along the ramparts with a giddy drop below us and looked across wooded slopes to column-ed and sculpted edifices scattered liberally in the wide area between the protective walls.
The statue of a cobra in one of Kumbalgarh's temples |
This hiccough aside, the temple itself was beautiful - a thicket of carven pillars and domed ceilings with views to all sides, as the temple was not completely enclosed. Highly recommended.
By now, the shadows were lengthening and it was time for our hard-working cameras to rest. The day ended as it had begun; driving towards a fortress. Tomorrow we visit the fort in the blue city of Jodhpur. After that, I think we'll be forted-out for a while.
Another temple complex within the Kumbalgarh fort viewed from the palace. The site is vast: note the walls snaking away in the distance. |
Monsoon rains had recently ensured the verdancy of the crops within the boundaries of the fort |
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