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Kumbhalgarh (Kumbhalmer) is a
fortress in Rajsamand District of Rajasthan state in
western India. The for t has perimeter walls that extend
36 kilometres in length. Claimed to be the longest in
the world after "The Great Wall of China". Over 360
temples are within the fort. 300 ancient Jain and the
rest Hindu. The vista from the palace top typically
extends tens of kilometers into the Aravalli Range.
Kumbhalgarh Fort Of the thirty-two forts that the great
warriors King, Rana Kumbha built all over Mewar, the
most spectacular was Kumbhalgarh. In many ways, in fact
it is even more impressive than the Mewar citadel of
Chittorgarh itself. Built high in the hills wests of
Chittorgarh in the mid-15th century Kumbalgarh was
called the "eye of Mewar" because of its strategic
position in relation to the Kingdom's aggressive
neighbours in Gujrat and Marwar. It was impregnable,
having withstood several attacks from the armies of
Gujrat, Malwa and the Mughals. Even Emperor Akbar after
the conquest of mighty second gate. The fort is
self-contained and has within its amalgam almost
everything to withstand a long siege. The fort fell
only once that too to the combined armies of Mughal and
of Amber for scarcity of drinking water. Many
magnificent palaces an array of temples built by the
Mauryas of which the most picturesque place is the
Badal Mahal or the palace of the clouds. The fort also
offers a superb birds view of the surroundings. The
fort's thick wall stretches some 36 kms and is wide
enough to take eight horses abreast. Maharana Fateh
Singh renovated the fort in the 19th century. The
fort's large compound has very interesting ruins and
the walk around it can be very rewarding. The
Kumbhalgarh Fort also has a great significance by being
the birthplace of Maharana Pratap and as the finest
examples of defensive fortification in Rajasthan. The
most interesting part is that this fort has a fort
within itself. Named Kartargarh, the inner fort has a
palace built by Maharana Fateh Singh after he had
pulled down the old palace built by Rana Kumbha. Some
remains of the old palace are still there below the new
one which includes the portion that had been occupied
by Prithvi Raj. Kartargarh has 365 temples and shrines
including one with a huge Shivlinga dedicated to Lord
Shiva. The sanctuary is famous for it's wildlife which
includes- wolf, leopard, jackal and a variety of birds.
The sanctuary is one of the few parks that allows
people on horseback.
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