Chittorgarh Fort
The largest of the Rajasthan hill forts — 280 hectares on a ridge above the plain, entered through seven gateways, and besieged three times.
A fort the size of a town
Chittor is not a castle but an enclosed hill: roughly 280 hectares of ground on a rise about 180 metres above the plain, holding palaces, temples, towers and reservoirs inside its wall. The earliest construction is attributed to the Mori ruler Chitrangada Mori, and the Guhila ruler Bappa Rawal took it in the eighth century, after which it became the seat of Mewar. Its place in Rajput memory rests on three documented sieges — Alauddin Khalji in 1303, Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in 1535, and Akbar in 1567-68 — each of which ended in jauhar, the mass self-immolation of the women of the fort, and the deaths of the defenders in the field.
Explore Chittorgarh Fort on the map
City locations, drawn from our published destination data. Attractions, hotels and restaurants are not mapped yet.
What there is to see
A circuit rather than a building, and it takes most of a visit.
🚪 The seven gateways
- Paidal Pol, Bhairon Pol, Hanuman Pol, Ganesh Pol, Jorla Pol, Laxman Pol and Ram Pol, the main gate
- They climb in sequence, so the approach is the fort's first defence and its first impression
🏰 Rana Kumbha Palace
- The oldest of the fort's palaces, associated with the ruler who raised the Vijay Stambh
- Ruined, open and walked through rather than toured room by room
🗼 The two towers
- Vijay Stambh, the Tower of Victory, built by Rana Kumbha in 1448
- Kirti Stambh, the Tower of Fame, a Jain monument of earlier date, standing elsewhere in the fort
💧 Gaumukh reservoir
- A spring-fed tank within the walls — the reason a hill this size could hold out at all
🛕 Meera Temple
- Associated with the poet-saint Mirabai, whose devotional verse is part of Mewar's memory of the place
Getting there
The fort stands directly above the town that takes its name.
🧭 Position
- Chittorgarh is in southern Rajasthan; the fort occupies the hill immediately above the modern town
- The ascent runs through the seven gateways to the plateau, where the monuments are spread out
🚗 On the hill
- The enclosed area is large enough that most visitors move between monuments rather than walking the whole circuit
When to go
Exposed high ground in a hot state.
📅 Season
- The cooler months are the ones to choose; the plateau offers little shelter
🌇 Time of day
- Early or late, both for temperature and because low light suits the towers
Before you go
Treat it as a site to be covered, not a monument to be looked at.
⏱️ Time
- Allow considerably longer than a single-building fort; the enclosure is measured in hundreds of hectares
📖 Context
- The jauhars are the fort's meaning to the people who come here; the sites associated with them are approached accordingly
Close by
Inside the walls, and the town below.
Frequently asked
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