11: Day 6: Udaipur - Chittorgarh - Udaipur (260 km)

Chittorgarh Fort, now a World Heritage site, has a history that epitomises Rajput romanticism, chivalry and tragedy, and it holds a special place in the hearts of many Rajputs. Three times (in 1303, 1535 and 1568) Chittorgarh was under attack from a more powerful enemy; each time, its people chose death before dishonour. After the last of the three attacks, the fort ruler Rana Udai Singh II fled to Udaipur, where he established a new capital for Mewar.

We chose to wake up late in the morning at Udaipur, preferring to take rest and recoup from the hectic events of the last couple of days. After a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel, we got ready and decided to go for an excursion to Chittorgarh fort. Just next to the hotel reception, there was a small footwear shop which had some unique and authentic Rajasthani footwear. Ruhi reminded me that I had promised to get her footwear in Rajasthan. I kept my promise and got her a pair of sandals. One by one, almost all of us ended up purchasing some footwear as it was good, authentic and affordable at the same time. We left from the hotel by 10 am.

Anant chose to drive. It was a smooth drive on NH 27 all the way. In about an hour, we had crossed the Narayanpura toll plaza, once again using the exclusive ETC / FASTag non-stop lane. In a little over an hour from there, we had reached Chittorgarh town. The fort stands on a hill about 180m high, and rises abruptly above the surrounding plains. A winding hill road of more than 1 km length from the town passes through seven gates (in local language a gate is called Pol) viz. Padan Pol, Bhairon Pol, Hanuman Pol, Ganesh Pol, Jodla Pol, Laxman Pol finally leading to the west end main gate of the fort, called Ram Pol.

Chittorgarh Fort: First views

I got entrance tickets to the fort for all of us and a parking ticket for the cheetah. There were a few government appointed guides wearing identity cards to prove their authenticity. I checked with a few of them and picked one who would be officially taking us on a tour to Chittorgarh fort. At a location that involved a lot of history, it made sense to have a guide explain the significance of each point.

Within the fort, a circular road provided access to all the gates and monuments located within the fort wall. Our guide started with gusto, explaining at length the history of each and every point. It seemed interesting initially but very soon we got bored. He drove us to irritation, citing time and again that he was named "Raju guide" after the character by the same name portrayed by the Bollywood hero Dev Anand in the movie Guide. In the first half an hour or so, we covered Rana Kumbha's palace, most of which was in ruins. Being a tourist season, all the official guides seemed to be hired, and hence another group of tourists also joined us. Ruhi and I quickly got bored and after Kumbha palace, decided to wait in the car till the rest of the group covered visiting the Meera temple. It was a welcome break from Raju guide's constant yapping.

Chittorgarh Fort: Rana Kumbha Palace and around. The person in the white shirt is our "Raju guide"

Chittorgarh Fort: Meera temple

After about half an hour, Ruhi and I joined the gang in visiting the next section of the fort, which covered the Vijay Stambha (victory pillar), Gaumukha reservoir and a garden where the biggest Rajput festival called "Jauhar Mela" is held. It was past 2 pm, and the scorching heat was making me want this tour to get over at the earliest. Ruhi was extremely frustrated and I would not blame her for that. I treated her to an ice cream and soon after I was glad to hear that the tour was over. Raju guide told us that instead of driving back from the road we had taken, we could continue driving along the same road, look at the other places of interest from the car itself, and the circular road would take us to Ram Pol (where we started).

Chittorgarh Fort: Vijay Stambha, Gaumukh Reservoir, garden where "Jauhar Mela" is held

We thanked Raju guide for his history session of Chittorgarh fort and the Rajput traditions, and concluded our fort visit by around 3:30 pm. We all were very hungry and had lunch at one Hotel Pratap Palace in Chittorgarh town. It took us a while to finish lunch thanks to the waiter who erred as many as 3 times by getting us something which we had never ordered. We all ended up having Dal Khichdi and were on our way back to Udaipur city by 5 pm.

For the second time in as many days, we were on the same stretch of NH 27 at almost the same time. We crossed Narayanpura toll plaza in an hour, and reached the outskirts of Udaipur city in under an hour. From there on, it was a hectic drive through insanely small roads, into the heart of the city to reach Udaipur city palace. That such a grand city palace has approach roads so narrow was unimaginable. We reached the city palace shortly after 7 pm, only to find that entry closes at 7 pm. It was very hard to find a parking spot for a vehicle like the XUV on those narrow streets, and I had to drive about half a kilometre to get lucky. We then visited the Jagadish temple, raised on a tall terrace.

Udaipur city: Jagadish temple

We were right in the heart of Udaipur city, and the local market had a lot of Rajasthani stuff on offer for tourists. Handicrafts, Rajasthani dresses, bags, jewellery, silverware - it appeared endless. We got a nice little skirt for Ruhi. Pallavi wanted to get herself a "jhola" (traditional hand bag) but didn't find a good one. I was bored to death soon and wanted to take some rest. Pallavi, Ruhi and I chose to drive back to the hotel while Rama, Anant, Mukul, Gauri and Trisha chose to spend some more time shopping. While they were shopping, I chose to get a full body massage at the hotel's spa in order to relax. I joined the folks who had started with their dinner while I was having my massage. We had some tasty Mutton Rajputana for dinner. It was pretty cold in Udaipur, and I remember being covered from head to toe before going to sleep. With that, it was the end of Day 6 of our trip.