Experience the best of Chittaurgarh

Chittorgarh Fort covers a long whaleback hill about 180 metres above the plain, and its walls enclose palaces, temples, tanks and towers. It was the capital of the Mewar kingdom and is part of UNESCO's Hill Forts of Rajasthan. Vijay Stambh, the Tower of Victory, a nine-storey tower built in the fifteenth century by Maharana Kumbha, can be seen from far away, and the Jain Kirti Stambh is older still.

Rani Padmini's palace stands beside a pool, and a temple is dedicated to the poet-saint Mirabai, who sang of her devotion to Krishna. The fort was besieged in 1303, 1535 and 1568, and its history of defiance is told in many legends. Below the hill is the modern city, with Udaipur some 110 kilometres to the south-west and Bundi to the north-east.

Mewar cooking brings dal baati churma, gatte ki sabzi, gram-flour dumplings in a spiced yoghurt sauce, and flatbreads of maize. Walking the fort's long circuit is most pleasant on cool mornings from November to February.