How long does it take to climb Kumbhalgarh Fort?
The historic centre and magnanimous wonder of Udaipur Kumbhalgarh Fort is a must-visit place on your solo travel. Kumbhalgarh Fort’s marvellous highland topography and majestic walls lure travellers into the empire of temples and palaces. To explore these temples and palaces, one has to climb their way through the sturdy hillslopes. If you ask me how long it takes to climb Kumbhalgarh Fort, I would say it entirely depends on your plan. You can exit at any time, visiting only the famous attractions. However, the fort’s highest point is 30 minutes away from the entrance gate. I hope it helps you calculate the overall time roughly!
Continue reading this post to know more about one of the absolutely beautiful forts of Udaipur.
How long is the wall of Kumbhalgarh?
If you have read my blog post on “How to spend three days in Udaipur,” you must know that the Kumbhalgarh wall extends to 36 km. Hence, the answer is Kumbhalgarh wall is 36 km long. It is the second-largest wall in the world, next to the Great Wall of China. I found something rhyming about Kumbhalgarh Fort! Kumbhalgarh Fort wall stretches to 36 Km while the fort is placed at 3600 ft from sea level. And there are a total of 360 temples inside Kumbhalgarh Fort. If it goes right by my calculation, 300 of 360 are Jain temples. Interesting right? Seem like Kumbhalgarh Fort’s favourite number is 36. Don’t you agree?
Badal Mahal – the highest point of Udaipur
Now coming to the highest point of Udaipur, there are seven gates in Kumbhalgarh Fort. You can enter the fort through one of these gates. Entrance is not a problem as you can navigate to all locations from any gate. Whichever gate it is, the highest point of Kumbhalgarh Fort is the Badal Mahal(Palace). Badal Palace, also known as Kumbha Palace, is the charm of Kumbhagharh Fort, with spellbound visuals of the fort and the greeny mountains. This is the right place for a quick, spot-on tour of Kumbhalgarh Fort.
Further, the palace is abundant with birds. Hence, you can reserve some time for bird watching as one of the activities in Kumbhalgarh Fort. It takes 30 minutes to climb to Badal Mahal from the gate.
How much time is required for Kumbhalgarh Fort?
Kumbhalgarh Fort is an area covering 662 acres. From the entrance, you have to walk for 5 to 10 minutes to spot the first sightseeing location-Ganesh Temple. Again, you have to walk a few kilometres to reach the next spot. It goes on like this. As said earlier, the highest point of Kumbhalgarh Fort is 30 minutes walk from the entrance. So, it will take around 3 hours to climb through and explore Kumbhalgarh Fort.
Still, the time taken is up to you. It depends on how many places you wish to see. Just like how you have come to Kumbhalgarh Fort after knowing it is one destination that Udaipur is famous for. Similarly, there are certain famous places in Kumbhalgarh Fort. If you were to stick with those, you could finish off exploring Kumbhalgarh Fort soon. Hence, the time required relies on the places you cover in Kumbhalgarh Fort.
Alternate ways to climb Kumbhalgarh Fort
If you are uncertain about climbing the Kumbhalgarh Fort, don’t worry. You have other means to explore Kumbhalgarh Fort. As a solo adventurer, you should be ready for challenges like this. If you reconsider climbing the fort to save time for travel, I can’t say ‘no.’ So, what are the other options available? You have minivans and jeeps permitted by the tourist department to take you through Kumbhalgarh Fort on wheels. They are available from the entrance. You can pay and use this availability if you find walking through different places difficult. Nevertheless, climbing Kumbhalgarh Fort is one of the best trekking experiences in Udaipur.
How much does it cost to climb in Kumbhalgarh Fort?
Apart from the entry fees, there are no other charges collected inside the fort. Once you pay and get your entry pass, you are free to climb the fort. The entry ticket costs Rs. 15 for Indians and Rs. 200 for foreigners. The video camera charge is Rs. 25. Then there is food expense to add to the climbing cost list. If not snacking, you will stop to buy water bottles while climbing. Considering this, the total cost to climb Kumbhalgarh Fort comes below Rs.200. For your information, you can find kiosks located here and there. But during my solo trip, some of them were closed. So, I couldn’t count on them. It is preferable to buy the necessary things before getting inside the fort.
How many steps are there in Kumbhalgarh Fort?
Sorry guys, I didn’t count. But relax. First of all, there aren’t many steps to climb. Almost what you parade on are uphill, sloppy, and steep pathways. Other than that, you will find areas with ramps to get through places. So, yeah. You will be climbing through the furnished ramps and unfurnished hill paths. Make sure you are careful. And, of course, there are locations where you will have to climb the stairs. However, stairs are not in the regular walkways. You will find them in the places you will visit inside Kumbhalgarh Fort. For example, you need to climb stairs to enter Vedi Temple and to the rooftop of Badal Mahal. So, as anticipated, you should be prepared for some gentle stair climbing.
In a nutshell, you need to climb for 30 minutes to get to the highest point of Kumbhalgarh, Badal Palace. Since other sightseeing places are located nearby, you can visit them on your way to the Badal Mahal. So, hopefully, it will take 3 hours in total to completely explore Kumbhalgarh Fort.
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