What to Do in Haldighati – Is it Worth Visiting?
In Haldighati, you can engage yourself in the historical tales of Mewars, Mughals, and their notorious battle from 1576. Places such as Haldighati Pass, Maharana Pratap Museum, Rakta Talai, Badshahi Bagh, Chetak Samadhi, and Maharana Pratap Statue stand as the living memory of the Haldighati battleground. So don’t forget to do a historic visit to these locations on your solo trip to Haldhighati! If you are interested in royal stories, scenes from the battlefield, and heartbreaking sacrifices in war, then Haldighati is a feasting place for you. Considering its historical relevance, visiting Haldighati in Udaipur is a worthwhile experience.
Where is Haldighati?
To pin the location rightly, Haldighati starts with the Haldighati pass, a short narrow mountain pass in the Aravalli mountain region that spreads for one kilometre. Then the area extends to a very small region. Specifically, Haldighati is the area that is jammed between the Khamnore and Bagicha villages of Rajasthan. That said, the distance between Haldighati and Udaipur is approximately 40 km. And it takes roughly one hour to reach Hadighati from Udaipur.
What are the things to do in Haldighati?
Being a historically significant location, Haldighati has a lot of legendary stories spread across its land. So, visiting the places that foretell the historical background of the land is a must-do thing as a solo traveller in Haldighati. All these places trap you with their stories and take you back in time to the period of Mewars and Mughals.
Top sevens places to visit in Haldighati
So, the places to visit in Haldighati that narrate the glorious saga of the Haldighati battleground and the courage of the king Maharana Pratap are,
- Haldighati Pass
- Maharana Pratap Gufa
- Maharana Pratap Museum
- Chetak Samadhi
- Badshahi Bagh
- Rakta Talai
- Maharana Pratap Statue
Haldighati pass
Haldighati pass is the first place you will encounter on your way to Haldighati. This passageway that spans up to one kilometre is guarded with walls of brownish-yellow sand rocks. During the period of Mewar, this place was the entry point to the Mewar dynasty. So, on knowing King Akbar’s invasion of Udaipur, King Maharana Pratap and his soldiers were stationed in this one-kilometre passage hideaway to attack the Mughals.
Besides this historically relevant remark, travellers stop at this place to see the yellow coloured sand of the Haldighati region. If you didn’t know already, ‘Haldi’ means turmeric in Hindi. The locality is called Haldi because of its yellow coloured sand.
Although the sand rocks look brownish, you can see a pure yellow tint on your skin when you scratch them with your hands. Eventually, this has become a must-do activity in Haldighati. People visiting the Haldighati pass won’t leave this place without feeling the yellow textured soil!
Maharana Pratap Gufa
After exploring the beautiful Haldighai pass, go to Maharana Pratap Gufa (cave) in the Iswal region. A tiny-teeny opening takes you inside the cave where the locals worship their long-dead, brave king, Pratap. This place is believed to be the spot where Maharana Pratap took shelter during the war. Interestingly, there is a secret underground passage inside the cave, but it is prohibited for visitors and is left untouched due to uncertainties about its whereabouts.
Maharana Pratap Museum
After this, you can head to the most anticipated location of Haldighati—the Maharana Pratap Museum. The only museum in Udaipur dedicated exclusively to the history, bravery, and sacrifice of the land. The museum is open from 08:00 am to 06:00 pm on all days. Besides the display of artefacts and weapons, the museum showcases a light and music show and telecasts a short film on the life of King Maharana Pratap. The light and music show recreate the scenes of the battle of Haldighati. The ticket to the light and sound show is Rs.35.
- Entry fee: Rs.20 for Indians
- Entry fee: Rs.50 for foreigners
Chetak memorial
The next location is the Chetak memorial. To brief you on the backstory, Chetak is the horse on which King Maharana Pratap fought the battle. After the king was beaten and rendered unconscious by the battle, Chetak the horse carried him safely into the woods despite his injuries and died. The area was then turned into the worship ground of Chetak. There are no entry fees at Chetak memorial.
While you visit the Chetak Memorial, the locals direct you to another spot in the Aravalli mountainous region. This place is within 2 km of the Chetak memorial. Honestly, not anything amusing, just plain green terrain and mountains. But it is said that Chetak made a 25 m leap jump in this area to get its master into the jungle. As you stand on the road, you can witness the alleged spot. Not a must-visit place in Udaipur unless you don’t want to leave any spot behind.
Badshahi Bagh
Head to Badshahi Bagh after grieving the sacrifice of Chetak, the faithful horse of King Maharana Pratap. What is now turned into a park is the area where the Mughal army was stationed during the war. When you enter the Badshahi Bagh gate, you will find yourself standing in the open arena where Mughal soldiers camped centuries back. As of now, there are no entry fees to the garden.
Rakta Talai
The next place to visit in Haldighati is Rakta Talai. Wondering what this place is? After the retreat, the war reassembled in the place called Rakta Talai. Furthermore, Ram Shah Tanwar of Gwalior, Maharana Pratap’s most devoted warrior, and his three sons died there. The two domed structures you find in Ratak Thalai are the memorial of Ram Shah and his three sons.
Maharana Pratap statue
The last destination on the “Haldighati list” is Maharana Pratap Statue. As you enter the territory of Haldighati, you can take a keen look at the statue of Maharana Pratap riding Chetak, his favourite and life-saviour horse. With that, you can wrap up your Haldighati trip!
How many days are needed to explore Haldighati?
One day is more than enough to explore Haldighati. Most probably, you won’t need an entire day. You can finish off exploring Haldighati before evening. Therefore, you can either come back to your hostel in Udaipur or stay in Haldighati and plan your trip to its neighbourhood tourist locations such as Nathdwara, Rajsamand, Kota, Bundi, Pushkar, Ranakpur temple, and Mount Abu. Kumbhalgarh Fort, one of the absolutely beautiful forts in Udaipur, is also nearby Haldighati.
To sum up, you have a lot of historically intriguing things to do in Haldighati. The vibrant stories of Haldighati bring a vivid picture of the battle of Haldighati to its travellers. Except for the museum, all the other historical sites are free of cost, and all the places are located within walking distance. Hence, Haldighathi is a lovely place for history fanatics to travel in Udaipur at minimum cost.
If you want to discover more about the battle of Haldighati before your visit, click here.