Thursday 5 May 2016

Rajasthan - Royal State of India (Ranakpur and Kumbhalgarh)

Day 8: Friday, November 21, 2014

Started early from guest house and took an auto (Rs. 50) to Rai ka bagh bus depot and boarded a bus at 8.00 am towards Ranakpur. Ticket fare till Ranakpur is Rs. 175 for two persons. After approximately 3 hours, we reached Ranakpur Jain Temple. The temple premise is touched to National highway. Please note that tourists are allowed inside temple only after 12 noon. We booked an ashram room for the rent of Rs. 150, kept our luggage, got freshened up and then went to temple canteen for lunch. I will highly recommend you to try canteen food. It was simple but tasty, low on spices and high on pure ghee vegetable food. Temple canteen charges just Rs. 50 per person for food. It was 12 noon and many people were waiting outside temple to get in. Entry to the temple is free for Indian but got to pay Rs. 100 donation if you want to bring a camera inside. Finally we went inside the temple and I was awestruck. In the complex, there are several temples. It is said that there are more than 1444 exquisitely carved pillars and no two pillars are alike. I had read a lot about this temple. “Awesome”, “Mind Boggling”, “Breathtaking”, “Splendid”, “Marvelous” can be some of the adjectives to be used but believe me it has to be seen to witness this marble wonder. You can Google other details about the temple. Do NOT miss to look UP when inside the temple.

After spending two hours in the temple it was time to move towards Kumbhalgarh fort. We got information that jeep can be hired on request from Ranakpur to Kumbhalgarh. We did the same (Rs. 1500) and reached the massive fort at 3.00 pm. Small Tip: I will suggest to book your vehicle before entering temple so It will save your waiting time. We reached Kumbhalgarh fort at 3.30 pm. Entry ticket to fort is Rs. 5 per person and parking charges for jeep was Rs. 20. Kumbhalgarh is huge fort and main entrance called Ram Pol is massive too. The outer wall of the fort is said to be the second longest wall after the Great Wall of China. It is about 38 KMs long and about fifteen feet thick near main entrance. It is said that there are about 360 small and big temples scattered inside the Kumbhalgarh Fort. Of these 360 temples, about 300 temples belong to Jain Deities and about 60 temples belong to Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Places to be seen are Kumbha Palace, Badal Mahal and the Birthplace of Maharana Pratap. Nearby Temples that include Ganesh Temple, Swami Narayan Temple, Neelkanth Mahadeva Temple, Vedi Complex etc. Light and Sound show can be attended at Kumbhalgarh Fort. After spending approximately 2 – 2.5 hours, our jeep driver dropped us at small village name Sayra. Sayra is located on Ranakpur-Udaipur road and we had to board a bus towards Udaipur. After waiting for 30-45 minutes we got a bus for Udaipur (ticket cost Rs. 115 for two) and reached Udaipur at 8.00 pm. Took an auto rickshaw (Rs. 80) from Udaipur Bus depot to Kumbha Palace hotel. It was a long day so opted for dinner at hotel’s rooftop restaurant. Tariff for the hotel was Rs. 600 for a day. Again the room was basic but clean.

Ranakpur-Kumbhalgarh can be completed as a day trip from Udaipur. Ranakpur temple lies at a distance of 95 KMs from Udaipur. The temple is easily accessible from the city of Udaipur as regular buses and private cabs are available in plenty.


Day 8: Ranakpur Temple

Day 8: Ranakpur Temple


Day 8: Miniature shrines and Tirthankaras carved inside Ranakpur Temple


Day 8: Intrinsic carvings on white marble Ranakpur Temple


Day 8: Carved pillars of Ranakpur Temple


Day 8: Carved ceilings of Ranakpur Temple


Day 8: Carved pillars of Ranakpur Temple


Day 8: Wall panel with 1008 snakes intervened in a manner that you cannot find tail of snake (Inside Ranakpur Temple)


Day 8: Few of 1440 Carved pillars of Ranakpur Temple


Day 8: Carved ceiling of Ranakpur Temple


Day 8: Ranakpur Temple


Day 8: Ram Pol Kumbhalgarh Fort


Day 8: Kumbhalgarh Fort


Day 8: Kumbhalgarh Fort

Day 8: Kumbhalgarh Fort


Day 8: Second longest wall of Kumbhalgarh Fort


Day 8: Kumbhalgarh Fort

No comments:

Post a Comment