Rajasthan isn’t shy. Its Thar Desert burns with shimmering monochrome heat, its ochre and grey landscape mesmerises, and its sun-pickled historical architecture – the legacy of an extraordinary, often turbulent history – amazes, and sometimes overawes. Set in the Aravalli Mountains, the six hill forts of Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Jhalawar, Jaipur and Jaisalmer are a lasting testimony to India’s powerful princely states that thrived between the 8th and 18th centuries. Using natural defences, including hills and rivers, they protected palaces, religious sites and trading posts, with their structures dominating the surrounding landscape. Today, they’re rather more accessible – and truly spectacular. Driving up to Jaisalmer in the early evening, its walls lined with rounded fortfications ignited gold by the setting sun, is an experience that will never be forgotten. Nor is the snaking road climbing up the dramatic mountain face to Kumbhalgarh. Enter their gates and you’ll find human rather than natural theatre: exquisite ornate temples that often predate the fortifications, and, on the right day, fortunetellers and dazzling religious celebrations with dancers, musicians and jubilant crowds: India on colourful, joyous top form.
Hills Forts of Rajasthan - India
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Rajasthan isn’t shy. Its Thar Desert burns with shimmering monochrome heat, its ochre and grey landscape mesmerises, and its sun-pickled historical architecture – the legacy of an extraordinary, often turbulent history – amazes, and sometimes overawes. Set in the Aravalli Mountains, the six hill forts of Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Jhalawar, Jaipur and Jaisalmer are a lasting testimony to India’s powerful princely states that thrived between the 8th and 18th centuries. Using natural defences, including hills and rivers, they protected palaces, religious sites and trading posts, with their structures dominating the surrounding landscape. Today, they’re rather more accessible – and truly spectacular. Driving up to Jaisalmer in the early evening, its walls lined with rounded fortfications ignited gold by the setting sun, is an experience that will never be forgotten. Nor is the snaking road climbing up the dramatic mountain face to Kumbhalgarh. Enter their gates and you’ll find human rather than natural theatre: exquisite ornate temples that often predate the fortifications, and, on the right day, fortunetellers and dazzling religious celebrations with dancers, musicians and jubilant crowds: India on colourful, joyous top form.
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