People who can't get enough of ancient and majestic fortress of North India - Kumbhalgarh fortress is your place. 

A couple of hours drive from Udaipur through the landscape of gorgeous Rajastan hills will take you to Kumbhalgarh, a 15th century Mewar fortress whose perimeter extends for 36 km at an altitude of 1900 meters. All this numbers just to make you understand what we really like about Kumbhalgarh - that it's massive. Massive.

Some say from the top of the palace you can even see the sand dunes of the Tahar Desert, but what you can certainly see is the breathtaking extension of the fort itself. The second longest wall after the Great Wall of China (over 6223 shorter than the Chinese wonder, sure, but still) surrounds an area containing the palace, birthplace of the notorious warrior Maharana Pratap, and over 360 ancient temples, some of which still very well kept. 

It might be the size of the site, or simply the fact that most tourists in the area end up on Mount Abu, but it never seems to be crowded in Kumbhalgarh. It also helps if you're ready to take a bit of heat and go there in the first half of the day: many combine Ranakpur and Kumbhalgarh in a unique one-day trip from Udaipur, and tend to get to the fort in the afternoon. 

Walking around the fort, the feeling that it's too big for the time you have will keep you company no matter how much time you actually have to spend there. All that space, all those rooms, and temples, and slopes will make you curious to discover a little more, to get to the next group of temple, to walk a little longer along the wall. And you'll feel that the fort, in its enormity, is all yours - and even the eventual tourists taking pictures of you rather than of the fort won't bother you that much. 

 

For those who are easily charmed by this type of place, Kumbhalgarh is magical. For those who are not, well, waiting back in Udaipur is highly recommended.