Kumbhalgarh Fort - Nearby Places

Besides visiting Kumbhalgarh Fort, tourists can also visit other nearby places like wild life sanctuary, temples, and others. Some of these places are as follows −

Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary

Kumbhalgarh wildlife sanctuary covers an area of about 600km2. Previously royal people used the place for hunting but later the place was converted into a sanctuary. Antelopes, bears, panthers, and leopards can be found here. Wolves are also found here and it is the breeding place for them.

Ranakpur Jain Temples

Ranakpur Jain Temples are 50km away from Kumbhalgarh. After visiting the fort, tourists can also go to see these temples. Rana Kumbha constructed these temples in 1438 and many shrines and statues were installed here by Jain ministers and merchants.

One of the temples is Chaumukha temple dedicated to Adinath, a Jain Tirthankara. The temple has 1444 pillars and 29 halls. There are two temples adjacent to each other. One is devoted to Neminath and other to Parasnath. Another temple is the Sun Temple in which there are carvings of horses and chariots carrying the warriors. These chariots are driven by solar deities.

Parshuram Mahadev Temple

Parshuram Mahadev Temple is situated in a cave nearby Kumbhalgarh. Tourists can go inside the cave through staircase having 500 steps. It is said that Rishi Parshuram was the sixth avtar of Lord Vishnu. The sage himself dug the cave and did the meditation. There are nine kunds in the cave which never dry.

Muchhal Mahavir Temple

The Muchhal Mahavir Temple is located in the sanctuary of Kumbhalgarh. The main feature of this temple is the statue of Lord Mahavir having moustache. There are two statues of elephants at the gate depicting the example of temple decoration.

Garasia tribe reside in a nearby village that perform dance after two or three days of Holi. On the thirteenth of Chaitra month, a fair is held every year.

There is a legend about this temple according to which rana of Mewar came here while hunting and the priest gave him some refreshment. While taking that refreshment he found a white hair. He asked the priest if the lord has moustache. The priest said yes but was very scared. The rana told that he will worship the lord after three days.

The priest prayed for two days and then thought to commit suicide rather than die with the hand of king. Then Lord Mahavir appeared and asked him to cover then idol with a cloth then ask the king to pray and remove the cloth.

When the king came the third day, the priest told him to bath and pray and remove the cloth. When the king removed the cloth after praying he saw the moustache of the lord. The king asked for forgiveness and was forgiven. From that time the temple came to be known as Muchhal Mahavir