Picture of the Day: Chittorgarh, The Largest Fort In India
CHITTORGARH, THE LARGEST FORT IN INDIA
Chittorgarh Fort is the largest fort in India and the grandest in the state of Rajasthan. The fort, plainly known as Chittor, was the capital of Mewar and is today situated several kilometres by road south of Bhilwara. It was ruled initially by Guhilot and later by Sisodias, the Suryavanshi clans of Chattari Rajputs, from 7th century, until it was finally abandoned in 1568 after the siege by Emperor Akbar in 1567.
It sprawls majestically over a hill 180 m (590.6 ft) in height spread over an area of 280 ha (691.9 acres) above the plains of the valley drained by the Berach River. The fort is studded with a series of historical palaces, gates, temples and two prominent commemoration towers. These monumental ruins have inspired the imagination of tourists and writers for centuries.
The fort that once boasted of 84 water bodies has only 22 of them now. These water bodies are fed by natural catchment and rainfall, and have a combined storage of 4 billion litres that could meet the water needs of an army of 50,000. The supply could last for four years. These water bodies are in the form of ponds, wells and step wells. The fort which is roughly in the shape of a fish has a circumference of 13 km (8.1 mi) with a maximum width of 3 km (1.9 mi). [Source: Wikipedia]
A search on Tineye shows that this photograph has been posted on numerous wallpaper sites and blogs but no source photographer has been named. There was no indication in the Reddit comments either. If you know who took this fabulous shot, please let us know in the comments!
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