IT IS NOT EVERY DAY THAT YOU GET TO HOLD YOUR HEAD HIGH IN THE CLOUDS ON A HILLTOP FORTRESS AFTER AN EXALTING BOUT OF CYCLING.
The high hilltop fort I am talking about is Kumbhalgarh, and how I got there on a cycle from Udaipur as part of the Rajasthan biking holiday trip is a story in itself.
Our happy-go-lucky group of eight cyclists, comprising of Europeans, Aussies, and Indians, started out of Udaipur even before the cock’s crow in the morning. We all piled into the tour guide’s cab for a 40-km drive out of the city after which our bikes were unloaded for 40 more kilometers of cycle ride to Kumbhalgarh, our destination for the day.
Wishing each other a good ride, we mounted the saddles, pressed on the pedals, and were well into the heartland of Rajasthan even as the rising sun was still playing hide and seek behind the hillocks.
I tell you, it is quite something to cycle through rural Rajasthan in the wee hours of the morning. A whole new world seems to open up before you.
Women in colourful saris carrying firewood or water pots on their heads walked by the side of the road and turned to smile and wave at us as we rode by. A few cowherds were already out grazing their cattle. Herds of goat would often block the road and we would happily click selfies with them. Yes, selfies with goats. We even came upon a water wheel being turned by a pair of bulls in a field. It was an ancient and ingenious contraption to draw water from an open well. Some of us did try our hand at steering the bulls and the animals did not seem to mind at all. Good for us.
Passing through the sleepy hamlets and villages, we couldn’t help notice the incredible contradictions of hinterland India. Here, a top-of-the-line SUV can be waylaid by an oxcart. Here, stray mules own the road as much as a top-speed biker. Here, the modern rubs cheek by jowl with the ancient.
It is coming upon these wonderful little discoveries of rural India that makes Rajasthan Cycling Tour so very special, particularly for foreigners.
The road was easy and the ride was mostly breezy, save for a few rough and bumpy trails. The route took us through a landscape dotted with hillocks that looked like the humped backs of camels. We made good time of it, and by noon had our first sight of the Kumbhalgarh Fort, sitting high on top of a hill.
At the very first glance it became clear why this 15th century fort was built so high up: to keep the invaders away. That is a no-brainer, right? But here was the catch. The long and steep uphill road to the fort does not exactly look a cushy ride to a 21st century cyclist either.
So no surprise that half of our Rajasthan cycling group packed it in and hopped into the tour guide’s cab for a comfortable half-hour car ride to the fort. But the remaining four of us, including myself, were adamant and decided to bike our socks off to the top.
I humbly admit now that the uphill slog did knock our socks off and it wasn’t long before we were looking for excuses to stop and catch our breath. Good scenery! Let us stop for a while. Too many taxis on the road? Take a break. Too many mules? Another break. Something faulty with the derailleur? Break time. It is hot? Water break.
After about a dozen breaks and much mutual cheerleading, we finally made it to Kumbhalgarh Fort and were greeted with cheers and high-fives by the rest of the team. Heck, they even shook up Pepsi bottles and sprayed us with cola froth as if it were champagne and we were Formula One champions.
THE DAY WAS STILL YOUNG AND WE IMMEDIATELY SET ABOUT EXPLORING THE MAJESTIC KUMBHALGARH FORT.
Legend has it that this place had been a garrison location for kings as far back as the 6th century CE, but it was the 15th century king Rana Kumbha who had the foresight and means to build the huge fort with a 36-km long perimeter wall that is the second longest continuous wall in the world after China’s Great Wall. Someone in our group suggested that we should walk along the entire length of the wall but the suggestion was promptly shot down.
What we got ourselves busy exploring were the temples. Yes, Kumbhalgarh Fort has many temples. Three hundred Jain Temples and about sixty Hindu temples. Not that we planned to visit them all. They are spread far and wide over the entire fort complex and could take up many days, forget hours. We visited the biggest ones with the most appealing architecture, before making our way up to the royal palace on the top.
A walkway snaked up along the side of the hill through many fortified gateways to take us to the palace. We were walking the path once trodden by the kings and princes. We visited the royal chamber where the most valiant Rajput king Maharana Pratap was born in 1540. We went right up to the terrace and had a good look at the whole countryside.
To the west we could see the Thar desert in the distance. All around were the ancient hills of the Aravali range, even older than the mighty Himalayas. We could see the fort wall stretching up and down for miles over many of these hills. We could see the road we had taken to get to the fort.
The rain clouds were closing in and it was already beginning to drizzle. There could not have been a better end to the day. We all congratulated each other for the day’s cycling and shouted out:
