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lifestyle.
Wrinkled tree thickets, beautifully painted kitchen walls,
drooping camels chewing light green fodder lazily is what
gives Rajasthani villages an extra edge for rural tourism.
Come and experience a lifestyle still untouched by the hands
of modernity. If you want to experience the true essence of
Rajasthani village life and that too from a close quarter,
then you can stay in the rugged huts of the village people.
You can also enjoy the delicious village cuisine, served hot
from the rugged kitchen of the household. Enjoy your meals
with chunks of fresh butter and 'lassi' (buttermilk) that adds
a superb taste to the rural meals.
Nathdwara
Nathdwara, a small village town is situated about 48 km north
of Udaipur. It houses the most sacred shrine of Vaishnavites
build in the 18th century. Inside the temple of faith there
you can see a black stone Vishnu image, that was brought here
from Mathura in 1669 to protect it from the Aurangzeb
demolition. The devotes treat the image like a dainty child,
wake him up in the morning, washing it, putting his cloths on,
offering it special meals and prayers, and putting it down to
a sleep. Thousands of pilgrims visit this shrine during Diwali,
Holi and Janmashtami. Nathdawara is also famous for its
Pichwai Painting, which was practiced after the Vishu image
was brought here. These bright paintings, with their rather
static images were usually done with the hand-spun-fabrics.
The village peoples fabricate these paintings since generation
and now the Pichwai paintings have turned into a lucrative
trade business. Another attraction of the town is Shrinatji
Temple. Hundreds of devotes throng to seek the special
blessings of Shrinathji (Lord Vishnu). The special
arrangements are made for pilgrims to catch the glimpse of
Shrinathji, for which the doors open eight times a day. Rest
of the day the temple seems to be crowd free. The interiors of
the temple are impressive enough to reflect the real
Rajasthani style. Some of the ornaments of Lord Vishnu belong
to Mughal India. The antique silver and gold jewellery is
embellished over the statue of Shrinathji. The temple door is
decorated with drawings of elephant, horses and beautiful
maidens. Temple servants still wore those old costumes that
belong to bygone era, the pankhwalas still run those big fans
manually so as to keep the interior cool, the formal prayers
are offered with diya (lighted earthen pots), flowers and
fruits. From Nathdwara, you can also buy the crafted idols of
gods and goddess in terracotta, stone and metal, Enameled and
silver jewellery, wooden toys, cloth lanterns, colorful
puppets, terracotta crafts, handmade paper crafts.
Kumbhalgarh
Kumbhalgarh is known as one of the old village, where
basically two communities resided in its olden days.
Kumbhalgarh is famous for its colossal fort located 84 km
north of Udaipur. The Kumbhalgarh Fort is an important
landmark of Mewar after Chittorgarh. The fort was originally
build by Maharana Khumbha in 15 century to protect Royal
Rajputana in the time of danger. The Kumbhalgarh remained
unconquered due to its 1100 m high location on the hill top of
Aravalli ranges. The fort has thick wall stretches of about 36
km that made it a dream for its rivals to conquer this
periphery. The fort also houses an ancient temple, palaces,
gardens, water storage facilities and big courtyards that make
it again a self-sufficient dwelling. The mesmerizing beauty of
fort depicts the influence of Mughal, British and Rajasthani
architecture. However as you forward your foot to reach for
the door ways, there you can see miniature paintings of
wildlife and carved motifs that displays the true mughal
learnings. Here the tourist can also explore the excellent
camel safaris on the sand dunes, rural lifestyle of Rajasthani
villages and the wild life sanctuaries in the walking distance
of the village.
Ranakpur
Ranakpur is a village which is situated near Sadri town in
Pali district of Rajasthan, about 48 km from Kumbhalgarh and
90 km from Udaipur. Ranakpur is known for most beautiful and
biggest Jain Temples in India. These ancient temples houses
the statue of Mahavira and other Jain saint. The main temple
is Chaumukha Temple also known as Four Faced Temple, build in
1439 with superbly crafted and well kept marbles. This temple
is dedicated to Adinath, the first Trithankar. The 29 halls
are supported by 1444 pillars inside the temple premises.
Within the complex there are two more Jain Temples of Neminath
and Parasnath. Sun Temple and Amba Mata Temple are also
located not far from the complex. The villages are well
painted with the sketches of peacocks, elephants, horses and
human figures. The tourists can walk through the village and
can experience the villagers lifestyle. The colourful
lifestyles of the people of Ranakpur is depicted by most of
the Jain followers in the village.
Ghanerao
Ghanerao is a small village that is situated in the district
of Pali in Rajasthan, about 18 km from Ranakpur. This royal
village was built in the 15th century. It is a major center of
attraction for tourists due to the Ghanerao Royal Castle.
Beside this, the Ghanerao also houses the castle of great
worshipper Meera Bai, a poetess and a great devotee of Lord
Krishana. It is considered to be the childhood town of Meera
Bai, where she worshipped Lord Krishna throughout her life.
The Ghanerao Royal Castle is build up of sandstone and is now
converted into a heritage hotel. The highlight of this castle
is the pavilion in the central court. Near the castle there
are cenotaphs of former legends, Jain Temple and the Mahavir
Temple.
Bambora
Bambora is major trek for various tourists. Bambora is located
nearly 45 km in the south east of Udaipur. This small village
has a 250 year old fort that has been now converted into the
heritage hotel. The Bambora fort offers you a peaceful stay in
rural Rajasthan. It is the fort of great martyrdom, where
various battles were fought over a period of time.
Jaisamand
The Jaisamand Lake is one of the largest artificial lake in
Asia, covering an area of 36 square km. This lake was
constructed by Maharana Jai Singh in the 1685 A.D.,
fortunately created by damming of Gomti River. This shallow
lake is located nearly 48 km in the southeast of Udaipur.
Today it is considered to be 14 km long and 9 km wide. It is
the most tourist populated spot during summers. Beside this
there are number of attractive marble chhatris (cenotaphs)
around the lakeside, each of them with an elephant in the
front. The summer palace of Maharani of Udaipur is located
near the Jaisamand Lake which provided refreshing moods to the
women of Royal Rajathan in its olden days. Around the lake,
there is long forest zone that was once the hunting grounds of
Maharanas of Mewar. It is now converted into a sanctuary which
has wide verity of flora and fauna. There are about seven
islands on Jaisamand Lake. The nearby area and the low lake
site are inhabited by the tribes of Bhils and Minas.
Jhalawar
Jhalawar was the princely state of the Jhalas. Jhalawar was
created in 1838 A.D., after being separated from Kota by the
British. Jhalawar is sitauted in the south-eastern region of
Rajasthan at the edge of the Malwa plateau. Jhalawar has rocky
and water-laden verdant landscape. With some exquisite
pre-historic cave paintings, massive forts, thickly wooded
forests and exotic wildlife variety, Jhalawar boasts of rich
historic as well as natural wealth. The main attractions of
this place are the Jhakawar Fort, Government museum, Bhawani
Natya Shala and the Buddhist caves. The ancient Buddhist caves
of Kolvi, Vinayaka and Hathyagod are situated in the
Bhawanimandi in Jhalawar in the form of a triangle at a
distance of about 6 to 8 kms. from each other. A colossal
figure of Buddha and the carved stupas are the most impressive
structures in the caves. Certain unique trees were found near
the monasteries and caves in the Buddhist times. The nearest
railway station to reach the caves is from Bhawanimandi. |
