Home > Destinations > Rajasthan >

Read in Your Language :

Rajasthan - Off the Beaten Path

Here then are some pointers for those who would like to discover the state`s more natural heritage in a non-tourist, non-packaged sense.
For those of you who would like to give the cities a miss, and discover the pleasures of living in small village communes, whether in erstwhile hunting lodges, summer retreats or in specially created cottages, the answer may well lie in persuading your travel agent to book you into some of these isolated resorts. The following list mentions the name of some of these places according to geographical location.

Alwar: Fort Kesroli is a professionally managed heritage hotel that is isolated and cut off from the busy world around it. A wonderful place to unwind. Yet another escape can be to the Lake Palace at Siliserh, a lake resort that is popular with picnickers, though the castle to one side provides the perfect, quiet antidote to the crowd.

Chittaurgarh: The Teekhi Magri Resort at Dhamotar is ideal for getting away from it all, breaking with isoloation once in a while to visit the fort at Chittaurgarh.

Jodhpur: Get to stay in Samrau village to experience village life as it really is.

Kumbhalgarh: The hilly tracts of this area are best savoured from the Aodhi, one of Rajasthan`s most charming getaways.

Mandawa: Even though Mandawa, and much of the Shekhawati region, is firmly planted on the tourist map, the Desert Resort complex, set at a distance in the sand dunes, recreates the wonderful ambience of a Rajasthani village.

Nagaur: One of the least explored places in Rajasthan, its fort can be savoured at leisure while you take your accommodations at Dugor village.

Nawalgarh: A part of the Shekhawati circuit, the Roop Niwas palace hotel is a quiet, isolated one set in a garden with a wonderful air of seclusion.

Pali: Rajasthan`s Pali district has a number of quiet getaways that can provide gentle sojourns in the countryside. These include the comfortable Maharani Bagh and Sardar Samand resorts, and two former hunting lodges at two feudal holdings, Bagon-ka-Bagh at Ghanerao and Leopard Lair at Bera.

Pushkar: During the November fair at this pilgrimage centre, with its colourful camel fair, Pushkar Resorts sets up a huge tented camp that can experience quite unlike any other with its profusion of colour and celebration.

Tonk: In the only Muslim kingdom of Rajasthan, the Rajmahal is the perfect spot from which to discover the offerings of this colourful, provincial town.

Udaipur: The Shikarbadi, once a royal hunting lodge, and now run by the family as an idyllic, if luxurious retreat, recreates the farm experience of wealthy landowners in Rajasthan.

Visitors can also choose to stay at farmhouses in the countryside, and can get a recommendation on choices from their travel agent.