Rajasthan-The state of the Royals

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Rajasthan brings in me the memory of the vast palaces and wonderful desert, not to mention their food and camel milk. I visited this state almost a decade ago but I seem to remember it with ease. The day I landed in Jodhpur, I visited the Umaid Bhawan Palace, now also known as the place where Priyanka Chopra tied the knot with Nick Jonas. 


The dome of the Umaid Bhawan Palace

This is one wonderful location which anybody visiting Rajasthan should not miss. It is one of the largest residences where the Jodhpur Royal family once lived. The beautiful architecture of this place still has me mesmerized. 
The beautiful architecture of the palace


The Umaid Bhawan Palace 

The palace also has a museum with the history of the Royal family. There is a wonderfully painted picture of the Mehrangarh fort. The museum has photos of the kings and queens and also contains antique crockery sets, clocks and the dining tables that the royal families used. 
The crockery used by the Royals

Another unmissable location in this city is the above mentioned Mehrangarh fort. It consists of 15 floors. I got to see the King and Queen’s rooms, the Prince and Princess’ cradles, Palanquins and some canals. There were a few paintings in this fort as well. The entire city was visible from the top and one thing that I noticed was that most of the houses were painted blue.


Inside the Mehrangarh fort

There was also a jain temple here. The architecture and Sculptures here were unbelievable.
The Jain Temple

I then visited Udaipur - the city of lakes. 

Udaipur

There is a beautiful garden in Udaipur called the Saheliyon-ki-Bari. There are five fountains in this park - the first one is the welcome fountain, the second one is the Bina Barish fountain, the third one is the Barish Aavaz fountain, the fourth one is the Hathi Kammal fountain and finally the fifth one is the Ghoomar (Traditional dance of Rajasthan) fountain.

One of the fountains in Saheliyon-Ki-Bari

There is also a temple called the Eklinji temple - a temple for Lord Shiva. This idol has four heads. I then visited the Nathdwara temple, which is one of the five Pancha Dwaraka temples. The main deity in this temple is Sri Krishna.
There is also a Jain temple in Panakpur. It is really calm there. 
There is a palace in this city called the Shiv Niwas where the Maharaja had once resided. 
Moti Magri, a hill overlooking the Fateh Sagar lake has the memorial of Rajput war hero Maharana Pratap Singh with his horse Chetak. 

Finally coming to Jaisalmer, the city with Thar Desert. I first visited the Jaisalmer lake where I did boating.

Fishes in Jaisalmer lake
The Jaisalmer Lake

The Jaisalmer fort, is one of the very few forts where people actually reside in the fort. There is a haveli a few kilometers from the Jaisalmer fort. You can take a tuk-tuk (auto-rikshaw) to the haveli. 
Coming to the most awaited part of the Rajasthan trip, I went on a camel ride on the sand dunes of the beautiful Thar Desert. Sitting in the sand with sand dunes all around and watching the sunset was definitely the highlight of the entire trip. The camels so beautiful, tall and strong gave me a wonderful ride. 
Camels resting in the That Desert after a ride

Shopping is a must do here. The clothes, pickles, mehendi cones and what not. There are multiple small stores that are in the market area of the city. The locals there would be the best guide on what to buy where. There are a lot of handicraft shops where you can buy gifts for your loved ones. 

I went to Rajasthan from Chennai. So, I took a flight from Kamaraj domestic airport (Chennai) to Chhatrapati Shivaji international airport (Mumbai) and from there to Jodhpur. There is also an airport in Udaipur and Jaisalmer. The best way to travel within Rajasthan is by a taxi. I would suggest, enter Rajasthan through an Airport or a Railway station if you live close to Rajasthan and then travel by road.  

This western state is a must visit.      

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