Rajasthan – The Royal State of India

Travel to the sand dunes of Rajasthan, stay at the Royal Palaces and feel like a King.

Rajasthan, The land of Kings is the largest state of India located in north western India. The Land of Royalty was ruled by Rajputs for a long time even today they are regarded in very high esteem. The Royal Rajputs of Rajasthan were the descendants of the Kshatriyas or warriors of vedic India. One of the world’s first and oldest civilizations, The Indus Valley Civilization was located in Rajasthan. Prime attractions of Rajasthan are its unique culture,Thar desert, great forts, palaces, temples and big fair & festivals.

Rajasthan host one of the major desert area of world known as the Great Thar Desert of India. Apart from big mountains, blue sea, green forest and white land of Kashmir, Thar desert “Ocean of Sand” is one of the major tourist attraction in India. The royal state also host one of biggest desert fair, camel safari and wide range of desert wild animals. The best way to explore the royal Rajasthan is only by the luxurious trains like Place on Wheel and Royal Rajasthan on Wheel.

Best Tourist Attractions of Royal Rajasthan

The Rajasthan desert also known as Great Indian Desert is located at western Rajasthan. Thar Desert of Rajasthan or the “ocean of sands” is the world’s seventh largest desert.

Thar Desert

The Great desert of India is surrounded by the Aravalli Ranges on the east,on south by Rann of Kutch and on the west by the Indus River. Due to the diversified habitat the Indian desert is very rich in flora and fauna, About 23 species of lizard and 25 species of snakes are found here and several of them are endemic to the region. The fauna of wild desert includes wild cat, blackbuck and Indian wild ass. A camel safari into the Thar desert is an experience not to be missed.

Forts

Rajasthan is well famous for its majestic forts, magnificent palaces and historic havelis built by the Great Maharajas of Rajasthan. There are around 14 forts in Rajasthan, out of them Chittorgarh Fort is the largest fort in India and the grandest in the state of Rajasthan. The Jaisalmer Fort also known as “Golden fort” is one of the largest forts in the world, Situated in the Jaisalmer city. Other big forts of Rajasthan are Mehrangarh Fort, Nahargarh Fort, Amber Fort, desert forts of Jodhpur and the beautiful Jaigarh Fort called as Cheel ka Teela (Hill of Eagles) situated at the Aravalli hill ranges.

Palaces

The land of maharajas is famous for well laid gardens, gorgeous temples and beautiful palaces. Some of these are Alsisar Haveli, City Palaces, Hawa Mahal,Lake palace,Umaid Bhavan and Jai Mahal. Umaid Bhawan Palace situated at Chittar Hill, the highest point in Jodhpur is one of the world’s largest private residences. The Water Palace is located in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake in pink city Jaipur. These palaces are stunning example of Rajput artistry made of red and pink sand stones.

Culture

Rajasthan is the most colorful states in India, It is famous for its vibrant and diverse culture, dances, customs and music. Highly cultivated classical music and dance with its own distinct style is part of the cultural tradition of Rajasthan. The Ghoomar dance from Udaipur and Kalbeliya dance of Jaisalmer are world famous. Rajasthani clothes have a lot of mirror work and embroidery, the traditional dress for females is chaniya choli. Due to the desert region Rajasthan economy is primarily agricultural and pastoral.

Cuisines

The cuisine of Rajasthan is very rich and has a very unique flavor. Rajasthani cuisine offers an amazing variety of dishes included dal bati churma, traditional Rajasthani thali and rajasthani sweets. The best known Rajasthani food is the combination of dal, bati and churma.  Other famous food items are Mawa Kachori from jodhpur, Alwar ka mawa, Malpauas from Pushkar Ghevar from Jaipur and Rassgollas from Bikaner. The Chokhi Dhani is the best place to enjoy the Rajasthani culture, tradition and delicious foods.

Fair and Festivals

Rajasthan is known for its colorful Fairs and Festivals, There are many exotic Fairs and Festivals such as Teej and the Desert Festival. The famous Pushkar Fair a annual five-day camel and livestock fair is the largest Camel Fair in the world. Pushkar, the oldest city if also famous for its magnificent lake,ghats and The brahma temple. Bharatpur Brij Festival also known as Brij Mahotsava is one of the important fairs and festivals of Rajasthan, Celebrate before Holi, It is dedicated to Lord Krishna.

The great Thar Desert host one of the most popular festival of India, Desert Festival Of Jaisalmer also known as Rajasthan Desert Festival. Desert Festival was initiated to celebrated to display the glory of the desert land, its rich culture and tradition.

Shopping

The desert land is haven for shoppers and traditionally rich in making handicrafts and hand looms. The Pink city of India Jaipur is the best city in Rajasthan for shopping jewelry to clothes to footwear, almost everything is available. The well known markets are Jauhari Bazaar, Bapu Bazaar, Nehru Bazaar, MI Road and Tripolia Bazaar. The capital of Rajasthan, Jaipur is well famous for its jewellery,gems and stone available in various designs, styles and colors. Famous items are Puppets of Jaisalmer, Pottery from Jaipur and handicrafts from Bikaner.

Wildlife

The Royal state host a wide ranges of desert wild animals and wild life. It has 6 national parks named as Ranthambore, Sariska, Desert National Park, and 21 Wildlife Sanctuaries along with Keoladeo or Bharatpur bird sanctuary. The famous Ranthambore National Park is situated on the border of Thar Desert and surrounded by the Vindhya Hills and the Aravali Hills.

Some wildlife species, which are fast vanishing in other parts of India, are found in the desert in large numbers such as the Great Indian Bustard, Blackbuck, Indian Wild Ass, and the caracal a wild cat and other native desert wild animals like insects, lizards and snakes.

Major Cities of Royal Rajasthan:

• Jaipur: The Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the state of Rajasthan, famous for Gold, Diamond and Stone Jewellery. Jaipur is one of the finest planned and green cities of India.

• Pushkar: The pilgrimage sites is one of the oldest cities of India and is one of the five sacred dhams associates to Lord Brahma. The city is lies on the shore of Pushkar Lake and well famous for its annual Pushkar Camel Fair.

• Udaipur: The City of Lakes has most beautiful lakes in the state named as Pichola Lake, Fatah Sagar Lake, Udai Sagar and Swaroop Sagar.

• Alwar: The most gorgeous city of Rajasthan,famous for its scenic landscapes, beautiful lake and Sariska Tiger Reserve in the Aravalli hills.

• Jaisalmer: The golden city is famous for its alluring magnificent forts, haveli, Palaces and the best Camel Safari.

• Jodhpur: The Sun City is the second largest city in Rajasthan,famous for Handicrafts.

• Bikaner: The Desert city is situated in the middle of the Great Thar desert, famous for sweets and snacks.

• Mount Abu: The only Hill station in the Rajasthan,famous for Dilwara Temples.