When we think of our ancestral kings and kingdoms, royalty and chivalry, Rajasthan is the place that shows up in our imagination with visuals of forts, the desert, palaces, heavy armour, colourful locals, puppets, camels and oxidized antique jewelry. To tour the entire state of Rajasthan on a single holiday is a massive task but can be possibly accommodated over a span of few years talking from a typical city-Joe’s point of view. The idea is to cover one city or area in one trip and enjoy it to the fullest.
A Heritage Voyage
Udaipur, popularly known as the City of Dawn in Rajasthan, is a fine way of taking your kids back in time when the mighty Sisodia Dynasty made and ruled their kingdom of Mewar for several centuries. Take a heritage holiday in Udaipur with your family at numerous luxury hotels and experience the long gone royal life that our ancestors once lived –
o The City Palace wherein you’re surrounded by those imposing architecture and sculptures, marble porticos, mosaic glasses and blue – white ceramics in a lavish setting of corridors, gardens and balconies with unbelievable views,
o The Fateh Sagar and Pichhola Lake – the former presents opportunities for boating and the latter houses two island palaces,
o The Saheliyon-ki-Bari and Gulab Bagh which are exquisite gardens, the former used by Royalty and the latter being a rose garden also lodging a library of rare handwritten manuscripts
What better way to learn history than to experience the Rajput way of living for yourself, an opportunity for your children to meet a bronzed Maharana Pratap, the famed Rajput hero who was nothing more than a few pages in their history book until now!
The Might of Kumbhalgarh
Checking in a resort in Kumbhalgarh is a good idea while covering Udaipur. The Kumbhalgarh fort has the second longest wall after the Great Wall of China, running along for atleast 15km at varying elevation and was almost impossible to breach. The Mughals had to combine armies of Delhi, Marwar and Amber exhaustively to breach the mighty walls. This is also the birthplace of Maharana Pratap which still houses around 360 temples and several endangered species of flora and fauna.
The Kumbhalgarh National Park is another prime spot to be experienced with plenty of time on hand. Here’s an opportunity to click your family’s awestruck faces when they discover a world that so far was only fictional – huge imposing gates, bastions, watch towers, exotic animals and so on.
Living Royal
Rajasthan is another world altogether which assures royal treatment wherever you go. Other than heritage, you can expect a great time due to the presence of several luxury resorts in Jaisalmer, Jaipur.
Jodhpur and other similar places. Shopping for jewelry, ceramics, pottery items, handicrafts, mattresses, mirror work & sweets is a must and are all souvenirs to happily wrap up your family’s trip to the past.
About the author:
Anupama Sughosh is a die-hard wanderlust, backpacker and an adventure seeker who loves sharing his views and experience on all-things-travel right from interesting places to explore in India to other must-visit destinations across the world.