Internet is FUN ! Especially if you are on a reliable and efficient network. A network that follows, wherever you go…

Our story is from a few months ago; December 2011 to be precise. It was more than six months since we had moved to Jaipur and we were keenly waiting to explore Rajasthan.

Winter is the best time to explore Rajasthan and we knew that we had to do a road trip before the year end. First things first, we decided on the dates and applied for leave at office. Next was to call up Aish and Vani…

A 3G video call help get things moving… and the plan was on. Aish and Vani booked tickets to reach Jaipur and we would start off on the 8th of Dec 2011 and return back on the 16th. Now that the dates were finalized, I had to get down to the brass tacks and put together the exact plan. But thanks to our hectic office schedules, we were not able to do any serious research and we ended up with various bits and pieces of information and suggestions….

The problem was that while there is a lot of data available about Rajasthan, we could not filter out the exact info we required. Even simple questions like “How much time do we need in Udaipur ?” would elicit various answers… some said we’ll need two days, some would suggest one day was enough. Somewhere along the way, we decided to just dump the planning and simply hit the road. We’ll take each day as it comes and let the plan evolve as we cover each place.

With no plan and no reservations, we had to have a reliable network with a great internet connection to help us with the trip. Then came Super ZooZoo to the rescue ! I had received a Samsung Galaxy Note on loan as part of the ‘Mobilers’ program and we powered it up with my Vodafone SIM.

Since Google maps are quite reliable, we ditched our old road map and decided that we would fully use the GPS and Google maps app on the Smartphone.

Over the past few months, we had used Google maps on several trips and found that even small country roads were covered, with more accuracy and details than the old foldable roadmap.

Throughout the trip, we would need information on the go. The Santro has a small boot and luggage space was at a premium since we had to carry enough essentials for the four of us for the nine day trip. Since a laptop would be cumbersome to carry and use in the car, we would fully depend on the Galaxy Note to keep us connected to the net.

Another advantage was that we could charge the device in the car too…

Over the years, we had collected a few guide books. But why carry a bundle of books when there is a wealth of info available online ?

Every evening we would browse through various websites, blogs and travelogs to list down the places to visit the next day. Our itinerary for the next day would always get finalized only the previous evening.

Normally we would load up a pen-drive with music for our road-trips. This time around we decided that we would just depend on the network to provide us with entertainment. We would download music on the go… or just tune into an internet music station with the Winamp app.

While we were on the road, we could not escape the mundane aspects of life… such as bills to be paid, money to be transferred and of course, reservations on the go. All these were done on the smartphone… safely and securely. So we did not miss the laptop, neither did we have to use an internet browsing center anywhere.

Also, the accomodation options in each place would be finalized by Googling around a bit and checking through popular travel portals

Quite often, we would come across some very interesting sights, sounds and experiences that just had to be shared with our friends. The reliable connection allowed us to use the Facebook and Youtube apps to keep our family and friends updated on our big adventure !

Checking our personal mails and keeping in touch with our office was also accomplished through the mobile internet.

December 8th to 16th 2011, the road trip was a blast ! 2320 kms of sheer driving pleasure and and unforgettable experience through Royal Rajasthan. Read more about our road trip here… http://www.tripwip.com/incredible-rajasthan-a-2320-kms-road-trip-without-reservations/

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The RD350 is not something that you can buy off the shelf, it is a part of motorcycling history; the last RD 350 in India rolled out of the Escorts factory sometime in the early 1990′s. This post is a reminiscence of the times gone by & my brush with a bike that has been rated as one of the 10 best superbikes of the century by CycleWorld magazine of the USA.

First of all I must confess, I am not much of a bike-person..I have mostly preferred 4 wheels to 2 any day. But once in a while I feel this itch to buy a bike..Especially when my ‘bike-freak’ friend comes back from a cross country ride & talks about the open road, wind in the hair, back-pack behind him & an Enfield bullet thudding between his legs..

I usually tell him..”Dude, one of these days I’ll buy a bike & join you..” Rather than a promise, it is more of a ’wishing out loud’. You see, my better half will not let me buy a bike..I do try to convince her that a bike is practical for the sabzi-mandi trips or for a quick zip down to the panipuriwala in the evening..Easier to find parking..or I even try to pad my argument by complaining about rising petrol prices & how much we are spending on our cars..Did not have too much luck anyway..so I would let the argument rest, atleast till the next time I got the bike-itch..

Now that my birthday was almost round the corner, I tried tugging on her emotions & said “I would love to buy a bike for my b-day..” She couldn’t say no to that, could she
“Which bike? Activa??” she asked..
“Nope, that’s a scooter dear, I was thinking more on the lines of a Bajaj Eliminator or an Avenger..a cruiser sort of thingy”..
“Isn’t that a geared bike? Do you know how to ride a geared bike?”.
“Yes, of course I know how to ride a bike!”..
“When did you learn? I’ve never seen you on a bike”

Hmmm..ok, get yourself a cuppa coffee, sit down, make yourself comfortable & let me tell you about my ’other life’..when I had a brief affair..with a bike..if you can call almost a year a ’brief affair’..Let’s start, Once upon a time, in a land far far away..

I had a bike for a while when I started college..It was a ’Ind-Suzuki’ 100cc from TVS. It was a reliable commuter bike, used to run like a sewing machine & took me around to college, tuitions etc. Evenings, I would bum my dad’s car for parties & stuff..& life was pretty mundane. But fate had other things in store for me..or rather, other bikes in store for me..

My cousin, who used to work for a software company, got assigned to a long-term project abroad & he dumped all his stuff at my place when he left. This included his stereo, his collection of shoes & his Yamaha RD350..He gave me the keys & said “take care of her”..

I had always heard people raving about the RD350 & even seen some ads in some old Readers-Digest mags, in which the power & balance of the RD350 was compared to a ’Katana’- The Japanese Samurai sword. But hey, a bike is a bike is a bike. Right? I walked past it in the garage everday..telling myself..”I’ll start it tomorrow to charge up the battery”..This went on for almost 10 days..Finally it was a sleepy Saturday afternoon; I was washing my bike & decided to take the RD out for a spin..

Kicked it a couple of times & it burst into life! Now, the sound that a twin cylinder RD makes is something ’orgasmic’. Rev it up a couple of times in the confines of a garage & you’ll know what I mean.. I eased it onto the street, it felt heavy at around 180kgs, engaged 1st gear..a twist of the throttle & I was on a wild-horse!!!

If you are not careful with the throttle in 1st & 2nd, you’ll get a spectacular wheelie without wanting one..Acceleration on the RD350 is not something that you’ll see in any of the Indian bikes produced today. The 30bhp package begs to be ridden hard & fast..0 – 60 in less than 5 secs, 100 in around 12 secs & a top speed of around 140kmph. One ride around the block & I was in love..

The next day I took the bike to a stretch of road where I could open up the throttle..the NH4 highway on the outskirts of the city. I revved up the engine & ’take off!’ 1st,2nd, 3rd, 4th..reminded myself to flick into 5th..I was hanging on to dear life! Somewhere in my head I heard a voice..there is one more to come..flicked to 6th!!! Most Indian bikes have 4 gears, an occasional one features a 5th..& the RD has 6 gears..tells you a lot about performance, doesn’t it ?

The next few months of my life with the RD were awesome..took it out quite often..sometimes just to feel the exhilaration. A couple of times I went out to the local library, decided to take a short spin on the highway & managed to reach the nearest town around 80kms away! I just could not stop..As I progressively got familiar with the bike, I started pushing the limits..acceleration first, high-speed cornering next, went on to wheelies…

But all is not a walk in the park with the RD..Unless you are using really good quality brake-liners & the drums are squeaky clean, the stopping power is less than what you need for Indian roads. I had a nasty fall which resulted in more of a scare than injury. The bike is also quite temperamental & requires regular sessions with a good mechanic..adjusting the twin-carbs requires some skill..so does the point-set. Mileage too was around 20 kmpl..[For a bike with almost as much power as a Maruti800, mileage is in the same league too.]

Spares are not easily available & you should know what & from whom you are buying, to avoid low quality parts. You should also know the best alternatives for quite a few spares..such as rear shocks from a bullet, front fender from a Rajdoot 175.I have seen some RDs with a front-disk brake, either an imported kit or from an Enfield Fury.

As I read somewhere, buying a RD is just the beginning..slowly you get sucked into the world of tuning, spares, mods etc. all of which costs money that the average college-goer couldn’t afford. Add to it the age of the bike too showed at times..refused to start if drenched in the rain..battery would go flat..fuel leaked out of the carbs. It was like maintaining a temperamental girl-friend. You’ll have to put up with all the idiosyncrasies

Nothing lasts for ever..I had the bike with me for almost an year & must have covered around 5000+ kms. It was quite difficult to part with it when my cousin came back to India. I told myself that I would get one for myself as soon as I could afford it..not any other bike, just an RD350. But as time went by & the practicalities of life took priority, the RD350 wish got pushed back into the attic of my memory. Whenever I come across a RD or read about it somewhere, I wonder..what if ?

Maybe I should look for & buy a RD350 for my Bday..but then, one of my justifications for a two wheeler was the ease of use for the Sabzi-mandi trips, so I should probably stick with a ’Honda Activa’ for now..it has a cavernous under-seat storage space that can carry a whole week’s worth of groceries & veggies Cant do that with a RD, can I ???

Specs :
Capacity: 347cc
Engine type: 2-stroke,twin Cylinder, twin carb, 7 port, Reed valve,torque induction
Comp: 6.6:1
Power: 30.5bhp-6750rpm
Torque is around 3.3kgm-6500rpm
Bore x stroke: 64x54mm

Castrol Biking on Facebook : www.facebook.com/CastrolBiking

Step wells (Baoris) are fascinating. In the days past, not only were they sources of water; they were also used as rest houses by weary travelers, as temples and as community centers. Gujarat and Rajasthan have some of the best step wells in India. We had seen some amazing ones at Adalaj, Patan and Modhera in Gujarat. While reading up about the wells in Rajasthan, we got to know that Abaneri (Abhaneri) has one of the oldest step wells in Rajasthan. “Phir to Abhaneri ka trip banta hai !”

Abhaneri is a few hours away from Jaipur and this was a Sunday outing for us, on the 27th of November 2011. After spending some time at Abhaneri, we decided to take the scenic route back and took some interior roads through the countryside back till Dausa and thereon it was the highway back to Jaipur.

Wikipedia says “Abhaneri is a village in Dausa district of Rajasthan state in India. It is situated at a distance of 95 km from Jaipur, on Jaipur-Agra road. The place is popular for the amazing ‘Chand Baori’ (step wells) and Harshat Mata Temple. Abhaneri was named as Abha Nagri, which means the city of brightness, but due to mispronunciation of the term, it is changed to the present name. In the present day, this city of brightness is in ruins; still it attracts tourists from across the globe.

Abhaneri is prominent for ‘Baoris’, which are the unique invention of the natives for harvesting rain water. Amongst the other step wells, Chand Baori is the most popular one. This colossal step well is located in front of the Harshat Mata Temple. Chand Baori is one of India’s deepest and largest step wells. The huge tank with delicate carvings is certainly delightful to the eyes. Step wells are the unique concept of India. These big tanks were used as cool places of resort and water reservoir in parched days. It was a ritual to wash hands and feet before visiting the temple.

Adjoining the Chand Baori, there is a temple, dedicated to Harshat Mata. This temple serves as the other tourist attraction of Abhaneri. Raised during the 10th century, the ruins of the temple still boast of the architectural and sculptural styles of ancient India. Harshat Mata is considered to be the goddess of joy and happiness. As per the beliefs, the goddess is always cheerful, who imparts her joy and happiness to the whole village. The temple is worth visiting for its amazing architecture and that too”

The older part of Jaipur (on the way to Agra) always evokes a feeling of driving through history…

The drive to Abhaneri was quite uneventful. Great four lane road and a little bit of a deviation through the country roads to reach Abhaneri. Finding the Chand Baori was also a painless exercise. It is quite popular with tourists…

The well lives up to its reputation of being one of the biggest and deepest step wells in India. A look down into its depths can induce vertigo !

The well has been repaired and is maintained by the ASI.

On one side of the well, there are structures built to allow rain water to flow into the well and recharge the water table. The galleries also provide a cool resting place for travelers and serve as community meeting places.

Symmetry !

The ASI has stored broken pieces of sculptures found in and around the well. Some of these pieces were probably from the ruins of the nearby Harshat Mata temple.

A few meters from the well is the historic Harshat Mata temple…

Looking at the platform and the broken ruins around the temple, this must have been quite a big and elaborate temple in its heyday.

Apart from the huge platform, parts of the sanctum sanctorum have survived through the ages. Unfortunately, the ruins have been altered over the years and the dome that you see has been added in the recent past.

Pieces of broken pillars and other sculpted pieces of work lay strewn around the temple…

Spent about 45 minutes at the temple and headed back towards Jaipur. Since it was a little past lunch time, we thought of exploring the countryside a little and took the village roads back till Dausa bypass.

Somewhere along the way, the road crosses a dried up riverbed…

A jugaad or chakdi… A diesel pump set engine fitted to an old chassis…

There are plenty of peacocks in Rajasthan.. especially in the countryside…

Mustard fields !

Came across this colorful bunch of ladies on their way to work in the nearby fields…

Abhaneri was a great sunday trip and well worth the visit.

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Just Google for ‘the most haunted places in India’ and Bhangarh features on almost all the pages and lists that pop-up. There are all sorts of stories on the net about ghostly encounters, visitors who disappeared and other paranormal activity at Bhangarh.

Bhangarh had been on our list of places to see from quite some time. Since it is a couple of hours drive from Jaipur, we had reserved the place for a quick weekend trip before the onset of summer. Finally the trip happened on the 12th of Jan 2012.

There are two routes to Bhangarh, the longer, but better route is to go to Dausa and take the turn-off towards Bhangarh. The shorter route goes through Gopalgarh but the roads are not great. The route we took was Jaipur >> Bhangarh >> Dausa >> Jaipur.

As far as the history of the fort is concerned : “The town was established in 1573 during the rule of Bhagwant Das as the residence of his second son Madho Singh, the younger brother of Emperor Akbar’s general, Man Singh I. Madho Singh participated in many campaigns with his father and brother. The next ruler of Bhangarh was his son Chhatr Singh, after whose death in 1630 Bhangarh slowly declined. When the Mughal Empire became weaker after the death of Aurangzeb, Jai Singh II attached Bhangarh to his state by force in 1720. After this Bhangarh diminished in population, and since the famine of 1783 the town has remained uninhabited.”

But more interesting are the legends about why this place was abandoned…

One story goes that the King found this location ideal for building a fort and township. With hills on one side providing a natural defense, a fort built here would have a vantage point over the plains below. There was a small river and fresh water springs in the hills ensuring adequate water throughout the year. While surveying the place, the King happened to come across a Baba Balanath who had his ashram below the hills. The King sought the Baba’s blessings before establishing the fort and palaces on the hills.

The Baba just had one condition, to be left undisturbed and allowed to continue his way of life. He asked the King to proceed with building the fort, but warned him that if the shadow of his fort or palace fell on his ashram, the city would be destroyed. All was ok for a long time till the descendants of the King chose to ignore the condition and raised the height of the palace such that the shadow fell on the ashram. This set off a series of events which led to the city being abandoned and the fort fell into ruins…

The other story is that of the Princess of Bhangarh, Ratnavati…

“Said to be the jewel of Rajasthan, Ratnavati on her eighteenth birthday began to get offers of marriage from other regions. In the area lived a tantrik, a magician well versed in the occult, named Singhia, who was in love with the princess but knew that the match was impossible. When one day Singhia saw the princess’s maid in the market, he used his black magic on the oil she was purchasing so that upon touching it the princess would surrender herself and run to him.

The princess, however, seeing the tantric enchanting the oil, foiled his plan by pouring it on the ground. As the oil struck the ground it turned into a boulder, which crushed Singhia. Dying, the magician cursed the palace with the death of all who dwelt in it. The next year there was a battle between Bhangarh and Ajabgarh in which Princess Ratnavati perished.”After the battle, the city was abandoned and fell into ruins…”

We started from Jaipur at around 10am, stopped for a quick breakfast and drove through the old city to proceed towards Bhangarh. Will let the pictures do the talking from hereon.

A few kilometers from Jaipur, we came across this small fort-castle on a hillock. As we have been discovering during our drives around Rajasthan, the state is dotted with castles and forts of all sizes and shapes. And yes, there are a few on sale too !

The route passes through the Jamwa-Ramgarh sanctuary…

The ‘shortest’ route suggested by G’maps may not be the best route. Some parts of the road turned out to be nothing by a muddy track for a few kilometers…

As we got closer to Bhangarh, thoughts wandered towards the legends we had had read about the place; could the story about Baba Balanath be true ? Did Singhia, the Tantrik ever live in Bhangarh ?…

We parked the Xing outside the fort entrance and walked up towards the entrance…

The first sight that greets you are the ruined walls of what would have once been a thriving town…

What remains of the palace looks down from the hillside…

There seems to be some truth to the legend that other than the temples, the roofs of all other buildings would collapse…

The palace was once a seven storeyed structure…

One of the ruined temples inside the fort…

A watch tower looks down from high above the hills…

Ruins of the bazaar area..

Slowly, nature is reclaiming the fort…

The palace and the royal enclosures…

The Shiva temple on the banks of a small stream…

Bhangarh, as seen from the palace area…

This small stream could have been the primary source of water for the fort and the town below…

Some stately buildings…

Another temple…

A chattri outside the fort walls…

After a few hours at the fort, we decided to head back towards Jaipur. Drove through Ajabgarh and onwards to Dausa.

It was late evening by the time we reached Jaipur…

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Normally most of our trips are planned in advance. We at least have info about the places to cover, a rough idea of the time required at each place, road conditions and the route to take…

What made the Rajasthan road trip incredible for us is :

• We just had an arbitrary list of places that we wanted to see – No route plan for most of the trip.
• Though we were bang in the middle of the tourist season – no accommodation reservations anywhere.
• We used online portals to read up about the ‘must see’ places at each location and we would plan the itinerary for each day on the previous evening.
• No paper maps this time around – We totally depended on Google maps on a smart phone, to plan our route and also decide on the plan for the day ahead.
• We ended up covering more places than we thought we could.
• Thanks to the great roads between most places in Rajasthan, it was an an amazing driving experience.

Four of us started from Jaipur in the Xing on the morning of the 8th December and returned back late evening on the 16th of December 2011. Nine days of the most incredible sights, sounds and taste of Royal Rajasthan.

The weather was perrrrrfect ! The gentle winter sun allowed us to walk around exploring the forts and palaces even at 2 pm. [ Just try doing that in summer ]

Is Rajasthan a very expensive proposition for the normal tourist ? Well, the 9 day trip cost the four of us around Rs.14,500 per head. (Food, Accommodation, Petrol, Entry tickets, Toll etc.- all inclusive).

The route that evolved as we covered each place was :

Jaipur >> Fatehpur >> Mandawa >> Bikaner >> Deshnoke >> Gajner >> Pokharan >> Sam Dunes >> Kuldhara >> Lodarva >> Jaisalmer >> Barmer >> Kiradu >> Mahabar dunes >> Jodhpur >> Mandore >> Ranakpur >> Kumbhalgarh >> Udaipur >> Chittorgarh >> Jaipur

During the trip, we started from the ‘Pink City’ – Jaipur, to the ‘Golden city’ – Jaisalmer, the ‘Blue city’ – Jodhpur and the ‘Lake city’ – Udaipur !

Fatehpur

 ”Fatehpur or Fatehpur Shekhawati is a town in the Sikar district of Indian state Rajasthan. It is part of the Shekhawati region. It is midway between Jaipur and Bikaner on National Highway 11. Fatehpur is famous for grand havelis with frescos, which is a specialty of the Shekhawati region. A number of bawdis are also centres of attraction here.”

We started a little late into the day on the 8th of December. Usual story… it was quite late by the time we came back from office the previous night and woke up late the next morning. Vani & Aishwarya had taken the flight from Bangalore to Jaipur the previous evening and were all set to head out. Our first overnight stay would be at Bikaner, so the plan was to cover Fatehpur and Mandawa on the way.

We stopped enroute at a couple of places to click a few pics… and we kept doing that throughout the trip. Between the four of us, we must have ended up with over 5000 photos ! So it was a tedious task putting up this travelogue since I had to work with a set target of not more than 15 pix per place…

The Fatehpur bawdi. This unique architectural structure was fully dry on that day…

One of the four entrance arches…

Climbing the tower in the middle of the step well was probably more difficult than expected…

One of the havelis in Fatehpur; this one had been converted into an office.

No wonder this area is called an ‘Open air art gallery’. As we drove through Fatehpur and Mandawa, there were quite a few small and big havelis with paintings and exquisite designs…

A few of the havelis are open to visitors…

And many others are decaying in silence…

Mandawa

“Mandawa is a town in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan in India. It is part of Shekhawati region. Mandawa is situated 190 km off Jaipur in the north. The town lies between latitude 28°.06’ in the north and longitude 75°.20’ in the east. Mandawa is known for its fort and havelis. The fort town of Mandawa is well connected with the other places in region through a good network of roads. ”

Our next stop was Mandawa, where there are quite a few havelis that have been renovated and thrown open to tourists…

Each haveli has delicate paintings and intricate woodwork…

The town has around fifteen odd havelis that are worth visiting…

After exploring Mandawa for a few hours, we started off towards Bikaner, which would be our first night-halt for the trip. We reached Bikaner at around 9 pm and the GPS guided us right to the RTDC hotel. Rooms were available, we checked in and after a light dinner, it was lights off for day one.

Bikaner

 ”Bikaner (Rajasthani: बिकाणो ) is a District in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan in northern India. It is located 330 kilometres (205 mi) northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. It was formerly the capital of the princely state of Bikaner.

The city was founded by Rao Bika in 1486 and from its small origins it has developed into the fourth largest city in Rajasthan. Bikaner is famous for sweets and snacks (or namkeens in Hindi).”

Woke up a little early and by around 9am, we were ready to head out for the day. First stop was the Junagarh fort and palaces…

The Laxmi nivas palace…

The Lalgarh palace.. which is now a heritage hotel.

Deshnoke

 ”Deshnoke is a small town in the Bikaner district of Rajasthan, India, near the Pakistan border and about 30 km from Bikaner. Deshnoke is famous for its 600 year old Karni Mata temple where rats are worshipped. Goddess Karni mata is worshiped by the royal family as well as general public of Bikaner and other parts of Rajasthan from old times.”

From Bikaner, we headed out towards Deshnoke to visit the world famous Karni Mata temple, known for the hordes of rats that have a free run of the place !

It was crowded.. with people and with rats !

Apparently, spotting a white rat is supposed to bring good luck… and luck was on our side ! We spotted one…

From the Karni mata temple, we proceeded towards the camel research center. On the way, we took a small deviation towards a place that had a good population of endangered vultures. Being a keen bird watching enthusiast, Aishwarya wanted to get some good pix… and she did !

The camel research center.. the only one of its kind (?)

Next stop was at the cenotaphs outside the city…

The Bhandasar Jain Temple…

The four travelers !

Since we planned to visit Gajner the next morning, we stayed back for a second night at Bikaner. What better way to wind up the day than to visit some of the well known sweet shops in old Bikaner to savor some sweets and namkeens !

Gajner

“Gajner palace near Bikaner is an incomparable jewel in the Thar Desert is built on the embankment of a lake. Built by H.H. Maharaja Sir Ganga Singhji of Bikaner, this Grand Heritage property is spread over 6000 acres. Gajner Palace was used as a hunting resort by the former Maharajas and visiting British dignitaries during the days of the Raj.”

We started from Bikaner quite early in the morning. The plan was to have breakfast at Gajner. The palace is now a heritage hotel with a open air restaurant too !

It was quite cold outside, so we opted for a breakfast in the cozy dining hall…

After breakfast, we walked around to explore the palace and the surroundings…

Till we actually moved to Jaipur and explored Rajasthan, any thoughts of Rajasthan would evoke visions of Camels, Sand dunes, Forts and Palaces. While finding Camels, Forts and Palaces is quite easy, finding a Sand dune is not so easy. Especially dunes that look like the ‘perfect’ ones shown in movies…

While researching on the places where we could see authentic Sand dunes in Rajasthan, some of the places that we had put onto our list were ‘Sam’, ‘Mahabar’, ‘Osiyan’ and ‘Khimsar’.

During our big trip around Rajasthan, we had visited the sand dunes at ‘Sam’, near Jaisalmer and ‘Mahabar’ near Barmer. Since Osiyan was a deviation from the route we took for the big trip, we had to skip it. But the place that really fascinated us was ‘Khimsar’. The brochures and some odd pix we found on the net looked like postcards ! Can a dune be really so perfect ? Huge sand mounds, with a collection of huts in the middle… an oasis with some trees and birds… It looked too perfect to be true.

Like most of our trips, this too was planned at a really short notice. The original plan for the weekend of the 27th Jan 2012 was to go to Neemrana. However we decided to explore Rajasthan a little more before the onset of summer and at 8.00am in the morning, we were looking at the maps to decided where would we head towards.

“Ok, if Neemrana is out, then we should probably head towards some of the places we missed during our big trip”
“Osiyan is a good bet, we can also cover Khimsar and Nagaur over the next couple of days”
“Will we get reservations ?”
“Let me see… Osiyan should not be a problem since we can find at least a dharamshala or a motel there, the challenge would be around Khimsar, since we want to stay in the Dunes village.. let me call them up now…”

Called the Khimsar palace resort folks and they confirmed that they did have accommodation available both in the palace hotel and at the dunes village. So Khimsar it would be !

Packing was not much of a hassle; thrown some jeans and t-shirts into a bag, throw the bag and the sleeping bags into the car and off we went… We were still wondering; can Khimsar dunes be as perfect as what they look like in the pix ?

The trip started on the 27th of January 2012 and we returned back to Jaipur on the 29th of January. The route we took was to start from Jaipur at around 10.30am and drive towards Jodhpur via Ajmer, turned towards Osiyan before we reached Jodhpur. Reached Osiyan at around 6.00pm and went to the Sachaiya Mata temple and later found a place to stay overnight. Woke up early the next morning and started exploring Osiyan. Had brunch and set off towards Khimsar at around 12.00 noon.

Reached Khimsar, had a leisurely lunch at the Khimsar fort, explored the place for about an hour and the resort folks arranged for the Jeep to take us to the Dunes Village.

Since there was only one other couple at the Dunes village, we pretty much had the resort to ourselves and we spent the evening walking around the place. At around 8.00pm, we had a simple dinner and settled down near a campfire with a local villager singing traditional Rajasthani folk songs.

We checked out of the resort at around 1.00pm the next day and headed towards Nagaur. Explored the Nagaur fort, had lunch and set off towards Jaipur; reaching home at around 8.00pm.

Route map: Jaipur > Osiyan > Khimsar > Nagaur > Jaipur. Total distance covered was around 820 kms.

A Kos minar on the way to Ajmer.
“These Minars were erected by the Mughal Emperors on the main highways across the empire to mark the distance. The Kos Minar is a solid round pillar, around 30 feet in height that stands on a masonry platform built with bricks and plastered over with lime. Though not architecturally very impressive they were an important part of communication and travel in a large empire. Kos Minars were used to mark the royal route from Agra to Ajmer via Jaipur in the west, from Agra to Lahore via Delhi in the north and from Agra to Mandu via Shivpuri in the south. Modern Indian highways have come up along roughly the same routes as those marked by these minars.”

By the time we passed Jodhpur and turned towards Osiyan, it was already quite late in the evening…

We reached in time for the aarti at the Sachiya mata temple and enquired at the temple office if there was accommodation available. We were directed towards the temple dharamshala a little on the outskirts of the town. Rs.150 for a clean and basic room, per night. With hot water available in the morning. More than what we wanted !

Woke up in the morning. Munched on some snacks that we were carrying and set out to walk through Osiyan. There are quite a few small temples scattered around the town, in various states of disrepair.

“Osiyan or Osian popularly known as ” Gateway to The Thar Desert ” is a small town known for it’s ancient temple ruins.The ancient town of Thar Desert was a great trading center between 8th to 12th centuries. Today it is desert oasis with 16 Brahamanical and Jain temples, beautifully sculpted and designed, most of which have stood ravages of time. ”

Small, but intricately carved…

The biggest temple in Osiyan, the Sachiya Mata temple. Wikipedia says “Sachiya Mata (also spelled Sachayay Mata & sachchiyay mata), (Hindi: सच्चियाय माता/सच्चिया माता) The mother goddess, is worshipped as Kuldevi by Marwadi Maheshwari, Panwar Rajputs/Parmar Rajputs, Lakhesar [Kumawat], Oswal, Charans, Jains,Pareek [bhramin] and many other castes living in Rajasthan and Gujarat. Her temple is located in Ossian, near Jodhpur city of Rajasthan. Temple was built by Great Parmar King Upendre for his Kul devi in 9th – 10th century.”

We came across this interesting courtship scene…

While the smaller temples have been somewhat repaired by ASI, there are no proper signboards and not many details are available about them.

After we had covered Osiyan, we had breakfast in a small hotel and set out to visit the sand dunes outside the town…

We reached the “Ret ka tibba”. These dunes are cleaner than the Sam dunes and are not so commercialized… Thankfully, the winter Sun was still quite mild. Even at around 12.00 noon, we could walk through the dunes without having to worry too much about the heat.

You can also come across villagers walking across the dunes towards their hamlets a couple of miles away…

After spending some time at the dunes, we set out towards Khimsar… which is around 65 – 70 kms from Osiyan.

As you drive through the interior roads, the desert makes it presence felt…

Khimsar fort at last !!!

The fort website says ” Founded in the early 16th century, the Karamsot dynasty has a long lineage of capable rulers who fought hard battles but “lived with grace and dignity”. Rao Karamsiji was the eighth son of Rao Jodhaji who was the founder of Jodhpur.He established his kingdom between his brothers- the Maharajas of Jodhpur and Bikaner. The construction of the fort commenced in 1523 A.D. in the fairytale land of majestic forts and palaces. Thus began the dynasty of the Karamsot Rathores ”

An aerial photo of the fort and palace area…

We were quite excited about the dunes village… can it really be so perfect ?

We walked through the small fort and palace. We were given a small guided tour by the hotel staff…

Lunch was served at the grand dining room…

The Royal family still resides here in a section of the palace…

The rest of the fort and the palace area has been converted into a heritage hotel…

The oldest building in the fort has been converted into a restaurant…

The smaller standard rooms… The regal suite is a huge and elaborate affair though !

The banquet hall..

Post lunch we rested for a while and arrangements were made to ferry us to the dunes village. Since part of the route goes through some sandy tracks, they arrange for a jeep to ferry all guests from the palace to the dunes village and back. A 20 minute drive and we arrived at the dunes village. And it was picture perfect !

A camel cart for ferrying guests within the resort area…

The dunes are actually private property. They are regularly cleaned and are fenced off. The resort operates only during the winter months and shuts down from March onwards for around six months. That weekend, there was just one more couple staying there… so we had the entire place to ourselves !

Nice & cosy round huts… equipped with a room-heater to ward off the cold desert nights.

A small birdie decided to visit our hut…

Later that day, we went for a walk along the perimeter of the resort…

The bigger hut, for large families…

The next morning, we woke up late… had a nice breakfast. Took some more pix and bid goodbye to the resort folks. The jeep ferried us back to the fort palace where we checked out (The room rates are around 9k per night, per couple, for the stay at the dunes.)

Next stop would be Nagaur…

After a pleasant drive, we reached Nagaur at around 2.00pm. Since we had a heavy breakfast, we decided to visit the Nagaur fort first and then have lunch.

“Nagaur is referred to in the Mahabharata. The kingdom of Ahichhatrapur which Arjuna is said to have conquered and subsequently offered to his Guru Dronacharya, was perhaps some of the area of the Nagaur district. It was the capital of Jangaldesh. The foundation of city dates back to 4th century BC. Nagas originally ruled over this place and about 7th century onwards the Chauhans became the overlords of Nagaur and it was included in Sapadalaksha. Nagaur city was at the center of Muslim invasion from Central Asia.

The fourth century mud fort Ahhichatragarh, built by the Nagavanshis, was re-built in stone by Mohammed Bahlim, Governor of the Ghaznivites, in the early twelfth century, over the mound of the ancient mud fort. In the middle ages Ahhichatragarh was at different times held by the early Chauhans, Chalukayas, the great Prithviraj Chauhan, Ghazni, Ghori, Iltutmish, Balban, Allauddin Khilji, Hamir Chauhan of Ranthambore, the Khanjada and Lodi Dynasties, Sher Shah Suri and finally, the Mughals.

From the great Emperor Akbar’s time up to the end of Mughal rule in India, Nagaur alternated between the Rathores of Jodhpur and Bikaner and the Mughals. “

Many parts of the fort and the buildings inside are currently being renovated…

An aerial view of the Nagaur fort…

The exquisite paintings inside the palace buildings are being restored and preserved, with help from UNESCO and some foreign experts…

We spent a good three hours walking around the fort and it was time to head home. Went to the parking area (We found this colorful rickshaw waiting there for passengers). Started the Xing and headed back towards Jaipur. Later that evening, we stopped at the McDonalds outside Ajmer for some refreshments and there on it was a non-stop drive back to Jaipur.

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26.10.2011,  Jaipur was celebrating Diwali… and we celebrated it in a different way. We went Ballooning !

There are very few places in India where Ballooning happens regularly; luckily Jaipur is one of them. Since Ballooning requires favorable wind conditions and relatively plain land to operate safely, it is a seasonal activity and is conducted for around six months every year. Depending on the deal you can negotiate and the discounts you get, a one hour balloon flight comes to around Rs.7500 per person; (Including pick-up and drop to your residence.)

“What plans for Diwali ?” Sangeetha asked.
“Well, let me plan something… we’ll go somewhere”

Since it would be a long weekend, most of the popular tourist spots would be crowded. Besides, I wanted it to be something special !… where to go? what to do ?

Sometime in 2009, when we were planning to drive to Rajasthan from Bangalore, we had done quite a bit of research on the things to see and do in Jaipur. So I vaguely remembered that Ballooning was conducted in few places in Rajasthan. Did some googling and got the contact details. Called up the Skywaltz folks and luckily enough, there were three seats vacant in the 26th October launch. Made the payments and reserved our seats.

“So, what plans ?”
“Well, it is a surprise”
“At least give me a hint !”
“Nope, just trust me.. you’ll like it”

The previous evening, told Sangeetha that we would have to leave early in the morning… she was really curious by now and started asking a lot of questions… Do I have to pack anything ? Will we need to carry our sleeping bags ? What footwear should I wear ? Will I need a hat ?… and I dropped quite a few hints. Finally she guessed it ! We are going Ballooning !!

The pick-up jeep reached our apartments at around 5.30am. We were the first pickup. Next stop was at a hotel to pickup two German ladies. The driver quickly made his way through the early morning traffic in the old city and headed out towards the Delhi road.

After a few kilometers, he took a diversion into the fields and proceeded towards the launch ground.

The balloons were being prepared for launch.

Tea and snacks were served while we watched the balloons being inflated…

Four Balloons were being launched that day, each with a capacity to carry 8 passengers and the pilot.

Within a few minutes, we were ready to takeoff !

The pre-take off briefing had been completed and we wriggled into the baskets before the balloon got fully inflated and within minutes we were ascending rapidly…

Since Balloons don’t have any directional control, the breeze decided the direction and speed of our flight… The pilot can only control the altitude. The max altitude we flew up to that day was around 500 mts.

Sunrise…

Down below, the support vehicles were tracking the direction of our flight and were chasing to be there when we landed.

As we flew over the villages, the kids would get super excited to see the balloons !

Families would run up to their roof tops to gawk at the sight of the balloons floating by…

Though all the balloons started together, after about 20 minutes, they were all at least a couple of kilometers apart…

A curious buffalo

Soon, it was almost an hour and the balloon which was flying alongside found a good place to land.

Unfortunately for the pilot (fortunately for us ), our balloon was not positioned for a safe landing and the pilot had to gain altitude since we were over a village…

What was to be a one hour flight would get extended by another 30 minutes…

We flew over a few more villages, but there were no good landing spots since there were high-tension electric wires crisscrossing the landscape.

Mooo…. ?

More happy families !

Finally we found a good landing spot and descended rapidly. The cattle grazing below were startled by the huge thing coming down on them and started running in all directions. Literally !

We braced ourselves for a rough landing and bang! we were on the ground. It was exactly 1 hour and 31 minutes since we took off.

Bill, the pilot, got onto the walkie-talkie and gave our coordinates to the support vehicles. After around 15 – 20 minutes, the vehicles reached our landing spot. We thanked the pilot for a wonderful experience and boarded the jeep for the drive back to home.

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It was the 19th of December 2011. We had just come back from the big trip around Rajasthan. Vani & Aish had taken the flight back to Bangalore the previous evening. Sangeetha & me still had a few more days of vacations left and we scanned through our list of ‘must see places in Rajasthan’. Since it was probably the best time to visit Ranthambore, we decided that Tigers it would be !

Having heard stories of how difficult it is to get accommodation and safari tickets in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, we made some quick phone calls to confirm availability before we headed out. We had a very pleasant experience with RTDC during our Big trip, so we reached out to the RTDC hotel in Ranthambore and luckily enough, there were tents available.

The rates were Rs.1800 for the tented accommodation and Rs.400 per head for the Safari. There were two Safari options, the evening Safari starting at 4.30pm and the morning safari starting at 7.30am.

Did a bit of Googling around for other places to see en route and came across an interesting place called “Hathi-Bhata”.

So the plan was to head towards Tonk, stop for lunch, proceed towards Sawai Madhopur, visit Hathi Bhata en route, pass through Sawai Madhopur to reach Ranthambore in time for the evening safari.

Since the chances of spotting a tiger is not guaranteed during any safari, we would stay at Ranthambore overnight, take the early morning safari too.

A leisurely visit to the Ranthambore fort inside the forest after breakfast and we would head back to Jaipur post lunch.

Some quick packing, tanked up the Xing and we headed out towards Ranthambore…

Route Map:
Total distance covered during the trip was around 368 kms.

Hathi Bhata : Situated around 30 kms from Tonk City enroute to Sawai Madhopur, this unique monument has been carved out of a single stone, in the shape of an elephant. It was constructed in 1200 by a Ram Nath, during the reign of Sawai Ram Singh. Local legends claim that this monument was built in memory of an elephant which saved the king’s life…

Situated on a rocky outcrop in the middle of the fields, there are no other significant buildings or monuments around. Just a huge stone elephant in the middle of nowhere!

RTDC was a good choice yet again. Comfortable tents and decent food…

Since we had reached a little late, the evening Safari was not possible. But there were still a couple of hours of daylight left, we headed towards the reserve forest to see if we could hop onto a Safari jeep… but no luck.

Just decided to head a little further down the road to see what lay ahead. Alongside, there are some trails that lead into the buffer zone of the reserve, we turned into one such trail and decided to drive till where the Xing could manage… and we ended up driving till almost the end of the trail !

Spotted lots of peacocks…

And other wildlife too…

Including a Neelgai…

Turned back when it started getting too dark and returned to the hotel for an early dinner. Slept early since we would have to be ready by around 6.30am for the morning Safari.

Woke up early, freshened up and the safari vehicle arrived at the RTDC hotel to pick us up.

Luck was on our side when it came to spotting tigers. We had just about crossed the entrance gate of the reserve when a tiger decided to cross the road a little behind us !

A little later, we spotted another one which was lazing around near a water hole…

The tree-pies have become very accustomed to the tourists and boldly hop onto any outstretched palm, in search of snacks…

A croc basking in the sun…

The still waters of a lake inside the reserve…

2 + 2…

There are umpteen varieties of birds in the reserve…

And lots of deer too…

There are some old buildings in the reserve, built by the Maharajas of yore, who used the reserve as a private shikaar area…

A sleepy owl…

Today’s royalty…

Came back to the hotel, had a quick breakfast and decided to head out towards the Ranthambore fort. Since the road to the fort goes through the forest, spotted more wildlife en route…

Wikipedia says “Ranthambore Fort (Hindi:रणथम्भोर) is a formidable fort and has been a focal point of historical developments of Rajasthan. It is situated near Sawai Madhopur town in Rajasthan. This fort is known for the glory and valor of brave Hammir dev of Chauhan dynasty. The fortress of Ranthambore was founded in 944 by the Nagil Jats. The fortress commanded a strategic location, 700 feet above the surrounding plain. The fortress was captured by the kingdom of Mewar under Rana Hamir Singh (1326–1364) and Rana Kumbha (1433–1468).

After the reign of Rana Kumbha’s successor Rana Udai Singh I (1468–1473) the fortress passed to the Hada Rajputs of Bundi. Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat captured the fortress from 1532 to 1535. The Mughal Emperor Akbar captured the fortress in 1559. The fortress passed to the Kachwaha Maharajas of Jaipur in the 17th century, and it remained part of Jaipur state until Indian Independence. The area surrounding the fortress became a hunting ground for the Maharajas of Jaipur. Jaipur state acceded to India in 1949, becoming part of the state of Rajasthan in 1950.

Inside Ranthambore fort there are three Hindu temples dedicated to Ganesh, Shiva and Ramlalaji constructed in 12th and 13th centuries from red Karauli stone. There is also a Jain temple of Lord Sumatinath (5th Jain Tirthankar) and Lord Sambhavanath”

The fort provides an awesome vantage point over the Ranthambore reserve…

Parts of the fort are quite overgrown as the forest is reclaiming the forts and the monuments…

One of the gates of the fort…

In a small shrine toward the upper part of the fort, a natural spring has been routed through the head of a cow to fall over a white marble lingam…

There are a couple of temples inside.. but none are architecturally remarkable.

After a couple of hours at the fort, we decided to head back towards Jaipur.

En route, we stopped at the RTDC Jhoomar Baori heritage hotel for lunch. “Castle Jhoomar Baori is located at the top of a hill nearest to the National Park. Once the summer rest house of the Rulers of Jaipur, it was a real castle in the past and was converted into a hotel by RTDC. It offers a scenic view of jungle and Aravali hills of Ranthmbore”

After a nice long drive, we were back in Jaipur before sunset…

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Since it was a Business Trip, I had to make the most of the 2 weekends in hand and made full justice to the time I could spare for sightseeing.

The serviced apartment I lived in was very close to St.Paul’s cathedral. So I got to enjoy the magnificent monument bit by bit every day.

St.Paul’s is one of the oldest Cathedrals in London. Princess Diana and Prince of Wales got married here. It is huge! It has a famous whispering Gallery. The Stone Tower on top will give a good view of London. However, it was shut for maintenance.

At Night – lit-up view of St.Paul’s Cathedral.

Buckingham Palace – The view from the Compound Grill, Visitors are not allowed inside. I missed the “changing of Guards”.

Almost a 300 year old building, this is the residence of the Queen.

Westminister Palace or Houses of Parliament was the residence of the Kings before they moved to Buckingham Palace.

Westminister Abbey. A Beautiful edifice. There have been multiple weddings and burials here; no connection between the two though

World’s first Hard Rock cafe in London.

London Bridge and the River Thames.

Tower of London, this has been used as a prison for a long time. The Crown Jewels are displayed here.

The Warwick Castle, the drive through the country-side to reach this place was beautiful and fortunately we had a very good Guide. The River Avon runs around the castle. This was built by Earl of Warwick.

These wax statues were made way back when the Warwick Castle was bought and opened for visitors. The Castle was bought by the Tussauds, who started the Wax Museum in London later.

The Wax statues look so natural (Not all in the pic are made of wax)

The glass paintings on the Window.

The paintings are so detailed.

More close-ups

Foreign Peacocks

London Owl

Elevated view of the Castle.

This is the birthplace of Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon. The house is now converted to Museum.

The guides here actually take you back in time and are so animated and expressive. It was an amazing experience.

This is the Jubilee Pavilion. It was built to celebrate the Shakespeare’s Jubilee Festival. This can hold up to 1000 people.

The River Avon. It was beautiful to walk around this place.

One of the thatched roof house in Cotswold.

The dream of many – Oxford University!

The famous Christ Church College.

The Dining Hall in the Christ Church College – where Harry Potter was initially shot. In the later series, this setting was remade as this place was too congested for shooting.

Every window pane has a glass painting.

Bodliean Library in Oxford is one of the oldest Libraries in Europe. Next only to the British Library. A copy of all the books published in the UK are added to this Library. The books are not lent here… but given only for reference.

A Tube Station in London. St.Paul’s station.

The District station.

It was nice to meet Andy , Sarah and Helen for Dinner.

The Hampton Court Palace.

Pulkit trying to break one of the walls of Hampton Court Palace. Next time you are there, please note the crack on the wall

The palace was Awesome. One of the Roman Clocks with the Sun Signs depicting the months.

A quick lunch at the Hampton canteen.

This is the Hampton Court Park which is adjacent to the Palace. It is maintained so perfectly. Just picture perfect!

Pulkit at the Golden Jubilee Fountain in the Park.

Enjoying the sunshine…

Beautiful Ripples!

This is the Covent Garden market place. I was amazed to find this cycle rickshaw.

My trip to Windsor Castle, the Station has ‘The Queen’ train.

The Windsor Castle is still a residence of the British Royal Family.

The Queen’s favorite weekend home.

The Guard at the Windsor Castle.

The Lower Ward – Windsor Castle. This building has St .George’s Chapel.

Museum of London, thankfully was open and I managed to get good 2 hours. Though an additional couple of hours would have allowed me to do justice to the Museum.

Roman tiles displayed in the Museum.

The London Eye wonderfully lit-up in blue, besides the River Thames.

The famous Big Ben looks gorgeous at night. Infact, London is at its best in the evenings.

The Big Ben clocking 7.35pm, I had to head back, as it was getting very cold.

In south India, tales of Vijayanagara – Hampi and Krishnadevaraya are part and parcel of our cultural initiation. Be it through stories narrated by our grandparents, through our history text books or through Chandamama & Amar Chitra Katha. What we normally get to hear or read about are just some glimpses from history, a high-level narrative about how Vijayanagara was once a fabulously rich place founded by Harihara & Bukka, ruled over by a series of valiant and powerful Hindu rulers. Eventually the Sultans of the surrounding kingdoms formed an alliance to attack Vijayanagara and the decisive battle took place at Rakkasa-Tangadi. The victorious invaders proceeded to loot and destroy the fabulous city, drawing the curtains on the Hindu empire.

But that was not actually where the empire ended… though it certainly was the ‘beginning of the end’. The empire did continue for a while after the fall of Vijayanagara. The capital was shifted to Penukonda, later to Chandragiri and finally to Vellore. Two fascinating books which provide a detailed account of the Vijayanagara empire are:

• A Forgotten Empire Vijayanagar: A Contribution to the History of India by Robert Sewell
• History of Vijayanagar the never to be forgotten Empire – B Suryanarain Row

The full story of the empire certainly reads like a long ‘Saas-bahu’ serial with all key ingredients, such as a number of characters of all shades, palace intrigues, valour, greed, horror, treachery, fratricide… Chandragiri was the scene of some of the last gasps of the fallen empire.

The archeological survey of India web site says this about Chandragiri….

"Built in 1000 AD in the form of fortifications with bastions and a steep moat, Chandragiri was under the rule of Yadavarayas for about three centuries and came into the control of Vijayanagara rulers in 1367. It rose into prominence in 1568 AD and remained as seat of power for the later Vijayanagara kings under whose reign the fortified area was further extended and some of the magnificent buildings and temples were constructed. Some of the important kavyas of Vijayanagara period are said to be composed here. In 1646 the fort was annexed into the Golkonda territory, subsequently came under Mysore rule till 1792 and went into oblivion. Inside the fortification are seen eight ruined temples of saivite and vaishnavite pantheons, Raja mahal, Rani mahal and other ruined structures."

Right from my childhood days, we have been visiting Tirumala every once in a while. En route to Tirupati, we would go past the fascinating palace at Chandragiri. Whenever we were in a private vehicle, we would try and visit the Chandragiri fort and palaces. My pics in this post are from a visit in 2007.

Normally we come across temples and other religious monuments that have survived through the centuries… but there are very few ancient Hindu palaces that have survived in a good and original condition in South India. Be it Chitradurga or Hampi; the guides will show you a few platforms, foundations and some remnants, stating that this is where the Kings palace once stood.One reason could be that while ancient temples were engineered to last for centuries and built accordingly with stone; palaces were built with wood, brick and mortar; material that would not last for more than a couple of centuries. Also, while temples are in constant use and regularly maintained by the caretakers, a palace built by one generation could fall out of favor with the next, who would either abandon it or remodel it extensively.

The Chandragiri palace, a unique monument in its own right is made even more interesting due to it’s role during the last days of the Vijayanagara empire.

One of the first things that you can identify about the Chandragiri palaces (The Raja mahal & the ‘Rani mahal’) is that there is a striking similarity in architecture between these monuments and some of the surviving royal buildings at Hampi, such as the Lotus mahal.

The King’s Palace – "Raja Mahal" : One of the finest examples of Indo-Saracenic architecture of Vijayanagara period, this imposing three storeyed palace adorned by the crowning towers representing certain Hindu architectural elements, was constructed with stone, brick, lime mortar and is devoid of timber. The central tower that covers durbar hall rises through two storeys. It is said to be the same venue where Sri Rangaraya granted the site of Fort St. George to the British in 1640. The floors are supported by massive pillars while the walls bear fine plaster and stucco decorations.

These are a couple of pictures from the Archeological Survey of India archives, which show the state of the palace in 1894

Courtesy: British Library

Courtesy: British Library

Queen’s Palace – "The Rani Mahal" : Similar to the Kings palace in style and method of execution, this edifice with ground floor looking like a stable and first floor containing quarters adorned with ornamental sikhara has a flat roof. Contrary to the popular belief that this place was meant for the queen or harem, the epigraphical record available from the basement speaks this building being a commander’s quarters.

An archive photo of the palace from 1894…

Courtesy: British library

After its royal occupants relocated to Vellore, the palace was used as the residence of some local chieftains for a while, before being totally abandoned… and it became a shelter for travelers, shepherds, medicants and even some unsavory characters. The British seem to have taken an interest in the palace and included it in their studies of Indian architecture.

Eventually the archeological survey of India took over the place, renovated it and the Raja mahal is currently used as a museum and administrative office.

The fort also has some small Siva and Vishnu temples, mostly in a dilapidated condition. Some of them may predate the Vijayanagara period, but the shrines near the palace area do show design and workmanship that was contemporary to the monuments at Hampi.

In 2002, the Indian Postal Service issued a stamp commemorating the Chandragiri fort and palace…

The ASI runs a Sound & Light Show at the Chandragiri fort palace area in Telugu and English.

1st Show (Telugu): Nov-Feb: 6.30 pm to 7.15 pm; Mar-Oct: 7.00 pm to 7.45 pm
2nd Show (English): Nov-Feb: 7.30 pm to 8.15pm; Mar-Oct: 8.00pm to 8.45 pm

Phone number of the ASI office : 08574-72249

Chandragiri fort is around 12 Kms from Tirupati, though the most convenient mode of transport would be your own car or jeep, you can also take a bus to Chandragiri town and hire an auto from there.