A Royal Elephant ride at Amber fort

Amber fort is the most popular tourist attractions of Jaipur. This classic and romantic fort is a living tribute of Rajputana rulers and one of the fascinating mixtures of Rajputana and Mughal architecture. This charming fort is white marble and red sandstone, surrounded by picturesque hills. There is a beautiful Maotha lake in the foreground of the fort which heightens the scenic beauty to it.

The elephant ride is the center of attraction for tourists and the most royal and thrilling way to reach at this hilltop fort. This stunning fort is blessed with several attractions like huge halls, majestic palaces, beautiful temples and gorgeous green gardens. 

These wonderful animals are specially decorated by their loving Mahouts. Elephants are washed, painted and clothed with colorful and embroidered saddle cloth. The Mahouts embellish them with the heavy jewellery like tinkle anklets, Ear danglers and coloured brocade scarves for their ears and necks. Their foreheads are adorned with the gold and silver head-plates.

 

Amber Fort View

 This chance to sit on the elephants back on the top of hills is a great experience like the ride of royalty once the kings of Rajasthan did. There are around 80 elephants but for a guarantee ride tourists should visit early in the morning before 9am. To avoid the over work of the elephants the Jaipur government fix a limit to the total number of rounds each elephant can do in a day. Each elephant is fixed to three rounds with a rest period and can carry only 2 passengers with driver or Mahout.

 

Amber Fort Inner View

The ride starts from the main road courtyard to the fort and it takes approximately 20-30 minutes as elephant walk slowly up the hillside. This slow moving animal will give you the complete chance to enjoy the path of rocks and also give you a splendid outlook of the magnificent classic fort. 

This huge and vivacious fort was initiated by King Man Singh 1 and finally completed by Jay Singh 1. There are a number of captivating attractions in Amber fort including Diwan-i-Am or Hall of Public Audience. This hall is known for its design, and decoration. Shila Mata Temple, famous for its black colour deity (Kali Mata), Jai Mander, Sheesh Mahal and Jas Mandir are the prime attraction of this gigantic fort.

Timings

The rides start early in the morning (approx 7.30 AM) and finishes up before the sun gets hot (approx 11 AM).

Number of Persons

·         Minimum 1 person

·         Maximum 2 persons

Cost –Rs 1, 000  to 1,200 for two people.

Duration - Approximately 20-30 minutes (depending on elephant traffic!)

Fascinate in the Incredible Sights of Rajasthan

Rajasthan, a larger state (Area wise) in India popular all across the globe due to its historical stories related to kings, monuments, wildlife, culture, sand dunes, heritage sites, festivals, folk dances, etc.  “Land of Kings” is the another name of this state. Many kings conquer this state and reign there for some time. So, many trails of kings collected there, which can be heard now from the mouth of local populations. Even the palaces which they used to live is also located there and are in the glamorous look. Some places of this state like Bikaner and Jaiselmer are full of deserts. Sand dune activity is the popular one of these places.

Camel Safari in Jaiselmer

Mount Abu Hill Station (Image on Wikipedia)

Dilwara Temple Near Mount Abu(Image by Sensaos on Flickr )

Interior view of Dilwara Temples (Image by Rakhee on Flickr )

City Palace, Udaipur

Hill Stations like Mount Abu and Udaipur are famous tourist places in Rajasthan. The large number of tourists travel there to seek the beauty of this state. Mount Abu is famous for its hills, climate and religious temples like the famous group of temples known as Dilwara temples. Aravalli mountain ranges give a unique view of nature at this place. Udaipur is also known as the City of Lakes and Palaces as many Lakes and Palaces are there. Serene atmosphere makes anyone captivate to this place for a long time. One of the Palaces is City Palace of Udaipur, located on the bank of the famous Lake Pichola. This palace itself tells the history behind the Rajasthan especially the Udaipur. Like City Palace, many palaces are there that located in the lake or on the side of a lake. The boat ride is available there to visit all the palaces.

Rajasthani Flok dance

Rajasthani cuisine

Ghevar

The culture of the Rajasthan is famous worldwide. Either it is classical music or the folk dances depicts the reflection of its culture. Folk dances include Ghoomar, Kalbeliya, Bhavai, Kuchchi Ghodi, etc. reflects the proper culture as the dancers wear the traditional dresses that bewitched the eyes of the people. Music is also traditional like the famous ones are Bhajans, Banis, etc. all sung with the traditional instruments like Dholak, Sitar, Sarangi, etc. Food of this state, also influenced the visitors. Bikaneri Bhujia, Mirchi Bada, Pyaaj Kachori and Ghevar are the famous dishes of Rajasthan that reflects the old culture of the state. Marwari Bhojanalayas are most common and located at very least distances.

Deer Family in Ranthambore National park (Image by Saran Vaid on Flickr)

Tiger in Sariska National Park (Image by Koshy Koshy on Flickr)

Wildlife of the state is another good way to explore this state. Many national parks and sanctuaries are available there that contains a variety of flora and fauna. Some of the popular parks include Desert National Park in Jaisalmer, Ranthambore National Park in Jaipur, Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar, Tal Chhapar Sanctuary in Sujangarh, etc. All these contain the threatened species, rare species as well as extinct species of both flora and fauna.

handicraft Items shop in Jaipur, Rajasthan 

Handicraft items are also famous thing of this state. Wooden furniture, carpets, pottery, etc. all dubbed with block prints, tie & die, bagaru prints, sanganer prints, zari embroidery, etc. that attracts anyone towards it and made to purchase it once at least.

Shopping in Jaipur (Image by Eric Parker on Flickr)

Camel Race in Pushkar, Rajasthan (Image by thijsvanbokkem on Flickr)

Festival time is the best to visit this place as the whole state is covered with colors of joy and happiness. Fun and amusement surround the state from everywhere. Some of the main festivals include Deepawali, Gangaur, Teej, Gogaji, Makar Sankranti, Holi and Janmashtami. Desert festival of Rajasthan held once in a year during winter period. Ladies and gents dressed traditionally and dance to the rhythm of the famous songs. Fairs are also held in this period of time. Local population displays the shows of puppeteers, acrobats, camel race, snake charmers and many more. So, at this time, anyone dwell in this region for a long time.

Climate of mount about

Climate of Rajasthan varies from place to place like in Udaipur and Mount Abu, it is very cool and placid while in Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, it is very hot in summers and very cold in winters. Thus, Rajasthan is a state having all the qualities either it is desert or a hill station, one can find it there in a best possible mood.

Following the blog ABC Wednesday for "S"

Royal Rajasthan on Wheels Begins from New Delhi

Royal Rajasthan on Wheels is the luxury train for tourists that began its first journey from Delhi. 26 passengers board the train on this maiden day. It is a great surprise for tourists who wish to travel in this train to reach their favorite destinations. It will run across the different  cities of different states of India, i.e.  Jodhpur, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Jaipur in Rajasthan, Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, Varanasi & Agra in Uttar Pradesh, before returning to the nation’s capital.

 

Royal Rajasthan on Wheels

Restaurant

Deluxe-sapphire

Superdeluxe

Bar

Pramod Sharma, general manager of the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC), said that the train is a milestone that is attained by RTDC and create its brand image in the global travel market in a record time. Travelers will surely enjoy the scenic beauties as it chug-a-lug through mountains, crosses rivers of north & central India and passes across the dunes that make the journey unforgettable.

The name of the train placed after the royal places it crosses during the journey like Hawa Mahal, Padmini Mahal, Kishore Mahal, etc.  It is categorized into deluxe as well as super deluxe saloons, cabins that are equipped with WI- FI internet, satellite television, channel music system and temperature controller.

The cost of per night tariffs is as follows: - $1,600 for super deluxe, $590 for deluxe twin sharing, $825 for deluxe single occupancy. The above said tariffs reduced to 50 per cent of total in the case of children between the age of 5 – 12 years and 10 percent of the total cost in case of kids below five years.  The train is scheduled to sway off from Delhi on every Sunday between October and April. The above price are subject to available and not committed.

To know more about this luxury train visit here: http://travelagencyindia.wordpress.com/category/indian-luxury-trains/royal-rajasthan-on-wheels/ 

Following the blog ABC Wednesday for N

Captivate the Beauty of City Palace in your Memories

Udaipur is a city of Rajasthan having lakes all round. Due to the large number of lakes, it is called as “A Lake City” or “City of Lakes”. Many majestic palaces are located near the lakes. City Palace is one of the palaces located near the Lake Pichola. Maharana Uday Singh initiated the construction of this palace but till the end of the construction many succeeding Maharanas added several palaces and structures to the complex and finally left a surprising uniformity of the design. It has a wonderful blend of European, Arabic and Roman architecture.

The entry to the palace is from the Hati Pol i.e. the Elephant gate. The Bari Pol or the Big gate brings you to the Tripolia i.e. the Triple gate. In the medieval times, it was a custom that the Maharana had to weigh under this gate in gold and silver, which was distributed among the citizens of the nearby village. Now it is a main ticket office. Balconies, cupolas and towers capped the palace to give a marvelous view of the lake and the city.

Suraj Gokhada or the balcony of the sun is the place in the palace where the Maharana would assist the public audience in their difficult times. The Mor Chowk or the peacock square which gets its name from the vivid blue mosaic in glass of a peacock that decorates its walls is also very elegant.

The main part of the palace is now conserved as a museum presenting a large and diverse pattern of artifacts. To the down steps from the entrance, there is an armory museum showing a large number of collections of protective gear, weapons including the fatal two-pronged sword. Now after visiting that, the museum is then entered through the Ganesh Deori meaning the door of Lord Ganesha. Further this leads to the Rajya Angan, the royal courtyard, a spot where Maharana Udai Singh met a sage who told him to build a city here. The rooms of the palace are preciously decorated with mirror tiles and paintings. Amar Vilas is the highest point of the palace.

Manak Mahal or the Ruby Palace has a delightful collection of glass and mirror work while Krishna Vilas display a rich collection of minute but exquisite paintings. Moti Mahal or the pearl has graceful mirror work and the Chini Mahal has adorned tiles all over. The Surya Chopar or the sun square illustrates a large sun signifying the sun dynasty to which the Mewar dynasty belongs. The Bari Mahal is another location of the palace having a central garden with a serene view of the city. Some more exotic paintings can be seen in the Zenana Mahal or the ladies cell, which leads to Lakshmi Chowk which is  a beautiful white canopy.

This palace is used as a museum and also as a marriage ceremony hall. Film and television shooting also take place here. In the 1985, the palace was used as a hotel for the James Bond film Octopussy. In 1991, a documentary film called Jag Mandir shot here. Lots of Marriage ceremonies of big stars either they are Indian or Foreigner took place here. So this grand palace used in a different way by different persons due to its.

If you want to plan a trip of one of the must visit places in Rajasthan, then click here to send your tour details.