Rajasthan, literally, means place of Rajas or Royals and entire Rajasthan still exhumes the aroma of medieval period. It is located amidst the oldest mountain ranges, the Aravalli Ranges and has been an important part of cultural and commercial exchanges between various civilizations of the world. Every place of Rajasthan is studded with amazing assortment of heritage, history, culture, traditions, folk music and colorful folk life. Rajasthan is the best place for the travelers who love to explore the vibrant culture and well preserved traditions.
The reasons as to why to visit Rajasthan lies in its various famous destinations which are known by sobriquets like Pink City, Blue City, Lake City and Golden city. I wanted to see life beyond this and hence wanted to explore Rajsthan my way i.e. self drive road tripping. For a self drive aficionado like me, after having driven in deadly mountain roads in Himalayan state of Himachal and Uttaranchal, this time call for actions reverberated from golden sand dunes of Great Indian Desert of Thar spread in the Rajasthan state of India and some part in Pakistan as well.
Rajasthan: Camel Land of India
Once in Rajasthan, you have a wide range of things to cover. Formidable and magnificent forts, tale of legends, mesmerizing havelis/mansions of Baniya traders, folk deities, varied landscape comprises of golden sand dunes, lush green forest and blue water lakes. It has something for everyone and it is impossible to return without being affected by the mysterious charm of royal land.
Old Stone Structure: Can be located in abundance
My idea of exploring Rajasthan, however, was to drive thru desert in Jaisalmer, go deep in desert riding on a camel in Bikaner to experience the arid yet serene vastness of nature, appreciate the architectural marvelous of havelis/mansions in Mandawa, Bikaner and Jaisalmer, get mesmerized by ever revered rats of the Karni Mata Temple, spend a day in the only living forts of the world i.e. Golden Fort of Jaisalmer, pay my tribute to the Tanot Mata at border location in Jaisalmer and last but not the least see the art of concocting the Bhujia in Bikaner.
Driving through Thar Desert
So in a nut-shell Rajasthan offers everything that can satiate my yearning for travel, capturing photographs of natural beauty and architectural grandeur, and relish much talk about food of Rajasthan,
Let’s have a quick view of self drive road trip to Bikaner and Jaisalmer
Route Map Delhi to Bikaner to Jaisalmer to Tanot and back to Delhi Via Jaipur
Sunrise on Delhi Jaipur Highway
Rangeela Rajasthan: Colorful Art on Wheel
Structure on Water Well: Prevalent in Shekhavati Region of Rajasthan. Water has always been most precious resource in Rajasthan.
Haveli in Mandawa: Mandawa is famous for colorful Haveli Facades. This town is known as world’s biggest open art gallery.
Another Haveli in Fatehpur on the road to Bikaner
Road to Karni Mata Mandir in Deshnok from Bikaner
Karni Mata Mandir: Famous Rat Temple near Bikaner in Deshnok.
Revered Rats of Karni Mata Temple: Famous Rat Temple
Rampuria Havelis in Bikaner
Bhikharam Chandmal: Most famous Bhujia Store of Bikaner
Bhujia Maker: Experts in making Bhujia. Witnessed the centuries old art of Bhujia making
Desert Safari: On my way to spend one night at Sand Dunes
Sun Set in the desert: 12KM off Bikaner
Amazing to see sunset in the vastness of desert
Night Camping at Sand Dunes
Sunrise: Majestic Morning from Sand Dunes
Sheer Serendipity: Wow!
Road to Jaisalmer from Bikaner
Picturesque Road: From Bikaner to Jaisalmer
Twilight hours: Godhuli Vela on the road to Jaisalmer
Golden Fort of Jaisalmer: Only living fort of India and probably of the world
Ultimate Desert-Road off to Jaisalmer towards Tanot famous for Tanot Mata Mandir on the Indo-Pak Border
Further deep from Tanot to Longawala
So in five days, I did multitude of things and most of them qualifies for first time in life experience.
*I did a Camel Ride and fed the camel
*I spent a night 12 KM deep in Desert
*I witnessed Sunset and Sunrise in a Desert
*I drove through Desert Road from Bikaner to Jaiselmer to Tanot
*I lived in a fort and enjoyed roof top food from a 800 years old fort
*I fed to world’s most revered rats at Karni Mata Temple
*I captured most amazingly crafted doors while crossing Mandawa
*I interacted with Bhujia Maker while he was frying the famous Bikaneri Bhujia
*And at last did a 900 KM Self drive from Jaisalmer to Delhi in straight 12 hours.
All in all, it was a great trip and i could see the royal world of Rajasthan and enjoy desert life at its best. Will I go back? Absolutely yes and very soon as everything about Rajasthan is off-beat and adventurous.
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Travel Tip for Rajasthan: Over so many years, it has developed very good infrastructure for tourism. In my view, with ts multitude offering, Rajsthan is all about experiences. So I strongly recommend to opt for a reliable Rajasthan Tour Package in advance which includes all the associated activities at each place like Desert Safari in Bikaner, Desert Camping in Jaiselmer, Bishnoi Village Safari around Jodhpur, Photowalk tours in old city of Jaipur etc depending upon your way of traveling.
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