DELHI e RAJASTHAN – INDIA OF WONDERS
A different India, proud and noble, maybe the first trip recommended to anyone who is still worried to visit this enchanting country, full of contradictions and environmentally and ethnically diversities.
Folklore, romance and ancient traditions will be by your side all along your journey. The colors, the flavors and the dignity of India have a different meaning here.
A trip in Rajasthan is an immersion in the medieval land of the Maharajas, land of wandering shepherds, magnificent fortresses and palaces, but also an harsh land that transforms itself in desert (Thar desert nearby the Pakistan) and again a land with green hills and enchanting lakes.
The merchants’ houses with frescos in Shekhawati region give us our first emotions, and right away the desert, which starts right after Bikaner. In Deshnoke, not far from Bikaner, you can visit Karni Mata Mandir, a temple buildt in XVII century, sculpted in white marble, with decorated entrances, pavilions, columns, balconies and silver front doors, populated by thousands of harmless mice, considered sacred, fed by monks and godly people who believe that this action will grant them reincarnation in mystic or saint men.
After a long road that runs in nowhere, Jaisalmer appears like a mirage in the desert, with its fortified walls and the “Haveli”, the precious houses of nobles with windows inlaid in stones. These were the homes of the richest merchants, with wonderful carved facades and balconies in stone, inner gardens surrounded by the elegant buildings.
Most of them date back to XVII century and are, unfortunately, in a precarious state. Furthermore, the narrow streets make a complete vision of these masterpieces difficult.
In Jodhpur, the overwhelming and sheltered Mehrangarh Fort from which you can see the district made of light-blue houses, where Brahminis live. You can buy tissues and fragrances in the Sadar Bazaar, nearby the Clock Tower.
The extraordinary Ranakpur temple, the smooth hills and the peace of Pichola lake in Udaipur.
And then again Pushkar, in the heart of Rajasthan, when you can find the only temple in India dedicated to Brahma and where a huge crowd of pilgrims and merchants during the Camels Fair in november.
Last, but not least, Jaipur, the biggest city, the rose town which host some of the most beautiful palaces and monuments of the region and an astronomic observatory with enormous instruments in walling that date back to 1700.
The image of Rajasthan is forever carved in our memory.
