Rajasthan Village Tour
Duration: 9 Nights / 10 Days
Places Visited: Jaipur, Samode, Mandawa, Khimsar, Jodhpur, Bishnoi Village, Jaisalmer, Kuldhara, Osian and Jaipur.
Introduction
Rajasthan Tourism Holiday provides Rajasthan Village Tour. Not only forts and palaces are demonstrated at the tour, but also the life at the village. When one hears Rajasthan, the first thing that comes to mind is deserts, camels and festivals. Nevertheless, the small villages are the heart of the culture and traditions are preserved there.
During this 10 day journey, you will be taken through to the quiet villages, meet the friendly people, visit mud houses, decorated havelis, and camel carts. You will listen to folk songs, observe the traditional dancing and have a taste of the food cooked on clay pots. You will have shepherds, farmers, and hand-makers, who still do crafts by hand.
The tour passes slowly through such villages as Samode, Mandawa, Bishnoi, Kuldhara and Osian. Every village has its own legend–some are painted house towns, some desert towns, some with ruins, some with plain farming. You will also visit Jaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer to have a taste of the royal cities as well as the village life.
Rajasthan Tourism Holiday designed this tour as the one which would allow people to see the real India. It combines sightseeing, rest and cultural exchange. It can be enjoyed by families, students, photographers and even individual travelers. There are comfortable hotels, though in certain villages you can stay in mud huts or heritage havelis to experience the villainess characteristics of the village.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Jaipur Arrival
Reach Jaipur, the Pink City of Rajasthan. Register at the hotel, and get some sleep. During the evening stroll in the old bazaars. The women sell bangles, toys and traditional clothes all in color. Eat local snacks such as kachori or lassi. You can start the trip with Jaipur, where you will experience the royal and simple village atmosphere. Overnight stay in Jaipur.
Day 2: Jaipur to Samode- Village Charm.
Post breakfast visit Samode village with its known palace and havelis. The Samode Palace is a heritage hotel which has painted walls and arches. When you are in the palace, walk in the lanes of the village. There are mud houses, children playing and women with water pots on their heads.
You can also take a ride through a camel cart throughout the village. The people in the village are hospitable and frequently ask their visitors to sit with them and have tea. Folk dance and music program in the courtyard of your stay in a haveli is enjoyed at night. Overnight at Samode.
Day 3: Samode to Mandawa- Painted Havelis.
Drive to Mandawa, Shekhawati area to-day. The painted havelis of Mandawa have made it the Open-Air Art Gallery of Rajasthan. These havelis are of ancient merchants and their walls and ceilings are frescoed with bright colors.
Travel along the small streets of Mandawa. Each of the corners is painted with some history: scenes of kings, gods, camels, elephants, and daily life. Sitting on the terrace of your heritage hotel in the evening look at the sunset over the painted houses. One gets a sensation of moving back into the past. Overnight in Mandawa.
Day 4: Mandawa, Khimsar- Village Life in the Desert.
Early in the morning drive to Khimsar, a desert village in Nagaur. Spend the night in an old fort or mud huts. Khimsar Fort resembles a fairy-tale castle and is encircled by the sand dunes.
Go in a jeep safari to the desert, in the afternoon. Watch blackbuck antelope run over the sand and farmers toil in small fields. Excursions to some of the hamlets where the villagers are round mud huts with thatched roofs. They produce pottery, handloom cloth and camel leather.
During the night, have a bonfire and local musicians sing desert songs under the starry night sky. Overnight in Khimsar.
Day 5: Khimsar to Jodhpur -The Blue City.
This early am in to Jodhpur, the Blue City. Along the way go little villages and millet and pulses fields. After reaching Jodhpur, check-in your hotel and take a nap.Afternoon Visit Mehrangarh Fort, which is high above the blue-painted houses. Thereafter stroll into the local markets at Clock Tower. Visit spice merchants, vegetable carts and handicrafts at the village settlements around Jodhpur.
Drive a short distance to Bishnoi village in the evening when nature is preserved and animals taken care of by people. You can also find deer roaming around houses freely. Overnight stay in Jodhpur.
Day 6: Visit to the Bishnoi Village.
See Bishnoi villages. The Bishnoi people are simple, nature-loving people. Go to their houses and watch them grinding flour in stone wheels, men weaving on their handlooms, and children playing in the open courtyards.
Villagers are welcoming. They might call upon you to have bajra roti of ghee and buttermilk. And you will even come across the pottery making and block printing.
Go on camel cart ride into the country in the evening. The air is pure and you can hear only birds and animals. The quietness of this village is a new eye opener. 1 night in Bishnoi village stay or Jodhpur.
Day 7: Jodhpur to Jaisalmer Golden desert.
Post breakfast drive to Jaisalmer, the Golden City. Make a roadside stop at dhabas around the state to sample the dishes of Rajasthani cuisines such as dal-bati-churma. Upon arrival at Jaisalmer, get into your hotel.Go to the living Jaisalmer Fort in the evening. This fort is still inhabited by people. Take a walk along the small streets where you will find shops, temples and houses. The fort buildings are golden in the setting sun. Overnight stay in Jaisalmer.
Day 8: Kuldhara The Abandoned Village.
Visit at Kuldhara today, a village near Jaisalmer, which has been deserted hundreds of years ago. The houses, streets and temples are still old. It is like strolling through an empty ghost town.During the evening visit the Sam Sand Dunes. We are riding on a camel and we are watching the sunset. It is very relaxing with the orange sky, cool breeze, and soft sand. We spend the night in a desert camp where there is music and dancing.
Day 9: Jaisalmer to Osian -Temples and Desert Villages.
In the morning, take a tour to Osian, a desert village where Jodhpur is located, which houses old temples and a landscape. We pay visits to the cut Jain and Hindu temples.During the afternoon we pay visits to adjacent villages. The locals produce handicrafts and rear camels. We are able to converse with them and hear about their lives.Another camel safari and a sunset view is another adventure that we undertake in the evening. We spend the night in a desert camp in Osian.
Day 10: Jaipur -Departure.
Then drive back to Jaipur after a breakfast. On the highway we enter small villages and fields and have a final glance at rural Rajasthan. As time permits, reach roadside tea stalls and chat to the locals.Jaipur is the destination of the evening. It is after that we can go back to our homes or our next destinations carrying the fond memories and experience of the villages in Rajasthan.