Sabarmati Ashram‏ - Peace in the simplicity !!

Sabarmati Ashram is the place where the father of the nation Mahatma Ghadhiji lived for around 12 years of his life. It is situated on the bank of river Sabarmati. It takes around 2-3 hours to visit the ashram. The ashram timings are 8 AM to 6:30 PM. It closes after the evening prayer. Camera is allowed here.

Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad

The center of the ashram is called Hriday Kunj, Gandhiji's cottage. It is very peaceful and simple. In the front part of it, there is a "Charkha", which is always loved by him. Apart from this, there are other small cottages of  Vinoba bhave, Miraben and Maganlal.

There is an open air Prayer place, where the daily prayer is performed. Anyone can join this prayer. It feels very peaceful in the mind during and after the prayer. 

There is a Museum and Painting gallery, displaying things and life size paintings of Gandhiji. There is also a library. You can read or purchase books and materials related to Gandhiji from here.

The ashram has many number of trees which are the home for thousands of birds. Therefor, the best time to visit the ashram is the evening time when these birds come back to their nests.

Chittorgarh

Chittorgarh is a city famous for its hill fort. It is situated about 60KM from Udaipur. We travelled by a cab through national highway. It takes around 1 and half hour to reach Chittorgarh. To go up on the hill there is a good road. It is allowed to travel inside the fort by car. At the entrance of the fort, we hired a guide charging only 50 INR. The guides ask for 50 to 450 INR, and it all depends on your bargaining skills. There is only one time ticket to see the whole fort.

Chittorgarh city

The fort contains many ancient monuments telling the stories of the kings of the Mevad. First we visited Mira Mandir built in the memory of the Krishna’s one of the great lovers Mirabai. Then we visited Vijaystambh built by Maharana Kumbha to commemorate his victory over the Muslim rulers of Malwa and Gujarat in 1440. It is a huge nine storey tower, and through the inside staircase we reached to the top. All the inner walls of the tower are carved with sculptures of Gods, Goddesses, dancing idols, etc. From the top floor of the Tower, we had an awesome view of the whole fort.

Meera Mandir, Chittorgarh

Vijay Stambh, Chittorgarh

After Vijaystambh, we went ahead to see Rani Padmini palace centred in a big pond and Rana Kumbha palace. The queen Padmini was very beautiful and the mughal emperor Alauddin Khilji attacked on this fort to get her. Alauddin Khilji won the fight but he could not get her because she did Jauhar (an act of self immolation by leaping into a large fire). We also saw this Jauhar kund. Including Alauddin Khilji, this fort is attacked three times. We saw the debris of the carved walls, gates, pillars, idols, etc. at many places in the fort.

Padmini Palace, Chittorgarh

Then we visited Gaumukh kund. There is a continuous flow of water from the idol of cow’s face.

There is one more tower called, Kirti Stambh is dedicated to Rishabha, the first Tirthankara of Jainism. It was built by a merchant and is decorated with figures from the Jain pantheon. The main entrance gate of the fort is called Ram Pol. Actually there are 7 different gates to this fort, but this one is huge, and if we see the view here, it is marvellous. We could see small farms, gardens, lakes and villages from this point of the hill fort.

Kirti Stambha, Chittorgarh

At last the guide brought us to visit a local shop of handicrafts. If you don’t want to buy anything from here, I would suggest you not to go inside or leave as soon as possible. The salesmen here are much trained to sell the products like handmade saris, blankets, shawls, bed sheets, etc.

It took around 4 hours to visit the whole fort. It was really a nice visit to the Chittorgarh. From the lowland of the hill, the fort walls look like they are still guarding the pride and spirit of the great Rajput kings.

I would rate the monuments in Chittorgarh starting with best being first as:

1. Vijaystambh
2. Rani Padmini palace
3. Rana Kumbha palace
4. Ram pol(The main gate)
5. Gaumukh kund
6. Kirtistambh
7. Mira Temple

Kumbhalgarh Fort - Second longest wall in the world!

Kumbhalgarh fort wall is the second longest wall in the world. From outside as well as inside, it looks fabulous. The travel distance is 100 KMs from Udaipur and 10 KMs from Ranakpur.

Kumbhalgarh Outside View

On the way from Ranakpur to Kumbhalgarh

It takes around 4-5 hours to see the whole fort. Don't forget to carry water bottle with you. Hiring a guide is optional. We didn't hire any. The architecture of the fort is so wonderful, that every visitor gets impressed.

Kumbhalgarh Gate

From the topmost part of the Palace you get the best view of the surrounding hills. In the palace, rooms are really cool by the child air flowing. We saw The great Maharana Pratap's birth place here. The elephants were used to make such a huge fort. We saw paintings showing bravery of elephants on the palace walls.

Palace of Kumbhalgarh

Elephant painitings at Kumbhalgarh

Apart from Palace there are big and small Hindu and Jain pilgrims in the fort area. We visited Shiva temple. The Shivalinga was huge. After the sunset, Light and sound show is also a good attraction.

Kumbhalgarh

Kumbhalgarh

Kumbhalgarh

Kumbhalgarh

Kumbhalgarh

I would suggest to avoid visiting this fort in summer or you may enjoy it less.

Ranakpur Jain Temple - Mind blowing architecture and design!!

Ranakpur is a village situated in Pali district of Rajasthan near Udaipur, and mainly famous for its Jain temple. Ranakpur jain temple is another beautiful Jain pilgrim like Delwara's jain temple on Mount Abu.

Ranakpur Jain Temple, Rajasthan

It is an ancient architectural structure but still well maintained. The whole temple is built in beautiful carving of white rajasthani marble. Each stone in this temple reveals some story about Jainism and Hinduism. It takes around 2 hours to see the whole temple. The main Characteristic feature of its structure is, it is viewed similar from all four directions.

Ranakpur Jain Temple, Rajasthan

Camera is not allowed inside the temple. There is a token facility to keep your mobile, camera and luggage. You can buy the literature about the history of the temple in the form of Books or DVDs from the adjacent book stall .

The temple is renovated many times. The temple is now managed by the Anandji Kalyanji Pedhi trust. There is a Jain dharamshala for stay and a Bhojanshala. Here there is a facility for lunch between 11AM to 2PM and dinner before sunset.

Udaipur - All about the city of lakes!!

I visited Udaipur, Rajasthan with my family in the first week of March. It was a fabulous trip because we choose a good season to go there.

We started from Ahmedabad by train. From Ahmedabad to Udaipur, the train line is meter gauge. It was a different experience to travel by meter gauge. And in the morning before we reach to Udaipur, the last 2 hours were awesome as we could see the hills from the curves of the train line.

Our first day at Udaipur was truly colourful, because it was Holi and people of Rajasthan plays Holi from their heart. Every single person was wearing different colours on the face. We also enjoyed playing with them.

Udaipur is the city of Lakes as here we see many big and small lakes. The main lakes are Fateh Sagar lake, Lake Pichola, Rajasmand lake, Udai Sagar lake, Doodh Talai. We can enjoy Boat ride in Fateh Sagar and Lake Pichola. The famous Nehru Garden is surrounded by Fateh sagar lake. We can enjoy paddle boats in the artificial lake at Sukhadiya circle.

Fateh Sagar lake, Udaipur

Lake Pichola, Udaipur

Doodh Talai, Udaipur

Sukhadiya Circle, Udaipur

The city palace is the main attraction here. It takes 3 to 4 hours to see everything inside it. You can hire a guide to explain everything. It’s an architectural beauty, and the view of Lake Pichola (The Lake behind the palace – “Picchevala”) is marvellous from the Zarokhas of the palace. The palace has thousands of painting showing Rajasthani arts, culture and bravery of their ancient kings.

The City Palace, Udaipur

The City Palace, Udaipur

The City Palace, Udaipur

The City Palace, Udaipur

The City Palace, Udaipur

The other nice attraction is Bagore Ki Haveli situated adjacent to the palace. Here there is cultural show held every evening after the sunset. The light and sound show displays the fabulous various Rajasthani dance arts. The performers were very enthusiastic and they performed each difficult step very smoothly. If you are planning to visit Udaipur, you must not miss Bagore Ki Haveli.

Bagore Ki Haveli, Udaipur

Bagore Ki Haveli, Udaipur

Bagore Ki Haveli, Udaipur

The other nice places in Udaipur city include, Saheliyon ki Badi means garden for princess and her friends. We can see very beautifully maintained flower beds, lotus pond, many small fountains, trees of various fruits, etc. It feels lovely being here in the morning.

Saheliyon ki Badi, Udaipur

Saheliyon ki Badi, Udaipur

Saheliyon ki Badi, Udaipur

We can enjoy Rope way ride to visit Karnimata Madir on the hill. From here you get the best view of the whole Udaipur city. Railway station, Bazaar, Row Houses, Lakes, City Palace, Gardens, etc. everything looks so awesome from this top of the hill.

Moti Magari is basically known for the statue of the great king Maharana Pratap riding his favourite horse Chetak. Chetak is as adored by the people of the lake city as Maharana Pratap. There is a circle named on Chetak displaying the statue of this giant Arabian horse.

Moti Magari, Udaipur

Chetak Circle, Udaipur

There is Main bazaar around city palace area. Here you get to see and buy various art pieces of the Rajasthani style. Paintings, Handicrafts, Home decoration things, cloths etc. are showing typical Rajasthani colours and moods.

In Udaipur, there are many fast food stalls, restaurants, cafes, etc. Nice Rajasthani food is also a good option. Delhi gate is famous for restaurants and dining halls. Near sukhadia circle and Fateh Sagar lake there are many fast food stalls.
More photos of Udaipur are at Udaipur photos - picasaweb

Nal Sarovar Birds Sanctuary

Nal Sarovar bird sanctuary is famous for different migratory birds which you can see in the winter. So best time to visit is December to February.  The water level in this lake is around 3 to 5 feet.

We went there by car from Ahmedabad. It is better to reach early in the morning around 5:30 AM. So you can get the ticket and boat early to see the birds. Boatmen costs between 2000/- to 3000/- for 8 seat boat for around 5 hours. The lake is really beautiful. We could see many birds but unfortunately big birds like Flamingos were less. There are 4-5 points to see inside the lake by boat. 

Carry enough food as there is not much things available in the lake to eat. There is an island in the lake, where you can have some local food like Rotlas with tea. You can also buy food from local people for birds, so that you can see them closely.

Mount Abu - A refreshing weekend destination!!

It was a weekend trip and it was absolutely refreshing. It was a good season as after the rains Mount Abu was beautifully green.

Mount Abu

On a Friday night we booked ticket in sleeper luxury by Gujarat Travels. It is a good service from Ahmedabad to Mount Abu. On early Saturday morning we reached on the mount and found a nice hotel. It is good to have the hotel near market or Nakki lake area. To roam around the hills we hired a bike. I think it is a best option for couples and friends visiting Abu. Bike rent is very nominal excluding fuel charge. There is only one petrol pump here, so before starting your "Abu Darshan", ensure that the fuel tank is full.

Nakki lake: It's simply beautiful surrounded by the hills, looks more beautiful at evening. Pedal boats, Shikara boats and Group boats are available. Don't miss the amazing boating experience.

Nakki Lake, Mount Abu

Toad Rock: It is a Toad shpaed rock on the hill near nakki lake. It takes around half an hour to climb this hill. The way is little slippery. It's good for people who likes adventures. The view of the lake and the surrounding hills is awesome from here.

Toad Rock, Mount Abu

View of Nakki Lake from Toad Rock, Mount Abu

Wildlife sanctuary: The mount is protected home for many wild animals and birds. A part of it is open for tourists. This jungle is full of tall trees and hills. There is a small lake in which we saw crocodiles. It feels really amazing to be here.

View at wild life sanctuary, Mount Abu

Guru Shikhar: It is the highest point of the Mount Abu. The view is fabulous from here.

View from Guru Shikhar, Mount Abu

Delwara's Jain temples: The very famous Jain temples known for the beautiful marble carvings. Luggage, camera, mobiles, footwear are not allowed inside. Keep them in the cabin near entrance and get the token.

Road-side view, Mount Abu

Road-side view, Mount Abu

Sunset Point: A good point, but you need to walk and climb too much. And the chances are rare that you will see the actual sunset due to cloudy weather. In any case you will enjoy this point.
  
Mount Abu Market: The mount Abu market is very well developed and you get really nice things to buy. Rajasthani Handicrafts, Home decorative articles, Hand-loom clothes, Rajasthani marble articles, Rajasthani traditional cloths and footwear, etc. you see in good collection and wide range. You should have good bargaining skills to get the your things at cheaper rate.

Food: There are so many Fast-food stalls, Chaat stalls, Dining halls, small and big Restaurants in market and Nakki lake area. The softy ice-cream available on many shops near Nakki lake is utterly delicious. So don't miss it. :-)