Travel Circuits in Rajasthan
Brij - Mewar Circuit:
Places of Interest: Alwar- Sariska- Deeg- Bharatpur-
Karauli- Ranthambhor.
Some important sights that are not to be missed are the
Bala Qila where
Emperor Babur spent one night, the majestic City Palace which houses a museum.
In the museum can be found quite a few of Alwar's legendary treasures - rare
manuscripts, paintings, objects made from jade, ivory and silver and a large
collection of weapons.
The beautiful
Moosi Maharani ki Chhatri is a majestic red sand stone
and white marble cenotaph built in the memory of mistress of Maharaja Bakhtawar
Singh, a ruler of Alwar. Other interesting monuments are Vinay Vilas Palace,Vijay
Mandir Palace and Moti Doongri.
A little further on the road to Jaipur is Alwar's most popular picnic spot -
Siliserh. Built as a summer resort,it is a delightful little palace overlooking
atranquil lake and surrounded by hills. You can go for long treks along the
hills ( don't forget to take along a comfortable pair of walking shoes), boating,
or just sit on the terrace of the palace hotel and watch the water birds and
the beautiful sunset over the lake. It is one of the most peaceful areas in
the vicinity.
To the west lie the protected forests of
Sariska. Once the hunting grounds
of the rulers of Alwar, the
Sariska Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary
today provides shelter to a large variety of wildlife which includes smabhar,
chinkara, wild boar, jackal and the elusive tiger. Birds that can be found here
are parakeet, gray partridge, crested serpent eagle, bulbuls. The forest area
of Sariska is replete with relics of the past. To the west lies
Viratnagar,
a city revered in history for having given shelter to the mighty Pandava brothers
of the Mahabharata. Explore the forests for temples, even rock formations that
have some association with the past. It is also one of the oldest historical
sites in Rajasthan. An edict of
King Ashoka the Great dating back to
the 3rd century was found here. In another part of the site are the ruins of
a circular Buddhist temple, considered to be the earliest free standing structures
in India. There are many places in this region which once visited will always
be remembered.
The palaces and gardens of
Deeg are among the most beautiful in this
region. Being closer to Agra and Delhi, the Mughal influences were stronger
here. This small town has some of the most well laid out gardens and palace
pavilions. The Gopal Bhawan, Nand Bhawan and Krishna Bhawan are ingeniously
designed palaces that have attractive features and are rich n history. A visit
to these palaces will give an idea of the care and meticulous planning that
must have gone into their construction.
A visit to this region is not complete without a trip to
Bharatpur. The
history of Bharatpur traces the rise and fall of Jat power in eastern Rajasthan.This
was the region where important Jat rulers like Churaman, Badan Singh and Suraj
Mal dominated the history of this entire belt. They fought the invading Marathas,
Mughals and the interfering British and were a power to reckon with and strong
enough today down their own terms and conditions. The fort of Bharatpur is the
focal point of the town. It took sixty years to build and was known as Lohagarh
or the Iron Fort. Don't forget to look out for the moat and solid mud walls
that once surrounded this fort.
Today, the stark and rugged fort is partly used by the government to run its
offices and large part houses the Government museum. Bharatpur is a small city
but what makes it special is the Keoladeo National Park. Once the hunting preserve
of the princes of Bharatpur, today, it is ranked among the world's best bird
sanctuaries. Every year, this park is visited by
over 400 species of water
birds which include
exotic migratory birds from Afghanistan, Central
Asia, Siberia and Tibet. The graylag and bar headed geese are among the
important visitors but the star of this sanctuary is the rare Siberian crane.
If you're a bird lover, then this is you paradise, but even if you just have
a passing interest in birds you cannot fail to be impressed by the mind-boggling
variety of birds that arrive in this park. The stone of
Dholpur is famous
throughout the country and has been used for the construction of many a fort
and palace not only in Rajasthan but in Agra, Delhi and other states as well.
You can pick up small mementoes from the markets.
Dholpur in itself does not seem to have too many tourist attractions but the
areas surrounding Dholpur are important for their historicity.
Jhor was
the site of the oldest mughal garden built by Baber in 1527 and rediscovered
in the 1970s, there is the famous machkund where a religious fair every year
seen a gathering of devotees seeking a cure for their skin ailments after a
dip in the holy kund. Other important areas include Bari and Damoh and the Van
Vihar and ram Sagar Sanctuary.
Ranthambhor needs little introduction, as it is one of India's conservation
success stories. This is the ideal place in Rajasthan to see the Indian tiger
in its natural; habitat. Lush green forested hills, lakes inside the national
Park , lodges and water holes ; Ranathambhor is a different world altogether
. Don't come to Ranthambhor as a tourist, let the wildlife enthusiast in you
take over and just allow yourself to be guided by the jungle atmosphere. If
you can pull yourself out of the Ranthambhor forest, don't miss the formidable
fort of Ranthambhor, which has a popular Ganesh temple. A little further afield
is the unusual Sunheri of Tonk. It is possible to pick up felt rugs called namdas
and leather stuff from Tonk.
