Trio of Treats – Relax in Rajasthan
June 5, 2025
Rajasthan is heaving with minor royalty. Many had to turn their palaces over to tourism when in the 1970s Indira Gandhi took away their tax-raising powers. Their quirky homes with labyrinths of rooms, countless staff and extraordinary histories are a real treasure of rural India.
For the initial wow factor you need to see the great cities of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur: here you can watch mother India pass by in all her chaotic splendour.
For second timers, however, and when you want to escape the cacophony and intense odours of the main sites there are some special rural retreats where you can sit back, chill out, and detox.
Here are a few Aravalli gems.
Deepura Garh in Shekhavati:
- Shekhavati is the land of the Shekhwati nomadic tribes: camel herders, blacksmiths, storytellers and Banjaras traders, whose decorated bullocks are a distinctive feature of the local markets.
- Marwari traders who settled here constructed fabulous townhouses known as havelis; with their exquisite frescoes they make the perfect setting for open-air art galleries.
- Deepura Garh is a haveli which has been imaginatively reconfigured in a minimalist style and now boasts a stunning interior courtyard with a huge, atmospherically lit pool, roof terraces, shady gazebos and secret gardens. It would be a wonderful place for a party but is also an oasis of calm after hurtling about in a car.
Shaphura Bagh:
- Shaphura Bagh, a garden estate surrounded by glistening lakes, is the former summer home of the Shahpura rulers.
- A gentle journey by open jeep through quiet byways is the perfect introduction to rural India’s Hour of the Cow Dust when just before twilight cows saunter home along narrow paths, their hooves kicking up plumes of dust, and birds return to their roosts. The skyline is sepia-toned and the breeze heavy with the scent of jasmine and the smoke of dung fires.
- The atmospheric semi-ruined Dikhola Fort is the perfect setting for sundowners and gloriously romantic dinners under a canopy of stars.
- Walk or cycle by the lake or enjoy being gently rowed across it for some bird spotting.
- The bedrooms and bathrooms are huge as is the pool where delicious Rajasthani titbits are served at lunchtime.
Anopura:
- Anopura is a peaceful haven in which to unwind and recharge the soul and yet only an hour away from the great pink city of Jaipur.
- Enjoy outstanding food, much of it home-produced, served in a variety of settings dotted about this enchanting oasis.
- Many of the individually themed cottages have the most stunning pools with different coloured tiles.
- Breezy covered areas with surrounding sweet-smelling shrubs, frangipani and flowerbeds provide the perfect places in which to relax.
- Unwind while walking in the surrounding fields with their backdrop of the Aravalli hills whose forts and scattered temples have stood here for centuries, silently watching over the land and its people.
For more information please contact Miles on 0207 723 0207 723 5858.
NB prices shown were current at the time of writing the newsletter and are not necessarily current now.
Please ask for an updated quote.
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