Mandawa: A Hidden Gem on Old Silk Route

Mandawa is a small town in Shekhawati Region of Rajasthan which used to lie on the old silk route. It used to be a hub for rich merchants trading through the silk route and spice route. The Shekhawati Region is known as "open art gallery" of the fascinating havelis that have lavishly painted walls, Mandawa itself has 125 havelis with walls having frescos dating back to 18^th century. Many of the havelis are not maintained so it is advised to hire a guide to get inside the most beautiful and protected ones.

The town is located at a 5 hours driving distance from Delhi so it is easily doable over a weekend and if you have some time you can pay a visit to few more beautiful towns (such as Nawalgarh, Churu, Sikar, Dundlod) in Shekhawati 1-2 hours away from Mandawa each having its own share of beautifully built forts and havelis.

Our plan was confined to Mandawa and Nawalgarh with the luxurious stay at Sara Vilas Palace. Beautiful resort built in the rhythm aligning with the rest of the town. After soaking in the medieval environment of the resort we headed to explore the town and immediately took a guide for the day Rs. 300 (I didn’t negotiate with him so one might get one for a lesser fee)

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We started-off with the Jhunjhunwala Haveli, this haveli has a room painted with 3.5 kg of real gold, natural colors, and Belgium glass.

By the way Mandawa has witnessed various Bollywood movies (such as Bajrangi Bhaijan, PK, Love aaj kal) being shot in its rugged streets. You can actually relate to those scenes if you have seen the respective films.

We visited few more Havelis showcasing the love of art people had 250 years back. In the end our guide took us to Radhika Haveli which has been artistically restored and has been converted into a hotel, which is also a very good stay option right in the heart of the city. Did I tell you that, they serve the world’s best Daal Baati churma, it’s just that you need to inform them 30mins in advance.

Our last halt was Chattris where we had a mesmerizing view of Sunset with a cup of tea.

Next day it was time to pay a visit to Nawalgarh after lot of upselling I could convince our group to go there but it’s good that we went there as the haveli’s there are in better conditions specially Anandi Lal Podar Haveli has breathtaking interiors, this has also been converted to a museum. It was built in the 1920s and is the only haveli in the whole Shekhawati, which has been restored by its owner.

After this we had a heartening Rajasthani lunch and bade our interim Goodbye to Shekhawati with definite plans to visit rest of the Shekhawati this year itself.

Beautifully Painted Haveli Corner 

Alley @ a Haveli

Top view of Podar Haveli

Door Carvings

Wooden Artwork showcasing Rajasthani Handicrafts

The famous katputli dance of Rajasthan

Radhika Haveli

Sunset Captured at Mandawa

Beautiful Sunset near the shooting point of Bajrangi Bhaijan

Inside the Podar Haveli

Enternace to the Cafe at Chattris

Beautiful Gate at Podar Haveli Published on Indian Airlines Cover Page

Paintings with Real Gold @ Jhunjhunwala Haveli

Chand Baori, the Step Well

Chand Baori & Sariska

While browsing internet I came across a blog which showcased the photographs of Chand Baori, the photograph was so gripping I immediately knew where I am going next. But my wanderlust wasn’t going to satisfy with only Chand Baori, so I kept on googling.

The Chand Baori

Now it seemed a pretty interesting trip (with Sariska and Bhangargh) with jam packed schedule to follow.   Although I had to drop Bhangarh on the last day due to my laziness of waking up early!

After a lazy morning we started towards our first destination Sariska. Soon after we took a left from NH8 somewhere near Bhiwadi, we entered into the Aravali regions. We were accompanied by some awesome views of rustic brown hillocks shining under the gazing Sun. After a comfortable drive of 3.5 hrs, we reached Sariska at around 12 PM.

Very First Sight of Sariska Palace

Sariska Palace was our bet for getting some royal treatment at the Royals of Rajasthan, though it didn’t live up to the expectations. The first Look of the Room was pretty impressive but at a closer look, it needed big time maintenance!

Sariska National Park has a similar topography as Ranthambore, though it’s bigger in area. While visiting Ranthambore I got to know that 3 tigers were relocated from Ranthambore to Sariska last year itself!! I was not very keen on spending 3000 Rs for the Safari as the probability of spotting the Big Cats was pretty less. So we took our own car into the national park till the Hanuman temple (21km) with an entry fees of Rs. 250. The peacocks and monkey can be located in abundance in the park. It’s worth paying a visit to the temple.

Next day we started late for Abhaneri, verified the route with one of the hotel staff, it took us around 1.5 -2 hours.

Baori and Harshatmata Temple were built in the 8th century by the King Chand, the ruler of Abha Nagri. The village was named after the glow (abha in Hindi) which is reflected through the well (Baori) water during full moon nights. It is known pronounced as Abhaneri.

Mere one look at the Boari is enough to boast about the rich heritage & culture Rajasthan has! As soon as we reached near the Baori, a flock of hundreds of pigeon flew (twice) just over our head to change their resting area, probably due to change in the wind or sun.

The Chand boari is a square shaped well, having a total of 3000 stairs symmetrically carved on its 3 sides, contributing to the beautiful Top view of the Boari. Earlier the 4^th side was a ramp, and later the King of Jaipur converted that side into his Summer Palace to get relief from the scorching heat.

The baori is fenced from the other 3 sides, it’s not allowed to enter the well. Three years back only, it was fenced for safety purposes when an Italian women slipped over the inside stairs of the well. Though I was disappointed with that restriction as I couldn’t have a closer look at it, but it didn’t lessen the sheer pleasure of sighting that beautiful piece of architecture.

Our guide told that earlier it used to be a source of ground water but now it was filled with green rain water at the bottom. We strolled around the baori, heard the significance of various statues placed at the nearby corridors and admired its beauty as well as magnificence.

Closer Look at the depth of Chand Baori

Suddenly, I saw a college going girl who seemed modern and (at least) graduate, ignoring all the notice and crossed the fence entered the boari. Despite of the security guard’s and her very own friend’s shouting, she didn’t move out an inch until her “SO CALLED PHOTOGRAPH” was clicked. After this she had a proud smile on her face as if she had won some righteous war. I mean SERIOUSLY!!

Harshatmata Temple against the blueish-grey cloudy background

Harshatmata Temple is dedicated to the goddess Harshat. The temple was destroyed during the Mughal and Turkish invasion in north India. After destruction locals tried to rebuild the temple, but it was never the same. Few pieces and statues are also lying in the forbidden corridors of Chand Baori!!

While returning we were accompanied by some awesome weather with rain, cool breeze, good road, awesome views and soulful music, all the ingredients of peaceful and refreshing drive back to HOME SWEET HOME!!