The family trip had been going fantastic. On our fourth day, we reached Jodhpur, the "blue city" or sometimes referred as "sun city".
1) Umaid Bhawan:
By the first looks of it I mistook it for Rashtrapati Bhawan, Delhi. I bet you did too ;)
Umaid Bhawan Palace, one of the larget private residencies in the world, a part of it is also managed by Taj Hotels.
Named after Maharaja Umaid Singh, grandfather of the present owner Gaj Singh of the palace, this edifice has 347 rooms and serves as the principal residence of the erstwhile Jodhpur royal family. A part of the palace also houses a museum.
Entry Fees: Rs 25 (Indian) and Rs 50 (Foreign)
Time to Visit: 9 AM to 5 PM (all days of the week)
The more I explored this palace, the more I was awestruck. Awestruck knowing how the Rajas and the Maharaja's of their time lived, a life full of lavishness.
A little replica of the heritage inside the palace.
You can witness many artifacts of history preserved in the palace.
Vintage Collection of Cars
Just at the boundaries of the lawn, you can see vintage cars which ruled back in the day.
2) Mehrangarh Fort:
Does this fort even need introduction? Cannons on the roof, featured in hollywood flicks like Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, the fort's architecture is second to none.
With hand sculptures on almost every brick, every wall, it's one elegant structure.
Blue City or Sun City, indeed !
The magnificence of the cannons is breathtaking. The cannons have been cordoned off by a rope.
Incoming!
The royals moved to Mehrangarh Fort from Mandore as it the former offered better protection from enemies. The below picture justifies the "why" part.
Century old artifacts:
One hell of a lock. People had advanced security back in the day! :P
Warrior's wardrobe!
3) Jaswant Thada:
It was built by Maharaja Sardar Singh of Jodhpur State in 1899 in memory of his father, Maharaja Jaswant Singh II, and serves as the cremation ground for the royal family of Marwar.
Entry Fee: Rs 15/-
Time to visit: 9 AM to 5:30 PM
Very few people visit Jaswant Thada and in my honest opinion, just like the crematory, the ambiance was dead here. Perhaps not a sough after viewpoint in Jodhpur.
The structure has wall paintings hung inside, but apart from that not much.
In the far backdrop of the below picture you can notice Mehrangarh Fort.
4) Mandore Gardens:
The bygone capital of the Jodhpur Kings, it's an amazing yet abandoned destination in Jodhpur. Often you won't read much about it anywhere and the garden itself might not seem well kept if you do visit there. However, the ruins are eerily breathtaking.
No Entry Fee
Beggars, lovers can be spotted along the turns of the pathways.
20 minutes of your time is enough to traverse the gardens.
That was all from my visit to Jodhpur. We were all set to explore the dunes of Thar next.
Keep on reading folks. I hope you liked this one!