Brij - Mewar Travel Circuit

Places of Interest: Alwar- Sariska- Deeg- Bharatpur- Karauli- Ranthambhor

Alwar has been among the historic cities in Rajasthan. Prehistoric as well as historic sites that are an archaeologist's delight surround it. Once a part of the Matsya kingdom, a visit to Alwar is like walking back into the past. This area is protected from the desert sands by the Aravali range that also provides Alwar with a lot of picturesque locations. The entire region is rich in lakes and wooded hills that provide shelter to a large variety of flora and fauna.

Today, Alwar is an important industrial center and one of Delhi's satellite towns yet its ancient temples, medieval forts and palaces, gardens and wildlife make it interesting trourist destinations.

SIGHTSEEING:

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.