All the Purs – Jodhpur, Ranakpur, Pushkar (still has ‘Pu … r’ in it) and Udaipur

So our journey through Rajistan has come to an end (well we are now staying in Udaipur for a few days), with us visiting Jodhpur, Pushkar, Ranakpur and Kumbhalgarh in the past 10 days.

Our stop at Jodhpur was partly interrupted with Alan coming down with a 48 hour bug – so we have saved some money on food bills over that time.  We were lucky to be staying at the foot of Mehrangarh Fort which is set 120 metres above the city. So not only did we visit the fort, another step well, but we spent time walking through the ‘old city’ looking for the blue alleyways that make the city so famous and (of course) the local market.  Part way through our visit on 15 August it was also India Independence Day – which celebrated British rule ceasing in 1947, which meant the entire country had a public holiday, with kids flying kites and some very loud (bass) music being played.

We were due to spend 4 nights in Pushkar but we decided to change our plans and only stay one day. However, before leaving we decided to climb up over 400 steps (resulting in us being soaking wet with sweat by the time we reached the top) to visit Savitri Mata Temple, to see an amazing view – unfortunately the temple itself was very disappointing.

The truncation of our visit meant we could visit Ranakpur as it’s one of the five most important pilgrimage sites of Jainism. It’s home to an exceptionally beautiful temple complex in a remote valley on the eastern side of the Aravali hills and a must visit for the tourists coming to this region. As always the temple was free – BUT of course you had to have a mandatory audio headset at 200 rupees (NZ$4) each, and each phone/camera costs 100 rupees (NZ$2) per item – irrespective on whether you used them. Despite the cost, a long list of no selfies, sitting down carrying water and no leather goods inside the temple was amazing – the carvings on each of the 1,200 pillars was ‘unreal’.

Shortening our time in Pushkar also meant we had the opportunity for to visit Kumbhalgarh (and spend a further 600 rupees each (NZ$12 ) versus Indians paying 40 rupees), which is a Mewar Fortress lying on the western side of the Aravalli hills. The walls of the fortress are the second longest in the world, giving it the name ‘Great Wall of India’. The enormous fort is over 500 years old, and the architecture is about the fort being impenetrable and unconquerable. It was pleasing to note that in 2013, UNESCO announced that Kumbhalgarh Fort had been recognised as a World Heritage Site.

We’ve also said ‘goodbye’ to our driver (Babu) and we’re now in Udaipur (so technically we are still in Rajistan), where we’ll be staying for a few days.

After spending more than 6 weeks in India to date, we’ve decided that whilst we’ve ‘enjoyed’ the sites, we need a change in scenery (and some beef!!) and as such we will be heading to Nepal on 14 September – 16 days earlier than originally planned..