Dhula Village

Dhula Village

After leaving Jaipur, we traveled by bus to the town of Abhaneri, located not far from Jaipur on the Jaipur-Agra road, to walk around the amazing Chand Baori, a 10th century water tank that is an impressive 20 feet deep.  Chand Baori consists of 3,500 narrow steps over 13 stories. It extends approximately 100 feet into the ground making it one of the deepest and largest stepwells in India.   At the bottom of the well, the air remains 5-6 degrees cooler than at the surface, and Chand Baori was used as a community gathering place for locals during periods of intense heat.  One side of the well has a pavillion and resting room for the royals.  This site has been used for a number of films such as, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.  The stepwell was constructed in 800 A.D.

 The Chand Baori is dedicated to Harshat Mata, goddess of Joy and Happiness.  The Harshat Temple was built by King Chanda between 800-900 A.D. and is located next to the stepwell.   It was believed by everyone that the peace and happines in Abhaneri is due to the blessings of goddess Harshat.  During the rule, Mughal and Turkish invaders destroyed the temple.  The locals gathered all the pieces, large and small, and tried to rebuild, but it was never the same.  It is 3,000 years old, but still the people are protected by the cherishment and devotion towards the temple.  Fragments of the temple can be seen all around it.

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A neat sight in the village of Abhaneri:

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From Abhaneri, we left the State of Rajasthan and crossed over into the State of Uttar Pradesh in the North East or India.  Known as the 'city of victory', Fatehpur Sikri was constructed on an artificial lake on the sloping levels of the Vindhyan Hill ranges.  The Mughal emperor Akbar built Fatehpur Sikri and it was the first planned city of the Mughals.  We visited the Jami Mosque, built in red sandstone with very little use of marble.  Diwan-i-Am (the hall of public audience) and Diwan-i-Khas (the hall of private audience)  are the prominent monuments in the mosque.  The mosque boasts the largest arch in India.

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We arrived at our camp in Dhula Village, not sure what to expect as we were told we were staying in tents!  This was another one of my favorite places we stayed!  This is my kind of tent!

Julia, Fredericca and Sara from Germany

Our room and bath

We were welcomed in the Dining Room by the owner, Mr. Singh, whose family has owned this tent resort for over 10 generations.  The food was all organic, grown on nearby farms.  It was very relaxing after staying in busy Jaipur!

Relaxing by the pool

Our view towards our tents at night.

On to Agra tomorrow!