Bhangarh - Haunted or a Must Hunt Destination

For many of us, the name of a haunted building is reason enough to start shivering with fear. Now, imagine a situation where an entire city is considered haunted. Yes, there is an abandoned city in eastern Rajasthan, which is known as the most haunted place on earth. Believe it or not, but this medieval city has many stories and theories to portray it as a haunted one. Will discuss those stories in details but before that, let's have a virtual tour to this haunted but contrarily very beautiful city.

An example of architectural marvel. 

It is known as Bhangarh, located around 100 kilometers from Jaipur and 250 kilometers from Delhi, towards Alwar. This medieval city is settled in natural surroundings at the base of the Aravali mountain range and is well protected by hills and dense forests from the back side, while three different layers of sturdy ramparts protect it from the front.

Gateway of Bhangarh

A signboard, displaying a warning not to enter or stay in the periphery of the city from dusk to dawn, welcomes the visitors, at the gateway. But, for their relief, a temple having a huge idol of lord Hanuman, at the entrance, seems to assure their safety. From there, a stone carved street leads towards the royal palace, passing through the main market of the abandoned city. The remains of systematically built shops on both the sides of the lane depicts the story of its prosperity. Many of these shops were multi-storeyed and had different sections for storage and for entertaining the customers. While, some other shops had luxurious facilities, such as fountains to comfort their special guests.

Main market of Bhangarh

Visitors cannot resist themselves looking at the remains of some of the beautiful Havelis, built alongside the street. However, for centuries, these Havelis have faced nature's fury but still, their ruins are capable enough to narrate the stories of the lavish lifestyle of their residents.

Beautiful ceiling of a temple

Apart from ruins of the royal palace; shops and Havelis, there are a number of beautiful temples in the city which are still in a relatively better condition. It's clearly visible that only temples could miraculously escape the catastrophe caused by the time and some unknown reasons. However, most of these are still in good condition and attractive enough to pull the visitors towards them with their architecture and captivating carvings on pillars and ceilings. But strangely, apart from two, others are abandoned. Perhaps, their priests took the idols of their lords along with them while leaving the city. 

Another example of delectable architecture 

The city had three different sections, divided by three layers of ramparts. The first section between initial two layers of ramparts was for ordinary citizens while, the next section between second and third layers, was reserved for the nobles. And, the royal family was secure in the city palace, protected by a series of bastions and towers, as well as with an additional security by the immense mountain from the back side.

Interior of a temple

The royal palace, which was once a beautiful seven-storeyed palace has now been reduced to just four because it could not withstand the test of time. It still looks mighty from the outside but, it's hard to find a way to its inner rooms as most of the passages have now been blocked by debris. Until a few years back, there were some staircases to access its basements and secret chambers, which now have been closed by Archeological Survey of India (ASI, which has taken its custody), for the sake of protection of visitors from an unknown danger.

Ruins of the city palace

Apart from these, one of the main attraction of the city is a water stream, which sprouts deep inside the jungle of Kewra flowers and emerges near the royal palace to fall in an artificial pond next to a beautiful Shiv temple, and fills the surroundings with its exotic aroma. It further flows through the deserted city, having some magnificent temples and Havelis built on its curves. It must have been the lifeline  of then city dwellers for their water needs as well as for their amusements. There were two separate pools built for men and women to have fun in its cool, clear and fragranced water. Still, tourists cannot resist themselves from taking a dip in its refreshing water.

Water stream falling in the pond

This magical journey can't come to an end without the description of a mysterious mausoleum, situated at the top of the hill, above the royal palace. This mausoleum is still in good condition as compared with rest of the buildings. However, it's a difficult task to reach there in the absence of stairs. One has to climb the hill to reach there which is a tiring exercise. Many people avoid taking that much pain to visit that cursed place as they believe in stories according to which, mausoleum had a key role behind the abandonment of the city.

While roaming in between the ruins of this deserted city, it seems like every stone is telling a story of its glorious past. It is hard to escape the thought of finding a reason which forced its residents to deplete such a beautiful city to give it a tag of one of the most haunted places on earth. The curiosity of getting an answer for these questions leads towards some stories, one of which is very famous.

Mysterious mausoleum of Bhangarh

The story of an evil occultist and the heavenly beautiful queen Ratnavati. According to the story, it is believed that the occultist used to live on the hill, above the royal palace. He used to practice his black magic in the mausoleum. One day, his evil eye fell on the beauty of the queen, who was enjoying the beauty of her city from the top of her palace. He decided to get her at any cost and for that, he bribed one of her maids, who was in charge of queen's cosmetics. To pursue his goal, he did black magic on the perfume brought for the queen. The queen noticed something strange in perfume before it could had been applied to her. She sternly interrogated the maid and came to know the evil desire of the occultist. She ordered her to spill the perfume on a huge rock to see the effect of the black magic, and for everyone's surprise, the rock moved and flew towards the occultist to fall upon him. The occultist made such a powerful magic for the queen that there was no way to stop the rock from crushing him. When he saw an inevitable death flying towards him, he cursed the city and freed his evil powers to turn the city into a massive graveyard. Most of the residents quit the city, the very same day on a royal decree to save their lives, and those who stayed back were found dead.

Shiv Mandir which is still being worshiped

It's believed that the evil powers, freed by the occultist are still there and kill anyone who dares to spend a night in the city. It's believed that it wakes up in the night, and it does not allow its guests to leave it again.

A haunted corridor of Bhangarh palace

How to Reach: This location falls around 100 kilometers from Jaipur and 250 kilometers from Delhi,  towards Alwar. Tourists can easily reach there by personal or rented vehicles. It is also visible on Google Maps.

Nearby Attractions: Bhangarh is not too far from the famous wildlife destination, Sariska Tiger Reserve. Some other attractions are Pandu Pole, Bhartrihari, Siliserh Lake and Neelkanth Mahadev Mandir which is believed to be of Mahabharata era. Apart from these tourist destinations, there is a  small village Gola Ka Bas, around 2 kilometers from Bhangarh, which is known for its stone art. It is worth buying some beautiful stone sculptures from there. After all, artists of this village are descendants of those who had carved the beautiful structures of Bhangarh.

Do's and don'ts: This is a heritage site, visitors are expected to maintain peace and cleanliness. Tampering and damaging the property is a punishable offense.  Visitors should avoid entering damaged rooms and buildings for safety concerns. Beware of snakes and scorpions! Last but not the least, do not write your names and messages on any wall, for the sake of your own safety...

By: Ajay Sharma

For more images: https://www.facebook.com/ajay.aksphotography/photos_albums

Jaipur - A New Destination for Wild-Lifers

Jaipur, a city known for its culture, heritage and now for its modern facilities such as metro trains and mega shopping malls, has been a favorite destination for tourists across the globe. Its well-preserved monuments and rich cultural heritage have been the center of attraction for thousands of domestic and foreign tourists for many decades.

This city differs from many other Indian tourist destinations in terms of wide range of choices it offers to its visitors. The Sheesh Mahal of Amber fort, reminds us the lavish lifestyle of Kachhwaha Kings of Amber Riyasat, whereas; mighty Jaigarh fort narrates a story of the bravery of its warrior kings. On the one-hand someone gets submerged in the delicacy and beauty of numerous palaces built by its different rulers, while on the other hand; its 16th century artillery and superior weaponry make the visitors surprised by its technical advancement during medieval era, 'Jai Ban' which is considered as world's largest canon on wheels is an example of it.

Amber fort at Night, Photo credit: Ajay Sharma

Almost all of the above-mentioned attractions are well known and well explored by the tourists from across the globe but still, there is an unexplored field which is lesser known to its visitors. Only very few people know that royals of Jaipur played a vital role in preserving wildlife around Jaipur. If we carefully look at the map of Jaipur we will find that its eastern and northern borders are protected by hills of Aravalli Range. These hills provide shelter to a variety of wildlife and maintain a healthy food chain, dominated by one of the big cats, the leopards of Jaipur.

These hills house wild animals from prey to predator groups such as little gerbils, Indian hare, chitals, blue bulls, wild boars, monkeys and langoors from prey group as well as animals from predator group such as desert fox, jackals, wild cats, Indian palm civet,  striped-hyenas and leopards. Apart from these some other animals such as porcupine, armadillo, pangolin and different varieties of reptiles such as garden lizards to monitor lizards and species of snakes varying from non-venomous sand-boas to venomous spectacle-cobras can be spotted in these hills.

Desert fox forest in NBP, Photo credit: Ajay Sharma

It's very easy to explore these hills, some with prior permission from the forest department and others with just your zest for adventure. So, let's begin with some protected areas but with the assured sighting of some of these animals. Jhalana, Nahargarh and Galta are three different but connected patches for wildlife sighting. Out of these, Jhalana forest is considered the best location for leopard sighting. Very recently, forest department opened this area for tracking and safari with a reasonable entry fee. It is considered as one of the highly concentrated areas for leopard population. Around 12-15 leopards live in this area and their population is still growing.

Leopard of Jhalana in its natural habitat, Photo credit: Mr. Sumit Juneja

Despite the fact, that these forest patches do not have sufficient prey base to accommodate such a saturated population of big predators such as leopards and striped hyenas, their population is continuously increasing and that's a good sign for wildlife conversation. Some experts believe that cunning nature of leopards makes them adaptable with human settlements. All of these forest patches are surrounded by human habitats which are the good source of favourite food for leopards such as street dogs and pigs. However, leopards and hyenas can also be spotted in Nahargarh Biological Park (NBP) as well as in Galta-Ghati, but Jhalana is considered as the best location for leopard sighting.

Stripped Hyena in NBP, Photo credit: Mr. Rajaram Meena

These forest patches can be approached from three locations Jhalana, Nahargarh and Galta. For Nahargarh and Jhalana, an entry fee is applicable whereas there is no fee for Galta patch. All of these three locations can be reached by cars and two-wheelers. NBP falls around 10 kilometers from the city centre on Jaipur-Delhi highway, while Jhalana forest falls within the city itself as it is surrounded by several residential colonies. One can reach Jhalana by simply following the JLN Marg, whereas; Galta can be reached by following Jaipur-Agra Highway. All of these locations are within the range of Jaipur city and can be reached by half an hour drive from the centre of the city, Badi Chopad.

Nightjar in Jhalana, Photo credit: Ajay Sharma

However, all of these three forest patches are good, but Jhalana and NBP are best and well preserved. Both of these locations have many attractions for visitors some of them are as follows:

Jhalana: Jhalana is gaining popularity for its leopard sightings in their natural habitat. Thanks to some local conservationists and wildlife photographers for bringing it into the limelight. Apart from leopards, Jhalana has some other attractions too which include; Indian striped hyena, desert fox, golden jackal, chitals, Indian palm civet, Indian hare, langoors and blue-bulls. However, the sighting of fox, hyena, civet and jackal is not so common but they can be traced with the help of forest guides. This is also a must visit location for bird watchers, as some of the rare birds including Indian Pitta, Dusky Eagle Owl, Spotted Owlet, Shiksa, Paradise Flycatchers, Black-rumped Flamback, Golden Oriole and Nightjars can be spotted there.

Leopard in its natural habitat in Jhalana, Photo credit: Mr. Surendra Chauhan

NBP: Like Jhalana, NBP also has similar species of animals and birds, but it has a larger spread as compared to Jhalana. Recently, Jaipur zoo has been shifted here, which is the main tourist attraction. Its wider spread, zoo and presence of water bodies such as Ram Sagar distinguishes it from Jhalana. Apart from these presences of Marsh Crocodile, White-Naped Tit, Indian Eagle Owl and Steppe Eagle provide an edge over Jhalana forest. A good number of predators such as leopards and striped hyenas are also there, but due to its vast area, one has to spend the good amount of time to spot them. This park also has a rescue center where big cats rescued from captivity such as circuses, are rehabilitated in their natural surroundings to let them live peacefully for the rest of their lives, that's why this center is not open for visitors.

Indian Pitta in NBP, Photo credit: Mr. Rajaram Meena

Jaipur also proudly offers a verity of choices for birders, such as rich water bodies which provide shelter for migratory and aquatic birds, as well as hills and plains for other species of birds. Here again, birds from prey to predator groups can be seen easily. Chandlai lake, Barkeda lake and Manasagar lake are preferred choices for migratory birds.

Bar-headed goose at Chandler lake, Photo credit: Ajay Sharma

Bar-headed Goose, Lesser Flamingo, Greater Flamingo, different species of storks such as Open-billed Stork, Spoon-billed Stork, Black-headed Stork, Woolly-necked Stork and Painted Stroke can easily be spotted at these water bodies during the winter season. Manasagar lake which is commonly known as Jalmahal falls in Jaipur city itself, it is not less than a paradise for water birds. Birds like; River Turn, species of Cormorants, Marsh Harrier, Gulls, Night Herons, Pond Herons, Grey Herons, Little to Large Egrets and different species of Kingfishers can easily be seen here.

Shikra with prey in Jhalana, Photo credit: Ajay Sharma

 Aquatic birds at Manasagar Jheel, Photo credit: Ajay Sharma

By each passing day, all of these locations are gaining more and more popularity. Young generation conservationists and wildlife photographers have played a great role in making these locations popular among tourists, through social media. It is because of theme that Jaipur is now becoming a hot destination for wildlife lovers as well. Hope, these young pioneers will play an equally important role in preserving wildlife for next-gen too.

By: Ajay Sharma

For more images please click on: https://500px.com/photo/119572699/hunt-is-on-by-ajay-sharma