Explore Rajasthan
North of Jaipur, the land becomes increasingly arid and inhospitable, with farms and fields gradually giving way to wind-blown expanses of undulating semi-desert dotted with endless khejri trees and isolated houses enclosed in stockades of thorn. Although now something of a backwater, this region, known as Shekhawati, once lay on an important caravan route connecting Delhi and Sind (now in Pakistan) with the Gujarati coast, before the rise of Bombay and Calcutta diverted the trans-Thar trade south and eastwards. Having grown rich on trade and taxes, Shekhawati’s Marwari merchants and landowning thakurs spent their fortunes competing with one another to build the grand, ostentatiously decorated havelis which still line the streets of the region’s dusty little towns – an incredible concentration of mansions, palaces and cenotaphs plastered inside and out with elaborate and colourful murals. Considering the wealth of traditional art here, and the region’s proximity to Jaipur, however, most of Shekhawati still feels surprisingly far off the tourist trail.
Getting around is best done by road. Regular local buses, always overcrowded, connect Shekhawati’s main towns, while jeeps also shuttle between towns and villages, picking up as many passengers as they can cram in. Railway services are hopelessly slow, unreliable and inconvenient.
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Visiting Shekhawati’s havelis
Visiting Shekhawati’s havelis
A number of Shekhawati’s havelis, particularly in Nawalgarh, have now been restored and opened as museums. Most, however, remain in a state of picturesque dilapidation and are still occupied by local families, while others have been abandoned, and are now empty apart from a solitary chowkidar (caretaker-cum-guard). Visitors are welcome to look around inside some havelis in return for a small tip (Rs20–30 is sufficient), while others remain closed to outsiders. If in doubt just stick your head in the front door and ask, but remember that you’re effectively entering someone’s private home, so never go inside without permission.
