Three weeks in Rajasthan March 2025 - Alwar to Deeg.
One of the greatest joys of exploring Rajasthan is discovering places beyond the usual tourist trail. With its rich history, the region is dotted with towns and sites that have risen to prominence and then faded into obscurity. These lesser-known spots often offer the most rewarding experiences, especially since they receive fewer visitors. The locals are always particularly delighted to see travelers who venture beyond the main destinations of the Golden Triangle.
During our recent three-week journey through Rajasthan, we visited both well-known cities and hidden gems, while also meeting with our suppliers. Rajasthan is a treasure trove for cotton textiles—think bedspreads, as well as the beautifully printed pyjamas and robes that are so popular in the gallery. The region is also famous for its stunning stepwells, making it a paradise for photography. This blog will focus on some of the new images from our trip that are now being added to the photography collection. Although I also used my full frame camera, these images were taken on an iPhone.
From Delhi airport we drove to the outskirts of Alwar and spent a couple of nights at the Sariska Hill Fort hotel where I took this photo of the evening sky with lights in the local village and distant views of the Aravalli hills.
You can buy this & several other photos in the Photographs Collection, prints from £25 (A3 size).
A couple of hours drive east of Alwar is the small town of Deeg with an old fort and palace dating back to the late 18th century. Although the fort, complete with rather stagnant moat, is rather stripped of interesting architecture the palace has fine buildings and gardens with literally hundreds of fountains powered by rooftop water tanks. Tha water ran through miles of pipes cut into the stone; to create coloured fountains cotton plugs filled with dyes were inserted into the mouth of the pipes that ran from the water tanks.
The atmospheric old fort walls have wide ramparts with eight circular bastions topped with cannons; a central tower with the largest cannon has a spiral path leading to the top. The one remaining building is an old haveli, unfortunately closed, with a delightful shrine to Krishna with a brass bell underneath a vibrant green cupola ceiling. To ensure a water supply in case of a seige there are several circular well shafts inside the fort; looking down you can see water but can't gauge the depth.
