पांथस्थ A wayfarer: Rangilo Rajasthan - Part 2

Today’s day was planned for sightseeing around the city. I had pre-booked a bike for my entire trip of 6 days. I picked up the bike and headed to Saheliyon ki Bari. This place is a garden where ladies from the royal family used to go for recreation. Today it is one of the famous tourist spots. The garden has several sections. The central courtyard, which houses a pond, dancing fountains, and decorated domes, was quite impressive. The Lotus Lake was also stunning. Flowers always attract me for macro photography. I spent some time in the garden clicking flowers of diverse colors and moved on to my next destination – Moti Magari.

Domes and fountains at Saheliyon ki Bari

The Lotus lake

Colorful flowers in the garden

Maharana Pratap statue

Magari means a hill in the local tongue. This is a small hill besides the Fateh Sagar lake. On top of the hill, there is a statue of Maharana Pratap, a museum, and a small garden. I parked my bike at the entrance and trekked up. It was a small hike. The weather was pleasant. Birds were chirping in the woods. Within a few minutes I reached the hilltop. From here, I could see a mesmerizing landscape of the lake and the city. I spent some time there clicking pictures. At the central place of the hill, the statue of Maharana Pratap was standing tall. Just looking at the great figure brought goosebumps on my body. Besides the statue, there is a museum. The museum has replicas of the famous forts of the region: Kumbhalgarh and Chittorgarh. It also houses informative panels on the history of the Mewar kingdom. Strolling through the galleries of the museum was a good learning experience.

View from Moti Magari

After spending around an hour on the hill, I came down and grabbed some food. Fateh Sagar lake is bigger than Pichola lake and has a couple of island in it. One of these islands houses a beautiful park known as Nehru Garden. I took a boat ride to this garden. The garden was quite ordinary and didn’t offer anything much interesting. I came back to the shore and headed to Sajjangarh monsoon palace.

Nehru Garden

Sajjangarh is an isolated hill around 5 km away from the city. The palace was built as a monsoon retreat. Situated at around 900 m above sea level, this palace offers magnificent view of the city and its lakes. Riding the steep, curvy road, I reached the palace. The afternoon sun was mellowed down at this height. The city looked stunning and the lakes were just adorable. The palace itself was quite a small structure and didn’t have anything impressive from architectural perspective. Probably the natural beauty of the place was so overwhelming that the creators of the palace just decided to keep it low key. Whatever! From here, I drove to Badi lake. This lake a bit far from the city, but it is the most beautiful. Just a driving along the lake was a joyful experience. I stopped at a promenade to click some pictures. The promenade was beautifully decorated with domes and arches. And there were hardly any people. I spent some time there enjoying the tranquility of the moment.

View of the town from Sajjangarh

The Sajjangarh palace

A spot near Badi lake that has recently become popular is Bahubali hills. God knows why it is called Bahubali hills. I heard some illogical tales relating the spot to a place in a random scene in the movie Bahubali. Whatever it is; the place looked quite appealing on Instagram. I was quite excited to go there. I parked my bike at a parking place in a nearby village. From there, I trekked for around fifteen minutes on a dusty, uphill road to reach this panoramic place. The spot on the top of the hill was indeed beautiful. The calm waters of Badi lake surrounded craggy hills that were spread until the horizon. Interestingly, the hill right in the front appeared like the map of peninsular India. The late-afternoon sunlight made the scenery even more dramatic. This place was comparatively crowded. A couple was having their pre-wedding shoot and the whole crew had almost sabotaged the point from where one could have the best view. People were annoyed but still tolerating their shenanigans. I spent some time there clicking pictures and returned to the city. I went to another roof-top restaurant, grabbed a beer, and called it a day.