Rajasthan- Rajputana of old. Land of a people who are brave and chivalrous, people with a warlike lifestyle around whom grew the most amazing legends of romance and heroism. There is a certain magic about traveling through Rajsthan which is unequalled by any other place in the world. It is a land of superlatives…everything here is breathtakingly beautiful, impressive and fascinating. It is packed

with history, art and culture that goes back several centuries. Rajasthan-where the mood and rhythm is so overpowering that it impresses even the most seasoned traveler. It has rightly been called a huge open air museum where the relics of a golden past have been carefully preserved for the benefit of the tourist. It has something for almost every kind of traveler-for those looking for an active, action-packed holiday there are serval places which allow one to enjoy the great outdoors, there is trekking, there are horse and camel safaris through desert sands or along the aravallis-the oldest mountain range in India take a royal tour and live like a maharaja or spend a peaceful and quiet holiday in on of the several off-beat destinations in historic towns, wildlife lovers can spot tigers and others rare species in various wildlife sanctuaries. It is well-connected with other parts of the country and can be easily approached from delhi and mumby. Fast trains, direct bus and air connections make travel easy and comfortable. Rajasthan is a land where the past still lives on-and it is a glorious past, too. It is for his great land hat col. James todd, the writer of “the annals and antiquities of Rajasthan” has written, “rajasthan exhibits the sole example in the history of mankind of a people withstanding every outrage barbarity can inflict of human nature sustain and bent to the earth. Yet rising buoyant from the pressure and making calamity a whetstone to courage.” The annals of rajasthan present golden examples of countless deeds of valour and selfless sacrifice. A visit to this wonderland will leave a lasting spell on your mind. Rajasthan has a total area of 343,000 sq km and the most striking feature of this land its division by tha majestic arravalli range which rund from north-east to south-west for about 688 km. it is the backbone of the state and divides it into two regons with totally defferent geographical features. North west of the Aravallis are the Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner regions, it is the home of arid plains and the shifting sand dunes of the great Thar desert. Covering a total area of 196,150 sq km, the hard copact earth here is covered by shifting sand dunes and sparsely dotted with scrub and thony babool. Water levels are very low and have been for so many centuries. The Italian traveler Manucci, on the the several visitors who came to this area and put their impressions on record, come over to this region in the 17th century and noted: “wells are so deep that when water is drawn out of them with the help of oxen, those who set these animals to work beat a drum as a warning that the pot is at the mouth of the well and they are abut to draw water.” The later history of rajasthan is a history of various kingdoms and their regular wars with one another. It wasn’t until the mid-sioxth century that the brave rajputs, warrious par excellence, came to dominate the region and wrote the most glorious chapters of history with their blood and blade. Rajsthan was divide into kingdoms and the valiant rajputs kept themselves busy with skirmishes amongs the neighbouring kingdoms or else they faced the tusk, the Mighy sultans of the Delhi sultanate and later the Great Mughals, The conflict between the rajputs and the Muslim rulers of Delhi lasted for almost 550 years. This perios saw the rise of prithvi Raj Chauhan Maharani Padmini, the Beautiful queen of Rana RattanSingh of Chittaur, Rana Sangha, Man Singh of Amer andRana Pratap of Chittaur and scores of other names which became hallowed in fold memory. It was a period of fierce loyalties and of death before dishonor. It is this period in the history of rajathan that continues to live on in the proud inhabitants of this region and gives it a special charm of its own, unmatched by any other place, anywhere in the world. It is this period in the history of rajasthan that continues to live on the in the proud inhabitations of this region and gives it s special charm of its own. Unmatched by any other place, anywhere is the world.