Calcutta to Jaipur
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Calcutta to Jaipur |
| Calcutta to Jaipur or West Bengal to Rajasthan (7 to 21 July 2001) |
| From Calcutta onwards,
we have started our long journey back west. With loops to Rajasthan (thin
red line) and Ladakh (north of Delhi) we will not be taking the shortest
journey ! After a short visit to Vishnupur, 120 km west of Calcutta and
well off the beaten tourist track, we went straight to Varanasi following
the famous GTR Grand Trunk Road that used to link Calcutta to Kabul.
Because of its poverty, Bihar is said to be unsafe for tourists so we
decided not to linger there. We visited famous places along the way
(Varanasi, Khajuraho) but also took care to visit less well-known temples
and palaces and were amazed. Despite what the red line indicates on the
map above, we had to return to Delhi to fix an extension to our Indian
visas before heading South to Rajasthan.
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On our way out of Calcutta, heading west to Delhi and dealing with Indian traffic
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| Off the beaten track : Vishnupur |
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Vishnupur, capital of the Malla kings from the 16th to the early 19th century
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| Off the beaten track : Orchha |
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The small village of Orchha and its fortified complex of palaces and temples (left & centre). pilgrims (right)
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| Off the beaten track : Datia |
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The seven storey palace of Raj Bir Singh Deo
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| Off the beaten track : Fatehpur Sikkri |
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The magnificent fortified city of Fatehpur Sikkri and Dargah Mosque where the Pakistani President flew in by helicopter during the Agra summit to pray.
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| On the road |
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Through the city gate at Orchha (left), heading to Khajuraho (centre), children writing their names on the back of Troopie in Datia (and peeling off sponsor stickers !)
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| Indian countryside |
| Many km on the road are spent driving through Indian countryside. Since we have left Sikkim, we have only seen plains and thriving agricultural activity. With more than a billion people living in a country significantly smaller than China, you are never alone. As soon as we stopped, a small incredulous but friendly crowd would gather around us. |
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Dung drying on the wall to serve as fuel (left), pictures of never changing rural India (centre & right)
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| Gwalior |
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Gwalior and the famous fort on its citadel (left), bricks drying in the countryside (right)
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| The first of our extra pages is here : |
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| If you need a travel agency
run by a Westerner based in Delhi, contact Isabelle Willemart at :
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We are doing well !
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| Kathmandu to Calcutta | Back to Trip page | Rajasthan |
