Location
Kuldhara village is located at just 22 KM from Jaisalmer city in state of Rajasthan, India. Tourists who comes to Jaisalmer also visit Kuldhara which is now converted into a heritage village and is maintained by at trust ‘Jaisalmer Vikas Samiti’. Roads are in very good condition and city is well connected by buses and trains. There is domestic airport just 15 KM from city of Jaisalmer.
Haunted?
Before going into details of Kuldhara archaeological site, I understand that we should not believe in ghost, spirits type superstitions but until it is disapproved, we can not say they do not exist. In Kuldhara, in 2010 a camp with team of 18, setup by Gaurav Tiwari of Indian Paranormal Society, claimed to have seen some moving shadows, haunting noise in this area. However locals refute this finding.
Our Itinerary
Exploring this village was part of our 18 days trip to Rajasthan. After spending three days in Bikaner we caught 11.30 PM train to Jaisalmer which touched it at 5.30 AM. We came out of the railway station and just walking few meters got auto for Rs.100 to drop us at RTDC Moomal hotel (2 KM). This hotel has huge compound, restaurant and rooms are OK.
On this trip day the auto had taken us in order as
Jaisalmer RTDC hotel (10 AM) – Kuldhara – Khaba fort – Drop at RTDC Samdhani desert camp (2.30 PM)
Next day
Pickup from Samdhani desert camp – Chintamani Parshwanath Jain temple at Lodrawa – Amar Sagar Jain temple – Jaisalemer RTDC hotel.
Time required to visit Kuldhara
1 hour. Entry fee Rs.50 for vehicle and Rs.20 per person entry.
Best time to visit
September to March end.
Where to stay
Since Kuldhara is 22 KM it is better to stay in Jaisalmer and visit Kuldhara and Khaba fort (14 KM from Kuldhara) by auto on way to Desert camp.
Hotel booking – https://rtdc.tourism.rajasthan.gov.in/client/hotellist.aspx
Now about Kuldhara
Early settlement – Kuldhara was inhabited by Goyal Rajputs in 13th century (800 years ago). But subsequently they were left homeless as Pal Rajputs captured their area. A Paliwal Brahmin named Harjal Kunwar came in contact with Goyals and defeated Pals to restore the homes back to Goyal Rajputs.
The head of Goyal Rajput offered the hand of his daughter to Harjal Kunwar after approval from Kashi Pandits the marriage solemnized. Goyal Rajputs offered the village and lands to Harjal Paliwal community as dowry. This was how Kuldhara and other 83 villages founded. Many Paliwals from different directions also started migrating here.
19th Century settlement – According to folklore, in early 19th century all habitats of 84 villages had to abandon the place overnight, attributed to various causes, ranging from persecution by Salim Singh to draught and earthquake. The 84 villages were evacuated about 200 years ago and still is in abandoned state. The information board on site of Kuldhara attributes to three probable versions.
First version – There was water shortage in the village and wells were drying up. The tax on village was levied heavily by Salim Singh in spite of reduced agriculture production. This lead the villagers to leave the village. But as per popular belief that the villages were abandoned overnight. If tax was issue why they will leave overnight?
Second version – It seems as per Scientists earthquake was the reason. But in that case people could rebuild the houses. Why the villagers not returned again?
Third version – A lewd minister Salim Singh was attracted to a beautiful girl from the village. He sent his guards to force the villagers to hand over the girl. The villagers asked the guards to return next morning, and abandoned the village overnight. Out of all this the third version seems to be stronger and more prevalent in locals. We can see a famous haveli built by Salim Singh in Jaisalmer city which is now a must see tourist spot. This incident also shows the feudal nature of governance those days. Maharaja Bheem Singh was the king in that period.
In 2011 and 2017 film shootings took place and they defaced the walls with Taliban and Urdu posters and painted some walls with cow dung which was objected by locals and shooting was stopped and they were heavily fined. This is developed as tourist spot in 2015.
Really speaking the below scenes of abandoned 610 houses in Kuldhara rare to be seen in human life time. That is why Kuldhara is world famous and that is why I came here.
As guide told by seeing the design of house below, it seems cluster of houses within the village had common exit door as can be seen by photo below.
The cenotaphs (Rajasthan they call it chhatri or umbrella) of the dead of those days still are intact and are bit far from the village. These are untouched.
There is a big temple in front of model house. No puja takes place here. The villagers were Vaishnavas.
Here is a model house built with roof. Perhaps it was either renovated on old house during film shooting or during a tourist festival here. These were decorated with ‘rangolis’ and model houses were created as per description by locals. The roof is of wood sticks and logs to avoid heat. The pillars can be seen. All this gives visitor a feeling of those days houses.
The rooms are of low height as we can see in all forts and havelis in Rajasthan. This door of kitchen is of small height.
A pillar inscription states that Tejpal, a Kuldhara Brahmin, commissioned the step-well in 1815.
This ends dream trip to Kuldhara which we were awaiting since years. I got the same feeling as I got seeing Indus valley archaeological site Dholavira and Lothal in Gujarat. It was a memorable trip to Kuldhara and I was amused and gratified to see the neatness and decorum with which locals are cooperating to keep the site preserved.
Epilogue
Kuldhara and Khaba village tour is a one tour without which Jaisalmer trip can not be said to be complete. After seeing Jaisalmer fort and Bada Bagh and local sites in Jaisalmer city it is a great and memorable experience to explore outskirts of city. This gave us opportunity to know the deserts and countryside life more.
We could feel the beauty of Golden city outside also as the village houses were built with yellow natural stones, sunlight falling on them looked glittering and neat, the trees at some distances, the black road and camels grazing in desert. All made our this journey to these places memorable. I suggest that no tourist should miss this trip on countryside.
Source – Information boards available on site of Kuldhara and Khaba fort, guide and wikipedia
Visits: 91