The gold beyond the Golden Triangle

If it’s your first time going to India, you’ll likely want to see the big sights. The Taj Mahal, the blue city of Jodhpur, The Golden Triangle (Agra, Jaipur and Delhi). But, in a bid to tick off everything on your India wish list, it’s all too easy to miss out on deeper experiences. The things that you perhaps hadn’t planned for, but that you’ll be talking about for decades to come.

India is a massive country, so you do spend some time on the road to reach these places, but it’s worth it. These experiences, stays, meetings, and meals represent the hidden gold beyond the Golden Triangle, and can easily be slotted into a North India journey.

Chanoud Garh: Feel like royalty, and family

2 hours from Jodhpur

This is a place that shows off the very best of Indian hospitality – a distinct mix of feeling like a VIP guest, and right at home.

Owners and brothers Jairaj (Jay) and Mahiraj are descendants of the Mertia Rajputs (tracing their lineage back to Rao Jodha, who founded Jodhpur). The brothers come out to greet you, along with the family dogs.

Built in the 18th century, the Garh (meaning “palace” or “stately home”) has been lovingly restored and doors thrown open to guests. And it really does feel like a family home. Mismatched sofas and cushions, chess sets and books to pick up at your leisure, stained glass windows – a couple smashed by a wayward cricket ball during family games. Nothing matches but everything fits in – like any well-loved, lived-in, multi-generational home.

The brothers aren’t shy about showing you around. Their “junk room”, for instance, is filled with family memorabilia – photos from polo tournaments, marriage horoscopes drawn up across scrolls, and a huge tiger skin rug stretching across the carpet.

Each of the 10 guest rooms feels palatial, and every one has its own particular layout and furnishings. “Guests often request the exact same room when they return,” Jay tells us. “Some suites spread over two floors, so they’re ideal for families with teens that want a bit of space.”

Exploring beyond the Garh itself, retired school master Mr Ram Singh ji gave Holly a village tour, when she visited in February.

“We visited the temple first, and Ram explained everything, from special days when the temple was busier (like the day we went – it was the Hindu deity, Shiva’s, birthday) right down to the significance of the mouse on the Ganesh statues. Children rushed out to meet us along the village streets, gently disciplined by our guide when they got a little over-excited. They welcomed us so exuberantly, I felt a bit like a celebrity.

“A man wrapped a fluorescent pink turban around his head. Moms washed clothes and called their children back in, tailors sat in workshops, the entire street vibrating with the sound of the machines.”

And then there’s the farmland beyond the village.

“We explored further in an open-top jeep through surrounding farmland, greeted by farmers, with a soft bow of the head and ‘rama rama’ – a traditional, respectful greeting. They chatted with us, as they piled harvested chickpea crops high, ready for threshing.

But sunset is perhaps a true highlight of staying here, as Holly recalls.

“As the sun dipped we caught a flash of its mirror image in the lake. And just like that it was gone. We lingered, shared homemade snacks made in the garh kitchen, and watched the sky darken and the stars and planets come out.”

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Dinner was served poolside, all guests eating together.

“For the time we are all here together, we are family”, explains owner, Jay. Meals are made by family chefs. Dals and curries, warm, fresh roti, beetroot and okra and aubergine side dishes.

“Chanoud Garh a prime example of how seriously Indians take hospitality.” says Holly. “As the Indian saying goes, ‘guest is god’, but here, it goes deeper than that – you feel like family.”

Visit Chanoud Garh as part of the Rural Rajasthan itinerary.

Mharo Khet: A nine-course tasting menu in the Thar desert

50 minutes from Jodhpur

Drive a little under an hour into the Thar desert from Jodhpur, and you’ll arrive at Mharo Khet – an oasis of an organic farm and retreat.

On her visit, travel specialist Jasmine hitched a tractor ride in from the front gate.

“We met our guide, a farmer herself, and got the full farm tour. We poked our head into the repurposed shed where mushrooms grew, ate apples straight off the tree, picked peppery rocket and cherry tomatoes in a greenhouse where no chemicals were used. Everything was organic, and I could definitely taste that.”

The farm’s Paeru experience is a dinner you might not expect to find in the Rajasthan desert. Take a seat beneath the guava trees, and feast on a nine-course meal.

The menu is “plant forward” with most ingredients coming from the farm itself.

“I ate plenty of incredible food in India.” Jasmine recalls. “A spicy flavor-full thali in Udaipur, aloo tikki street snacks in Jaipur, and fish on the beach in Kerala, but this was something really special. Pomegranate seeds and puffed millet popped in my mouth, with a deep dal that was like nothing else I’d tasted.”

The menu celebrates the different stages of life, from “childhood wonder” to the “nightcap of eternity. It’s a creative concept, and staff are down to earth, attentive and explain each dish with a smile.

Mharo Khet is a working farm with a strong social purpose. Farmers are trained on site, and many members of the team come from disadvantaged communities, most of them women.

You can visit from Jodhpur for a few hours, but staying for a night or two gives you time to slow right down. Rooms are finished in warm terracotta tones, with fresh bread and coffee brought to your door each morning. Yoga, champi head massage and sound bathing are also available, though doing very little is a perfectly good option too.

A visit to Mharo Khet can be arranged as part of the Rural Rajasthan itinerary.

Shahpura Bagh: royal hospitality, without the formality

4 hours from Jaipur, Udaipur and Ranthambore National Park

4.5 hours from Jodhpur

Shahpura Bagh is a little further out from the classic route. It’s more than four hours by road from both Jaipur and Jodhpur, so coming here requires some commitment. It is worth it.

The hotel stands among farmland, lakes and small villages, in the former home of the rulers of Shahpura. The family still lives on the estate and remains closely involved in the hotel – something traveler Steve noticed when he stayed here on his trip to India.

“This isn’t a chain hotel where you turn up and are treated as a client, you’re their honored guest throughout. The family still live here, and are very much involved in the hotel. Everyone knows your name, and how you like to take your tea in the morning. There are only nine suites, so, while it is rather big for a standard home, it does feel like you’re staying with family.”

Rajasthan literally means “land of the kings” – and Shahpura Bagh is your door into that world. It’s a luxury boutique hotel, with four-poster beds, high ceilings and spacious rooms, comfortably furnished with rugs, sofas and cushions. And, there’s a pretty impressive pool for such a petite property.

While Shahpura Bagh has its royal heritage, nothing feels overly formal here.

“Dinner feels special and relaxed. You eat on the beautifully manicured lawn outside with candles and tablecloths. Waiters are trained to a silver service standard. They looked after me so well, and their warmth and genuine care squashed any awkward feelings of formality.”

It would be easy to spend several days doing very little here, but the estate and surrounding countryside offer plenty of reasons to leave your chair. A large lake lies within the grounds, with paths for walking and cycling and enough birdlife to keep even casual birdwatchers occupied.

“I saw peacocks, geese, ducks, parakeets and babblers while I was here.” remembers Steve.

And if you’re hoping to learn more about the local culture and art, there’s phad painting – a classically Rajasthani art form that depicts myths and legends, with gaatha storytelling that accompanies the fabric scrolls.

Steve met Pravin, a local artist. “Pravin’s family is one of the few remaining from the Joshi community preserving the craft. He showed us the painstaking, patient detail applied to each scene.”

Take a walk to the nearby village, home to the Indigenous Bhil community. You can visit the local farm, take a boat out across the lake, or relax into yoga and acupressure treatments back at the hotel.

Dining on the family-owned ramparts, however, was Steve’s highlight.

“You can have dinner or high tea looking across the reservoir as the sun goes down, with no other tourists in sight. I sat with a gin and tonic and listened to the evening aarti ceremony carrying across from a temple lit up in the distance.

“At times it sounded like a distant electronic soundtrack in the middle of rural Rajasthan. There were scooters beeping, fireworks going off, drums beating and cattle lowing. And yet it was completely peaceful.”

Shahpura Bagh is far enough from Rajasthan’s main circuit to feel like you’re getting a real slice of local life, but it can still fit comfortably between the state’s better-known cities.

“That’s really what makes Shahpura Bagh stand out.” Steve explains. “Coming here is a significant move away from the Golden Route of India, and yet we still slotted it easily into our itinerary – it’s almost equidistant from Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Ranthambore.

“One family has returned every year for seventeen years. That tells you almost everything you need to know about the hospitality.”

A stay at Shahpura Bagh is part of Golden Triangle with Udaipur & Shahpura Bagh itinerary

Golden Triangle India Tour Itinerary - 13 Days | InsideAsia Tours
Rural Rajasthan Tour Itinerary - 17 Days | InsideAsia Tours