19th February: Stopping by the Jain temple at Ranakpur

We left the comfortable Jain homestay in the morning and spent most of the day driving down to Udaipur.  On the way we stopped in Ranakpur to visit a 15th century Jain temple dedicated to Adinath, the first Tirthankara. The stop was well worth it, and not just because it allowed us to stretch our legs. It was one of the most beautiful temples we had seen in India, very bright and well-aerated thanks to the use of white marble and gaps in the structure that allowed sunlight to filter through inside the temple. Moreover, the 1444 pillars (we're trusting the guide, John refused to count) displayed exquisite carvings.

Entrance to the temple

Aerated pillar structure

Finely chiselled marble pillars

Elephant statue inside the temple

Looking up at the main mandir from within the temple

Unfinished pillar, destroyed several times by natural causes, supposedly because of the pride of the man who paid for it

Rajasthani women knocking on the Tithankara's door

Leaving behind the magnificent temple, we drove through a very hilly region, apparently home to leopards. I kept my eyes open eager to see one but unfortunately had no luck. The driver also told us that there were a lot of tigers roaming around. It did not seem to bother the villagers who were walking along the road back from worshipping at the temple.

Hilly area around Ranakpur

We stop a few kilometres after Ranakpur for lunch. The place was not nearly as nice as the ones we had been to before but it did the trick and had a great view over the hilly valley. The scenery on the way to Udaipur was beautiful, with lots of small villages and women with colourful saris bringing colour to the landscape.

Oxen ploughing the fields

Straw huts

Irrigation system

Woman wearing a semi-transparent veil, traditional in Rajasthan

Villagers by the road

Woman walking cows

Working in the fields

A few hours later, we reached Udaipur. We dropped our luggage in the room and quickly went to the rooftop terrace to watch the sunset on Lake Pichola. Our hotel had a direct view over the Lake Palace, and we could also see part of the City Palace.

View from the restaurant of the hotel

The Lake Palace at dusk

L'apéro