Majestic Marwar - Rural Villages of the Desert

Partly in the Thar Desert, suffering from extreme temperatures and paltry rain fall, Marwar has the largest arid zone population in the world and is located in south west Rajasthan.

Throughout history the indigenous people of Marwar ‘the land of death’ managed the availability of water using various water harvesting techniques. These included ponds, (talabs or nadis) seepage wells (beris) and underground tanks. (tankas) The era of municipal water provision lead to the loss of these traditional methods, a false sense of security and terrible suffering through drought.

The Jal Bhagirathi Foundation was established to bring back traditional methods and encourage the conservation of water.

Virasat Journeys has partnered with the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation to develop some half day tours to the villages of the Marwar region that are a little over an hour’s drive away from Jodhpur.

To see these villages is a rare privilege – the villagers’ warmth is contagious, their pride in their clean well-ordered homes is evident and it is fascinating to get an insight in to how these dignified and graceful people live their lives.

From seeing the churning of butter to the grinding of flour; to marvelling at the women’s exquisite jewellery and colourful clothes to sharing a chai and trying their bread this tour is a sensory experience that anyone interested in the real Rajasthan will find unforgettable.
More than a tour; this half day trip is an insight into ‘achingly beautiful rural India’.

Significant highlights include:

Enjoy a time honoured ‘tilak’ welcome from a female villager wearing the distinctive local colourful costume. Welcome snack of local fruit or speciality. Guided tour of the village seeing the mud houses and the women at work – see pearl millet flour being ground by hand, butter being churned and the local bread being cooked. Chat to the women and find out the significance of their stunning jewellery and the history behind their colourful clothes. Visit the women in the fields and hear the beautifully haunting songs that they sing whilst working. Visit the Village Talab. Find out how villages are run and what is being done to improve conditions. Watch the milking of goats or cows when they return from the fields – the adventurous are welcome to join in! At the end of the visit enjoy a chai and watch a village dance performance in one of the compounds. Listen to traditional songs performed to the energetic beat of the chang, a traditional Rajasthani drum.