Samode Tour

Samode is quite close to Jaipur and is a perfect place to spend one's holidays. It is a place of great interest for people who appreciate culture and local arts. The village or town is famous for its magnificent havelis, mansions and handicrafts, so for your next holiday travel to Samode and see the rural life and flavors of Rajasthan.
Samode is in Rajsthan and is about 42 kms from Jaipur. It lies on the way to Shekhawati and is famous for its gorgeous havelis and forts.

History

The famous Samode Palace belongs to the Rawals of Samode, who do not belong to a royal family but are affluent noblemen. This family was bestowed the title of "Maha Rawal" by the royal family as a reward for their loyalty and courage. The Samode Palace is about four hundred years old and has gone through a lot of restoration work. Many new additions have been made to this old palace, which is now a heritage hotel.

Places to See

While you are at your tour of Samode, you can visit the Samode Palace, which has now been turned into a heritage hotel. On the first floor of the palace is Sultan Mahal, which is a magnificent hall, with a beautiful marble pillared verandah. The room is decorated with blue tile work and the walls are decorated with patterns painted with vegetable dyes. The room is furnished with intricately carved silver furniture, which was imported from Nepal. On the left side is the Durbar hall, which is quite like the other hall and has floral motifs and paintings. While you are at it, do not miss the chance to take a tour of the Hall of Mirrors, which as the name suggests, is a hall decorated with minute fragments of mirror on the walls. Though the room looks wonderful during the day, one can really admire the exquisite mirror work at night, when it looks like a million stars have lit up the room. Above the palace, on the hill, lies the Samode Fort. It is in quite a bad condition since it seems to have been hard hit by time yet it is still popular with tourists for its historical significance and the view it offers of the town below. While you are at Samode, you can also travel to Samode Bagh, which is 3 kms from Samode and is a beautiful garden that has regained its former beauty after some restoration work.

Excursions

While you are enjoying a tour of Samode, you can also travel to Shekhawati and check out all the colorful havelis or mansions. Since Samode is close to Jaipur, you can also take a tour to the "pink city" and check out various tourist attractions, such as Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar, City Palace. If history fascinates you then you can also head to the Central Museum, which is located in the Ramnivas garden.

Things To Do
What do you think of a Camel ride? This is a great way to take a tour of the Samode village and check out the local traditions and colors of the town.
You can spend your afternoons and evenings enjoying the folk dance and music performances by local musicians. They even play such instruments as, country violins, bagpipes made of goatskin and one stringed musical instrument.

Getting There
The closest airport is in Jaipur, which has flights to all the major cities in India. Frequent flights to Delhi, Mumbai and Udaipur are available.