Recently a group of 43 travel experts from Shanti Travel visited Churu in Rajasthan on their yearly incentive trip. The company’s directors Alex Le Beuan and Jeremy Grasset were also part of this group. Shanti Travel always tries to introduce new unexplored destinations for tourists from every nook and corner in India and various parts of Asia.
Churu
Churu is a small town in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan and relatively unexplored by tourists. The 400 year-old town is a virgin tourist destination that must be explored as soon as possible to experience its true essence. Churu is well connected by road and railway. If you travel by road, Churu is only 280km from the capital city New Delhi. We started our journey from the Delhi Cantt (cantonment) Railway station.
Our Journey
It was 7:30 am and everyone was waiting for the train. I saw a familiar face serving coffee and tea at the railway station. And guess what! It was none other than Jeremy Grasset, the Director of Shanti Travel. A company director serving coffee and tea to his staff members was a great sight to experience. We started from the railway station at 7:45 am on the Sujangarh Delhi Express and reached Churu by 12:30 pm.
Accommodation
We stayed in a heritage hotel called ‘Maalji Ka Kamra’. This hotel was built in 1920 by Maalji Kothari, who was then a well know merchant in the region. This hotel has 15 comfortable rooms. The hotel staff had already booked rickshaws for us from the railway station to the hotel and it took 15 minutes to reach. We enjoyed the rickshaw ride and I must say rickshaws are the better option for transfers as compared to taxis as the roads and streets are very narrow in this town. After freshening up in the hotel we headed towards the Churu Desert for some team building exercises. In the desert, camel carts took us to our activities area where we played kite flying, badminton, volleyball etc. Later we enjoyed folk dances and songs by local artists in the desert.
Attractions in Churu
Our guide Mr. Shekhawat took us for sightseeing in the town of Churu. It is famous for its Havelis and fresco paintings on the walls of the heritage havelis. Havelis built in Italian architecture style are the highlight of this place. A painting of Jesus Christ smoking a cigar is a very risky expression of art and only a genuine artist can take this risk! You can also see a painting of the younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte on one of the walls of these havelis. We also visited a Jain temple during our guided tour. This temple was truly one of a kind with colorful lights, golden paintings and glass designs creating a wonderful ambience inside the temple. The market near the clock tower is a place where you can interact with local people. This market was quite busy where one can buy food, toys, clothes, bangles, spices and much more. We finished our market tour with the famous chai wala of Churu.
After the Himalayas, Rajasthan is my second love. Take a look at the programs Shanti Travel offers in Rajasthan, which we can tailor to your preference http://www.shantitravel.com/en/north-india-tours/rajasthan/
