Kuldhara: Story of an abandoned village in Rajasthan

Are you brave enough to spend a night in a `haunted` village in India? Yes! Then head to Kuldhara in Rajasthan. This heritage site is just 18 kilometres away from Jaisalmer. Once abandoned by its inhabitants, now tourists flock this village to see the ruins of a well established village.

Disappeared into the night

The story goes like this, a thriving village inhabited by upper caste Hindu Paliwal Brahmins was abandoned overnight for mysterious reasons. Some say that it was because of a drought, others claim it was due to an earthquake. As per legends, it is believed that an evil ruler wanted the village chief`s daughter for himself and threatened that whoever comes in between will end up paying heavily.

Cursed Village

Seeing no other way to get out of the situation the whole village disappeared one night into the unknown leaving everything behind them. It is believed that before leaving, the villagers cast a spell and cursed that no one will be able to sustain themselves here. Even after many attempts, the village remains uninhabited, whenever people tried to repopulate it they experienced paranormal activities.

How to reach:

Reach Jaisalmer by train/bus and then hire a cab to Kuldhara in Rajasthan, there are no direct buses to the village. The best way is to take a cab which might charge you around 1200-1500 Rs. for a round trip.

Where to stay:

Unfortunately, there are no places to stay near the village, one can either stay in Jaisalmer where many hostels and hotels are easily available or go a little further towards Khuri Dunes where home-stays, as well as tented accommodation, are available.  We stayed at Badal house in Khuri Dunes for 400 Rs. per night with food, if you wish to stay in the desert then Mr. Badal Singh charges around 800 Rs. a night with meals. You can contact him at 08107339097.

author --
If it wasn't for some dear friends who backed out of a trip to Ladakh, Suman wouldn't have been sharing these travel stories today! It was an eye opener, her first solo trip. Beyond the shenanigans of youthful days, Suman experienced a world of many dimensions. With her words, Suman hopes to share and inspire.

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