It was getting tiring, having to stop every few kilometres to recheck the route to Siliserh village in Alwar. But once we reached there, albeit after four-and-a-half hours of driving from Delhi, the scenic beauty instantly refreshed us.
Located about 14 km away from Alwar, the sleepy village of Siliserh stands out in the tourist map for its huge lake and the heritage Lake Palace on its shore. The Lake Palace, which is maintained by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC), is surrounded on three sides by pristine, azure water. Its spacious, open-air verandah overlooks the 10.5 sq km Siliserh Lake, with the Aravalli Hills as its boundary lines. The palace was built by Maharaja Vinay Singh in 1845.
Although the palace is perched on a hill, it has boating facilities for visitors. A bit run down, only the top four levels are operational. The restaurant is bland, with little variety in its menu, but on weekends, the guests are treated with simple yet sumptuous buffet meals. The view of the lake from the restaurant's verandah, however, made up for its limitations.
A quick chat with the hotel waiter during breakfast revealed that we must not miss a visit to Garwaji Baba's temple. While we were not very thrilled with the prospect of driving on muddy, uneven and a dug-up eight km stretch, what caught our fancy was the waterfall that lay behind the temple.
The Hanuman Waterfall is nestled between towering rock hills and the only way to reach it is from the temple. According to local belief, the water originates from under the root of a tree next to the Hanuman temple. The small trek through chipped stones and pebbles led us to the steep stone stairs that ended on the fold where the water fell.
Our next stop was the Alwar Museum, situated at the foothill of the rather domineering Bala Quilla (Fort). In fact, we stumbled upon it by accident. We were trying to find the collectorate office to get an authorisation letter to visit the Bala Quilla; permission is required to enter the fort. Being a Saturday, the collectorate office wore a deserted look. On enquiring, a localite pointed us to the museum within the campus.
The museum is divided into three rooms with sections on costumes of Alwar kings and princes, vessels made of marble, portraits and miniature paintings and armoury. The displays did not have any labels; even the ones that did failed to provide sufficient information on the relics. Yet, the collection in the armoury section, which displayed different kinds of guns and hand weapons, were quite unique.
As we couldn't visit Bala Quilla Fort for lack of an authorisation letter, we decided to visit Dadhikar Fort. Built some 1,000 years ago, the Dadhikar Fort was in complete ruins before it was salvaged by a businessman from Bhiwani (a town between Delhi and Alwar) in 2007.
After driving for eight km deep inside Alwar, we caught sight of the fort. As we entered the enormous metal gates, we were welcomed by the fort manager. One of the assistants, wearing the traditional colourful turban, gave us a tour of the fort and its 11 rooms, all of which had different layouts and a distinct, earthy personality.
So, while we did not get to experience the rich heritage of Balla Quilla, we were happy to discover the charming Dadhikar Fort. After lunch, we headed back to the peaceful surroundings of the Lake Palace and called it a day.
Located about 14 km away from Alwar, the sleepy village of Siliserh stands out in the tourist map for its huge lake and the heritage Lake Palace on its shore. The Lake Palace, which is maintained by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC), is surrounded on three sides by pristine, azure water. Its spacious, open-air verandah overlooks the 10.5 sq km Siliserh Lake, with the Aravalli Hills as its boundary lines. The palace was built by Maharaja Vinay Singh in 1845.
Although the palace is perched on a hill, it has boating facilities for visitors. A bit run down, only the top four levels are operational. The restaurant is bland, with little variety in its menu, but on weekends, the guests are treated with simple yet sumptuous buffet meals. The view of the lake from the restaurant's verandah, however, made up for its limitations.
A quick chat with the hotel waiter during breakfast revealed that we must not miss a visit to Garwaji Baba's temple. While we were not very thrilled with the prospect of driving on muddy, uneven and a dug-up eight km stretch, what caught our fancy was the waterfall that lay behind the temple.
The Hanuman Waterfall is nestled between towering rock hills and the only way to reach it is from the temple. According to local belief, the water originates from under the root of a tree next to the Hanuman temple. The small trek through chipped stones and pebbles led us to the steep stone stairs that ended on the fold where the water fell.
Our next stop was the Alwar Museum, situated at the foothill of the rather domineering Bala Quilla (Fort). In fact, we stumbled upon it by accident. We were trying to find the collectorate office to get an authorisation letter to visit the Bala Quilla; permission is required to enter the fort. Being a Saturday, the collectorate office wore a deserted look. On enquiring, a localite pointed us to the museum within the campus.
The museum is divided into three rooms with sections on costumes of Alwar kings and princes, vessels made of marble, portraits and miniature paintings and armoury. The displays did not have any labels; even the ones that did failed to provide sufficient information on the relics. Yet, the collection in the armoury section, which displayed different kinds of guns and hand weapons, were quite unique.
As we couldn't visit Bala Quilla Fort for lack of an authorisation letter, we decided to visit Dadhikar Fort. Built some 1,000 years ago, the Dadhikar Fort was in complete ruins before it was salvaged by a businessman from Bhiwani (a town between Delhi and Alwar) in 2007.
After driving for eight km deep inside Alwar, we caught sight of the fort. As we entered the enormous metal gates, we were welcomed by the fort manager. One of the assistants, wearing the traditional colourful turban, gave us a tour of the fort and its 11 rooms, all of which had different layouts and a distinct, earthy personality.
So, while we did not get to experience the rich heritage of Balla Quilla, we were happy to discover the charming Dadhikar Fort. After lunch, we headed back to the peaceful surroundings of the Lake Palace and called it a day.