In the local dialect, "Apani Dhani" means "Our Hamlet", an affectionate name given to the place by Ramesh C. Jangid, founder of the ecolodge and a pioneer of a form of militant tourism in India, especially in Rajasthan and his own native region of Nawalgarh.  

Get off the beaten track in India with a stay at Apani Dhani Ecolodge

For a lot of travelers in India, New Delhi is the capital of everything that they need to get away from as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, the town has some wonderful secrets that I would like to share with you.

New Delhi's hidden corners

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Khajuraho Group of Monuments

A major place of pilgrimage for the Jain community deep within Rajasthan.

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Taking the time to visit Ranakpur during your <a href="/india/">trip to India</a> will be a once in a lifetime adventure. To be honest, I insist that you go there! Imagine yourself in the middle of nowhere in France - the heart of La Creuse for example. Well, Ranakpur is even more remote. A road, a river, the Adinath Temple, a corner store and a hotel. So why bother coming here? Because the Adinath Temple is a marvel. The most beautiful of the Jain temples that you'll see in India. 1,500 m2 in surface, 33 meters high and made from marble. It's a creative wonder, with 1,444 pillars that are finely and minutely carved. A jewel in the jungle. A your challenge for the day? Find the only pillar amongst all 1,444 that isn't straight. A pointless task...if the architect had made one, tiny error it would only have been to show that 'God is perfect, man is not'; This site is a little off the usual tourist trail, but really worth the effort. I have no regrets at all about taking the time to see it.

Ranakpur is a tiny village, lost in the heart of the Indian countryside. And it's here that one of most magnificent temples in the country is found. The Adinath Temple is a Jain jewel. Out of this world!

The Ranakpur site lies lost in the Aravalli Mountain Range, some 50 kilometers from the city of Udaipur in Rajasthan, and is known across all India for its famous 15th century Jain temples. It is one of the most important places in the whole country for the Jain community. There are numerous absolutely superb temples at the site, and these are worth spending an extended time visiting on your <a href="/india/">trip to India</a>. I remember standing in silent admiration inside the immense Adinatha Temple, the most famous of all Ranakpur's temples. The fineness of the thousands of carved pillars, each representing a single piece of marble lacework, is simply marvelous. Don't be reluctant to spend a few days there.

A major place of pilgrimage for the Jain community deep within Rajasthan.

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