A huge bird flew in front of us across the barren desert landscape. The wingspan was at least 2 meters and the height was a meter or so. It took us a while but our gracious host had soon identified the bird for us and it was a spectacular sighting, one that was very rare! It was the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard that we had just seen; only 200 of them remain today. We drove closer to the edge from where the bird had just taken off, we spotted it gracefully gliding across the desert plains, where it allowed privileged few a peek into its world.

For me, authentic travel experiences like these come before anything else. I care little for where I stay as long as I am getting to see something new and exploring like a local. So, while Suryagarh’s invitation to experience Desert Monsoon sounded very appealing, I was a bit worried about the luxury part of it. I would never associate luxury with authentic local experiences. Is it even possible to be immersed in luxury but still explore a destination like a local?

And that’s where Suryagarh scores big and rises above than being just another luxurious stay. Situated in the outskirts of the Golden City, Jaisalmer, Suryagarh looks like a structure straight out of the bygone era. It’s sandstone walls, the bastions and the regal elegance might fool you into thinking that this could be a renovated structure. But the truth is it’s a newly constructed property using yellow sandstone and designed so that it effortlessly blends into the desert landscape, just like Sonar Qila(The Golden Fort).

The folks at Suryagarh will leave no stone unturned in making you feel like royalty – from escorting in a jeep with two tall traditionally dressed men holding up fluttering orange flags to raining down rose petals as we entered the property. The rooms were super comfortable and grand but the highlight again was the many different ways in which the local traditions and styles were incorporated in the interiors of the rooms and the property as such.

I personally loved the vast and open courtyard that would reflect the shiny lights when it rained. And it did rain while we were there. There are a lot of accessible open spaces within the property and around it so it never felt I was confined. The day we arrived we were taken on a drive in the desert for a sundowner, the sun was down already but the thunders and lightning matched the high-spirited melodies of a Manganiar singer while we enjoyed wine and cheese!

Dinners can be quite the experience at Suryagarh, one night we dined under the starry skies on a hilltop and the next amidst pristine dunes with no one else around. The little attention to detail goes a long way in providing truly unique experiences for the guests, for instance as we arrived at the dunes, the local folk singers’ melodious and timely rendition of “Padharo Maro Des” [Meaning welcome to our land] lent a magical touch to the evening.

The very young MD of Suryagarh, Manavendra Singh Shekhawat, has explored the deserts around Jaisalmer and has found brilliant little spots with no name. At the end of a crazy but super-fun desert offroading, it was such a pleasure and a surprise to arrive at an oasis. It was him who took us on a ride in the barren hinterlands where we spotted the Great Indian Bustard.

Along with the MD, the entire team at Suryagarh is focused upon offering authentic experiences, like the haunted trail fondly known as “Chudail trail” where we went exploring the haunted places in the dead of the night. Or visiting the abandoned villages of Khaba and Kuldhara where legend has it that 84 such villages were abandoned overnight and were cursed that they never be inhabited again. No one lives there today. In another place, we were shown several tombstones with stone structures and inscriptions in Devanagari script; it could be the burial ground of the Paliwal community villages but there was no way to tell, another visit with a historian might clear that up.

But like I said earlier, it wasn’t just the luxury that made the experience special, instead it was the pride everyone took in upholding the culture and tradition of their land. The local stories and legends were valued, passed on and displayed with much gusto. Suryagarh very well understands that a traveler is interested in discovering the secrets of a place and not just luxury, by combining these two they have the perfect offering for the discerning traveler.

Note - I traveled to Jaisalmer as a guest of Suryagarh. 

Meghalaya is bounded by Assam on the north and Bangladesh on the south. But what’s a bit surprising is the proximity of the flood plains of Bangladesh to everywhere else in Meghalaya. You can see Bangaldesh from almost everywhere, Meghalaya being on a higher ground. Many times, we were so close that an hour’s trek would take you across the border. We would walk till the edge of the hilltop and the slopes would gradually even out to form the flood plains below. Later in the trip, we actually crossed the border but more on that later.

Yes, they do. Women inherit the property and the children take on the mother’s name. Matrilineal system is prevalent in Meghalaya, across the three tribes of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo. However, talking to the women there, I figured this system doesn’t empower them much. Matrilineal societies are different from Matriarchal societies. Even though property rights stay with the women here, it is still the brother or the maternal uncle of the lady who takes all the decisions. But the girl child is favored here and women keep giving birth to children until they have at least 2 girls because the son won’t take care of the parents, as he will move away to a different house after marriage. Read this article on Tehelka to know more about how women aren’t that empowered here - http://www.tehelka.com/raped-in-a-safe-state/?singlepage=1

Surprised again, I had no idea Meghalaya was famous for butterflies. I would’ve seen so many different kinds of butterflies in those 10 days than all the other days of my life put together. It was like a different world, as we walked through the forest, we would pass by groups of fluttering butterflies of all shapes and colors! Garo Hills of Meghalaya has recorded 300+ different species of butterflies.

One of the finest examples of Bioengineering, no amount of reading is going to prepare you for your first encounter with this exquisite creation. It takes 10 years of the Ficus Elastica(Rubber) trees to grow roots and a hundred odd years for them to grow into a strong bridge. Hiking in Meghalaya, it was easy for me to see the need for such strong structures. We had to cross several streams several times between villages. Earlier bamboo bridges were constructed which would either rot or get destroyed in the monsoons, but these living root bridges only get stronger every year!

Traveling in the remote Garo Hills, we came across many elephant corridors. I had no idea again, that Meghalaya had elephant population at all. When we were cutting across the very important Siju-Rewak Corridor, we encountered a herd of 7 elephants. Seeing wild elephants at close quarters in an unexpected place like Meghalaya was precious! However, loss of habitat and man-animal conflict is rising by the day in Garo Hills. I hope both the people and the elephants get to live peacefully.

During monsoons, one gets to see a very interesting sport here in Meghalaya, fishing! Well, with so many streams flowing through these pristine mountains, it makes sense that locals do fish a lot for food. But it was surprising to see the scale in which fishing was taken up as a hobby. By late afternoon people would settle by the banks of the many ponds and fish. There are fishing tournaments conducted with prize money to be won up to 7 lakhs! Not just in the towns but also in the remote villages, monsoons are synonymous with fishing.

This didn’t come as a surprise as I knew already that Meghalaya was famous for caves. There are several explored and even more unexplored cave systems in this state. Caving is getting popular by the day and the caves here are some of the longest in Asia. We went to the spectacular Siju cave in Garo Hills, thought to be more than 3kms long. The entrance was flooded with water and we waded through the knee-deep stream in pitch darkness towards the end of the long chamber. The sound of water flowing in the darkness was freaky but also cool in a weird way. I’m not that into caving but if that’s your thing, Meghalaya is where you should be.

The biggest revelation of this trip has to be Garo Hills for me. Very rich in bio-diversity and wildly beautiful is how I remember Garo Hills. The muddy waters of the raging Simsang River flow through the heart of Garo and enter into Bangladesh where it is takes a new name, Someswari. Along the sides of the river are pristine forests and undisturbed ranges of hills. Clouds move in and out of the valleys and when it rains, it pours. Due to rampant insurgency and its remoteness, Garo Hills is a very difficult place to visit but totally worth it.