Barmer

Founded by Maharaja Bahada Rao in the 13^th century, Barmer is a small town yet unbelievably lively. Even though this town experience harsh climate and a tough geographic feature, still people carry on with their life without any fuss. Barmer is popular for rich traditional crafts, dances and music. Wood carving, pottery, carpets, intricate embroidery work, block printed fabrics and multi- hued traditional costumes are some of the popular items found in this tiny town. Folk music of Barmer is quite mystic and will have soothing effect on you. The Bhopas or priest singers who are found in large number at Barmer, composes music paying tribute to deities of area and the war heroes.

Another popular folk musician of area belongs to a community known as Muslim Dholis(drummers) who earn their livelihood from music. This town was an important trade route during old days. While on a tour in Barmer, visitors can observe rural Rajasthani villages with mud-walled houses embellished with folk motifs and colourfully dressed villagers. Numerous fairs and festivals are held through out the year in Barmer. The most popular of them is Tilwara cattle fair which is held every year in the month of March at Tilwara village located near the bank of river Luni.

Main Attractions

Barmer is laced with some interesting tourist attractions. Each of these tourists site tells tale of their own which will mesmerize the visitors.

Chintamani Parasnath Jain Temple: Situated in the western part of Barmer, this temple offers breathtaking sight of area as it is perched atop the hill. Built around 12^th century this temple is devoted to Jain Tirthankara Parasvanath. The most unique part of this temple are various decorative paintings that encompasses the interiors of the complex.

Siwana Fort: Located at a distance of 151 km this fort was built by popular Panwar ruler Raja Bhoj's son Veernarayan. Though with time this fort has been damaged a lot, still it house a beautiful pond within the complex. It is believed that Delhi sultanate Alauddin Khilji cornered this fort in the 14^th century but meet with stiff resistance from the local ruler.

Kiradu Ancient Temple: Situated in the Hathma village, the inscription of this ancient temple dates back to 1161 A.D. The inscription describes that Kiradu was once known as Kiratkoop and used to be the capital of Panwara dysnasty.

Nakoda Temple: Parshvanath temple of Nakoda is considered to be one of the important Jain teerth centres of India. This teerth is always teemed with the pilgrims through out the year. Situated atop the high hill, there is a black stone image of Jain saint Parshvanath and idol of Shri Parshwanath Bhagwan. These images are very attractive and followers believe they posses magical power. It is a popular believe here that this temple was built some 2300 years ago by a twin brothers namely Veersen and Nakorsen.

Other than these, Barmer has many more interesting tourist attractions to offer. Innumerable number of interesting and surprising tourist attractions awaits you in this sleep town of Rajasthan.

.