Mandava Havelis : Perfect Weekend Getaway from Delhi NCR

 

  1. Objective – In Dec 23, We were looking for a quick 2-3 day getaway that was not mountains, and Mandawa had been on our list for quite sometime. With a super short notice of 1 day, my husband asked me to pack bags and we left for Mandava early morning.
  2. Itenrary – 6 hours comfortable drive. We stayed for a total of 2 nights in Mandawa & 1 night in Nawalgarh.

Total Budget & Expenses

  1. Hotels & Accommodation – Radhika Haveli – 2000 per night. Royal Haveli Resort Nawalgarh – 2500 per night.
  2. Fuel & Toll – Around 3000
  3. Food – approx 4000 – No Dal Bhati Churma or Gatte ki Sabzi in this part of
  4. Entry Tickets – Most of Havelis have their own person who charges 100 per person. Some offer a tour in this, some dont.
  5. Shopping – Could not find anything here.
  6. Total

Reaching Mandawa

The route, Karnal to Mandawa, is nice & had less traffic. The roads & landscape were new for me, as I was travelling in this part for the first time in my life. Our route passed through ——- city name, where we saw huge havelis. Later we found out that all of those little towns were birth places of India’s biggest business families like ——, ——, —–. It was truly fascinating for both of us to see how families and generations went from small towns to being India’s & global business powerhouses.

Haveli Hotel Accommodation in Mandawa

  1. We stayed at Radhika Haveli for 2 nights in Mandawa and Grand Haveli Resort in Nawalgarh. It is an old Haveli, not very nicely maintained, but not too bad either. We liked it because of its old world charms and not becuase of its amenities. The staff was good to us. Mandawa, though a very small village / town, has been a preferred shooting location for multiple Bollywood movies and each Haveli has seen their share of celebs staying in the rooms, and share their stories with a lot of excitement.

Best Time to Visit Mandawa

  1. Mandawa sees 90% of its tourism from foreigners. During the end of Decemmber though, close to Christmas, the foreign tourists were very, and the town had very surprisingly low tourist activity.
  2. The hotel prices & tourist crowds were low. The weather was perfect.

Haveling Hopping : Things To Do In Mandawa

  1. We reached there at lunch hour, and were hungry. We asked for recommendations, and out hotel staff directed us to Fort restaurant Lal Maas. This was quite good. The fort had an interesting deal where if you eat at fort’s restuarant, the tour is free, else it costs 250 per person. Of course we went for a hearty meal followed by a tour.
  2. The fort was nothing extraordinary, but we enjoyed our time there. The fort has a decent hotel as well, and is a good option. The fort is also a popular destination wedding spot, a high end one though.
  3. After lunch & fort tour, we walked around the streets of Mandawa, in awe of its murals & walls, deservedly known as the open meusuem of India. Each Haveli has a different story. We were curious to hear them, so we walked to every Haveli we could, and spoke to whoever was available in the Haveli.
  4. Dinner at local homely restaurant. The food was good. But not something we could remember after 6 months.
  5. The Havelis we checked out were 1,2,3,4,…… We can’t say if you should visit any particular one, or leave any other one. Each one is quite beautiful and unique in its own right, even the ones that have no names, and no mentions on the web. If I were asked, I would say just go there and walk and talk.

Day 2: Havelis Around Mandawa : —— Town

  1. Next day we went to explore nearby villages, as these Havelis are spread all over the region of ———. These Havelis had a signature of their own. The color changed from yellow to green. the art styles changed too. Once again, we drove & walked to as many Havelis from as many narrow streets as we could. We ate at a local dhaba enroute.

Day 3: Havelis of Nawalgarh

  1. Next day, we went out to Nawalgarh. This is a slightly bigger town than Mandawa [which essentially feels like a big village].
  2. Google gave really bad directions, getting us stuck in super corwded market with roads wide enough for just 1 car. Nevertheless, big hearted locals helped my scaredy cat husband. We were able to park our car in a good spot. We started walking, exploring.
  3. The Havelis here are newer. The art here incorporates British era much more than Mandawa [which mainly had Indian stories & elements]. As I said, each Haveli has different story.
  4. This town had proper markets, and their own local food and delicacies. Their ghevar, that thing that we ate at night, mirchi vada and so on.
  5. When it started to get dark, we had our options open ended. We could go back to Mandawa, find something in Nawalgarh or headback to our home. We were lucky enough to find a really nice hotel at good price [again, becuase the toursits were low during these weeks].
  6. Next day we had a hearty breakfast in the beautiful Haveli, and left for our home quite content with 3 days well spent.

 

 

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