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Places To Visit Near Jaipur

Naila-A village tucked away in time | Walkthrough

When someone mentions “Naila” in Jaipur it usually means Naila school or night parties at Naila House, Club Naila.  Pool parties in Jaipur used to be associated with Club Naila. Where else can you find a party place in a heritage building? Naila House New Year Parties were popular among the party crowd in Jaipur; this is not the case, anymore. The city has more choices when it comes to party venues. There’s a history behind Naila House too but I will stick to Naila village in this write-up.

Everything You Want To Know About Naila Village

The Rajput family of Naila House is called Naila Thikana & has its origins in Naila Village. Technically, it was part of Jaipur state before India’s independence. Thikana-It was an estate assigned to a Rajput lineage. The family that is assigned an estate is called Thikanedaar in Rajasthan.

Where is Naila and what makes it special?

Naila village is located about 30 km from Jaipur. It first shot into the limelight when US President Bill Clinton visited Jaipur and this quaint village in the year 2000. Projected as a model village, the media highlighted Naila; now things are different.

This post is not a guide to Naila Village. It’s just a photo journey, a summary of my visit to Naila. You won’t find much of local life in the following pictures; just the surroundings and built heritage and architecture of Naila.

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Approaching Naila Village, near Jaipur
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The beautiful gate of Naila was ruined by billboards and advertisements.

Surprisingly, the rampart which surrounds the village is still in good condition. Intended to protect the village from attacking armies as the first line of defense, the fortification runs all around the village, including the Naila fort perched on the hilltop.

Naila Fort History

Naila Fort was built to provide protection to the Naila village and the settlement around it. The Fort was built by Champawats after they moved to Jaipur in 1849 AD. They were part of the Rathore Rajput clan originally from Peelwa which was part of Jodhpur. In Jaipur court, Naila was an important and influential “Thikana”.  Thakur Fateh Singh Naila and Thakur Roop Singh Naila were influential and held important posts in the Jaipur court.

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Naila Fort on the hilltop
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A thin curvy road with a steep incline leads to Naila Fort. It’s a private property owned by the hotelier Oberoi group
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The Naila fort is now owned by Oberois; it was sold to the owner of the famous Indian hotel chain Oberoi by its original owners; it is referred to as The Oberoi Group. Though privately owned, the guests at the Oberoi Rajvilas Hotel in Jaipur can experience a visit to Naila Fort. I cannot verify this information as this was shared by the residents of the village. The hotel offers a sunset experience for its guests. Other than this, the fort is not accessible to the public since it is a private residence. The fort is built in an English-style castle.

Naila Palace

This is a picture of the palace in Naila village, constructed and once owned by the erstwhile rulers of the Naila estate. It conjures up two different sets of emotions.

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The beautiful Palace in Naila village is now owned and managed by the government and is run as a primary health center and also a training place for aspiring doctors and medicos.

I was excited about finding a lovely heritage building dating back to 1875 AD. The second one is a feeling of letdown looking at its condition. Advertisement on its facade is a bummer. The saddest part is the fact that now it is run by the government as a primary health center. It could have rather been a beautiful heritage hotel; it’s just waiting for things to fall apart.

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Neglect and lack of attention are evident everywhere in this palace at Naila village

I’m not sure how this beautiful property ended up with the government but the current state of the building is quite sad.

Naila estate was part of Jaipur. Jaipur merged with other smaller states to form a bigger state called Rajasthan.fatehgarh-palace-in-naila-indo-european-architecture-style-building-jaipurthrumylens  The architecture is a unique amalgamation of European and Rajasthani styles which was prevalent post-1850 AD.

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Notice the beautiful fusion of Rajasthani and European styles. Naila Village
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The wild creeper adds to the dated look of this heritage palace. Naila village
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servant quarters…. probably. Naila village
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Beautiful stone carvings were influenced by the Mughals and Araish work in  Gokhaas. Naila village

You end up thinking about the sad state; destruction & decay of heritage, architecture, and history is no one’s concern unless it generates revenue. The Araish work as shown in the above picture (white marble-like polished surface with black border) is impossible to reproduce today to the same level even though we know the processes because of expensive labor and lack of skilled workers;  we are simply allowing it to decay!!

Read Sunrise in Naila 

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New low-cost housing structures are being constructed just outside Naila village.

While the old Naila town has heritage houses and Havelis, new housing structures are coming up fast in the vicinity. As seen above, the vacant area next to the village gave way to residential quarters for the low-income groups.

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Bhomia Ji temple on the hilltop. Naila village

You can look at the surrounding views of Naila village in the above picture. Probably these views are short-lived as plotting for dwelling units has already started.

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Hawa Bungalow, Naila village
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Kanota Hawa Bungalow. Naila Village

Hawa Bungalow at Naila village is also referred to as Kanota Hawa Bungalow. It is well known among the party crowd in Jaipur. The owners of Hawa Bungalow also run a paintball facility and were the first to offer paintball in Jaipur. Of course, now even Tao Experiences also offer Paintball in Jaipur. Who offers the best paintball in Jaipur? I think the paintball in Naila village is the best paintball facility in Jaipur because of the terrain. More on Naila Village, Naila Fort, and Hawa Bungalow some other day. In Jaipur, when someone mentions the word “Naila” it generally means parties at Club Naila or the lounge elephant Naila Bagh.

Trekking in Naila

A few of my trips to Naila village were to trek in the hills around Naila. The hills in Naila were one of the toughest places to trek in Jaipur. The reason being the gradient was very steep and the surface comprised of gravel, the chances of skidding are very high. Also, the presence of brick manufacturing units in the vicinity meant very high air pollution. I still remember how unclear the air was with the presence of an industrial kind of smell. I have been informed about a commercial enterprise operating soft trekking in Naila, especially targeting children. If you want to trek and hike in Jaipur, check out my blog on trekking and hiking in Jaipur – The most popular hiking & trekking places in Jaipur.

You might want to check out this blog on sunrise in Naila during my first trek in Naila. Dawn Sky

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204 thoughts on “Naila-A village tucked away in time | Walkthrough”

    1. I have been informed that Naila fort is now privately owned property. I couldn’t visit it to verify. will do so very soon. There are many other forts around which you can visit though!

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  4. Great to know about that place. Unfortunately it is quite common in Ukraine as well. When a small city or village has heritages they are basically abandoned or used in a wrong way. I can’t agree more that all those bright and colourful banners are something ugly which could spoil each architectural monument. I wish one day we would pay more attention to the richness of our histories and heritage.

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    1. True lidiia. unfortunately these important heritage structures are considered nothing more than old building buildings. reminds me of a buffoon sitting on diamond mine not realising it’s value. People are waiting to pay for such experiences.
      I would love to see pictures of heritage buildings in Ukraine as mentioned by you! Sounds interesting to compare the styles of different culture and geographical location. 🙂

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      1. Yeah, the architecture is very different. Some of our abandoned heritages are so bad, so it’s a shame to show them here… I don’t think people know much about Ukraine, so I wish to share some of our good examples for now. But this is idea to work on for the next hunting for heritages in my region)

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      2. Lidiia I think it’s okay to show all aspects. that brings some context and draws attention too. Agreed what you show in a way makes you an ambassador of your country but aren’t we all supposed to show everything and let people know what to expect not just show the rosy pictures? That way they’ll be disappointed as they never expected. That’s my personal opinion though. I feel it’s important to spread the concern as well. that’s how we can justify our efforts and at least help the cause. anyways looking forward to what you have chosen to showcase. 🙂

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  6. Beauitful photos of this village. The rampart seems to be an important feature. The painted cars are fun:) And your last black and white view of the rampart is amazing!
    Thank you for visiting my blog! How did you find me?

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    1. Thank You for visiting Jaipurthrumylens!
      These ramparts were important part of the defense system for the village in bygone period. It’s common across this region. I’m happy you liked the painted cars and B&W rampart.
      I reached your blog through Skywatch Friday. Earlier I was regular in posting for skywatch but now a day, I post once or twice a month because I found it’s doesn’t generate much of interactions from blogger based community. In contrast wordpress users are much more interactive! what’s your experience?

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    1. I’m happy you liked it! I guess it’s the authorities that need to something about it because they’re running it as a primary health centre for the district!

      Thanks for checking it out and sharing your views! 🙂

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    1. Sure you must. After all ex – US president Bill Clinton also visited Naila! Do keep in mind it’s not a tourist place so no point in having high expectations! 🙂

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  10. I like the old world charm of the village. Captures a slice of past glory and history. Thanks for sharing another interesting snippet of Jaipur! 🙂

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    1. Frankly I could not catch the complete village as I was short on time. I could only focus on this particular building. It was written many months ago. I hope to visit again someday… 🙂

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    1. Hi! Your question is quite logical since it’s a a very small town. Clinton visited a women’s co-operative center and also to understand how smart card is empowering rural ladies. There were also other agendas.
      I’ll agree with you on advertisement. It’s a criminal act to destroy heritage! I’m sure we must be having law on that (India has thousands of laws) but enforcing it, is a difficult proposition!

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      2. You are right, as I said enforcement is an issue. when I tell vendors not to use plastic carry bags they say customers won’t buy without it. Customers will never adjust as long as its available. So it’s a classic case of who’ll bell the cat? As always, enforcement by authorities is in form of drives lasting one or two days!
        Where did you spot the picture of Clinton with village ladies?

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  19. So lovely to get to know Naila village through your lens, Arv. Very crisp photos once again. Not sure if it’s just the angles of the photos, but Naila looks like a quite little town. Maybe today it is small town where the locals know each other quite well. Ah, it has rubbed shoulders will a celebrity-politician Bill Clinton in 2000 as you said. It must have a certain kind of charm about it 🙂

    Sad indeed to hear that the heritage building has turned into a primary health centre. Hopefully it will stand for a longer time to come. In a way, when you have people and going through it, there’s life running through it. Maybe some of them take time to appreciate the architecture each and every day, or whenever they wander through 🙂

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    1. Well, I just hope that somehow this splendid piece of heritage is restored and maintained for the future!
      Yes, its a small village; certainly away from the tourist map. Blessing in disguise, I guess! Thanks for sharing your views Mabel! 🙂

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      2. While pictures are no match for the actual experience,I can understand its not always possible to travel and visit. you are welcome to enjoy Jaipurthrumylens!! 🙂

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