Where Royalty Resis

Gatore Ki Chhatriyaan-the ornate, domeshaped cenotaphs in Jaipur-never stop fascinating the discerning traveller.

- Supriya Newar

It isn’t uncommon to find chhatriyan—loosely understood as cenotaphs, in Rajasthan. There’s Bada Bagh ki Chhatriyan in Jaisalmer, Devkund ki Chhatriyan in Bikaner, Kesar Bagh in Bundi and several others to be found particularly in Shekhawati and western Rajasthan.

But Gatore ki Chhatriyan in Jaipur right under the Nahargarh Fort is unlike others and, most importantly, hardly features on any must-do, must-visit tourist list, making it even more of a rewarding find-and-spot.

Royal crematorium

The complex is an open-air cluster of crematoriums where the Rajput royalty of Rajasthan, including the founder of Jaipur, Maharaja Jai Singh II rests. Though there isn’t a guide available, the guard issuing tickets informs us that since 1733, every king of the Kachhwaha dynasty has been cremated here. Each of the crematoriums is marked by a cenotaph or chhatri thus giving the site its name. Pigeons sit atop these