Spotlight on Indian heritage homestays: Kot Dunara

Setting the scene:

Dhundhara is a small, traditional village deep in raw, rural Rajasthan, 55km southwest of Jodhpur. Once a rich merchant’s town on the famed Silk Route, it is now a gentle outpost of rustic life. Turbaned goat herders dressed in traditional white dhoti wander the hills, gently coaxing their herds between rocky outcrops and sparse babul and rohida plants. Children skip barefooted behind cattle along the dusty roads linking their thatched mud houses. Women in vibrant saris gather around the village’s water supply, chatting as they fill their circular clay ‘matkas’ to take water home. Visiting here is both a step back in time and a profound insight into a community and culture that has flourished for generations.

Sitting centrally in the village is the ancient ‘Kot’, a Rajasthani word meaning ‘home of the chief’. Thought to originally date back over 1,000 years, the Kot in Dhundhara has been the home of the Singh family for over one hundred and eighty of these. Today, the current generation has opened the doors of the Kot to guests and Kot Dunara (kotdunara.in) has become a highly regarded homestay.

The Kot’s grand, red sandstone entrance gates immediately set an impressive tone. Once only noble Rajput families would have been able to see beyond these walls, but opening the homestay has enabled the family to extend their renowned hospitality to all, sharing the stories and heritage not only of the building but of the village itself, with an intense pride and passion.

What to expect inside:

Within the walls, part of the original 1,000-year-old residential property is still in use, and you’ll see the remains of an intricately carved temple, destroyed by the Emperor of Delhi in 1669. The property sits in one acre of pristinely maintained grounds and has been sensitively modernised, retaining all of its period features but offering visitors a luxuriously comfortable stay.

The four guest rooms sit in an individual red sandstone building, fronted by a carved veranda where woven chairs overlook the lawn. The rooms themselves are refined and elegant. Dark teak furniture offsets the neutral décor and each bedroom is adorned with throws, cushions and rugs made by the traditional weavers of the village. Each of the rooms has an ensuite bathroom with fresh towels made of the finest Indian linen. There is an opulent indulgence to a stay here that makes you feel worthy of the Rajput hospitality.

The grounds and surrounds:

Outside, the expansive lawned garden and multitude of small terraces and pathways offer plenty of private spaces to relax. Traditional Indian day beds or ‘charpoys’ are scattered throughout the grounds, laden with bright cushions and calling for you to curl up with a good book and take advantage of the overwhelming sense of calm that pervades the garden. There’s a walled outdoor pool, perfectly refreshing in the heat of a summer’s day, which at night glows to the gentle twinkling of a multitude of lanterns.

Surrounded by the wild Aravalli Hills, wildlife spotting becomes a major draw for many guests. The team at Kot Dunara are incredibly knowledgeable about the local flora and fauna and will drive you deep into the surrounding hills on a jeep safari, seeking the resident chinkara deer, black bucks and blue bulls among a host of other species. The experience is crowned by an indulgent high tea surrounded by the peace of the Aravalli Hills.

Rajasthan local cuisine:

Back at the Kot, the family chef specialises in making meals that echo this immersion in the local environment. The local Lal Maas mutton curry is one of the family’s favourites, usually served with Ker Sangri, a vegetable dish using wild ker berries and the dried pods of the native Khejri tree. While the chef’s favourite is Gatta Curry, made from chickpea flour dumplings with a richly spiced sauce, or the traditional Rabori, a stuffed bread filled with a ‘sabzi’ of onions, tomato, chillis and spices.

Whilst these dishes are traditional to the area, the chef prepares them for the western palate and can also tweak what’s on offer should you prefer to have a more European meal during your stay. Meanwhile, if you want to recreate the Rajasthani flavours at home, the chef offers cooking classes in the kitchen of the Kot, carefully sharing the spice blends that sets this region’s cuisine apart. Meals here are often served beside the dancing light of a bonfire in the grounds or under the stars on the Kot’s rooftop.

A community experience:

A huge benefit of a Rajasthan homestay experience is the wealth of local knowledge imparted by the hosting family. At Kot Dunara, the current generation of the Singh family - Ajai Singh, his wife Sandhya and daughter, Darshika - all live on site and they are discretely involved in your experience of their ancient home. Sharing meals with guests and offering to personally guide you through their village, they gently imbue you with a deep understanding of the region’s culture and heritage.

Accompanying the family on a village walk enables you to get a unique insight into the community: from watching the skills of the local cobblers, embroiderers, carpenters or blacksmiths, to popping into the village school. They can also take you out to meet local farmers, visit a village home, translate as you chat to the people that you meet, or simply help you to navigate the local market.

Deeply committed to supporting the local community, the family recruits all of its staff from the village, while their trips and visits with guests support its local economy of artisans and craftsmen.

While a rural Rajasthan heritage homestay differs to the sweeping grandeur of a stay in a large urban haveli, the level of hospitality at a homestay is bespoke and unsurpassable. Spending time with a local family, deep in these outpost rural communities, sharing moments in their villages and properties, will leave you enriched with a profound insight and connection to the unique, historic culture of raw Rajasthani life.