Location
Ghanerao is a small village located in the Indian state of Rajasthan. A part of Pali district, the place is famous for its heritage, landscape and wildlife. Ghanerao has good road network connecting it with other places in vicinity like Udaipur and Jodhpur.
The climate of Ghanerao is tropical with the mercury climbing up to a maximum of around 42°C and a minimum of around 22°C in the summer. Winters are a bit colder with a maximum of around 20°C and a minimum of around 11°C. Annual total rainfall is around 55 centimeters. Winter months (October-March) are best to visit this place.
Ghanerao is a quiet village with an assortment of temples, step wells and marble archways. Ghanerao and its vicinity abound in temples, both Hindu and Jain. There are about eleven Jain temples (a few of them quite old) in the village itself. Besides these, there are temples of Laxmi Narainji, Murlidhai and Chabhiya. On its outskirts, there is a temple of Mahadev. The temple of Gajanand is worth seeing for its enormous statue, which is flanked by goddesses Ridhi and Siddhi, guarded by Hanuman on one side and Bhairon on the other.
About five km from Ghanerao is the temple of Muchhal Mahavir in the Kumbhalgarh sanctuary. It is a Jain temple known and said to be a contemporary of the Ranakpur temples. It is the only Jain temple in which the statue of Lord Mahavir has been depicted with a moustache. There are many local legends attached to it. The two statues of elephants on the gate of the temple are beautiful pieces of sculpture.
In the vicinity of this temple, there are few villages of Garasia tribals. The attire of these tribals is supposed to be the most colorful amongst all the tribals of India. Two or three days after the festival of Holi, they perform a grand group dance on the platform of the temple.
Kumbhalgarh, situated around 18 km away, has a fort built by the ruler of Mewar, Rana Kumbha and hence the name. It was the second most important bastion of Mewar after Chittaurgarh. Within the fort are some interesting temples. Badal Mahal or the Palace of Clouds is worth a visit and the Kumbhalgarh wildlife sanctuary is spread over 500 sq km with more than 150 varieties of animals and birds.
Narali is situated around 30 km off Ghanerao. There are a number of old temples and it is a major pilgrim centre for the Jains. It lies at the base of a hillock, on the top of which is a colossal statue of an elephant. One of the temples on the hillock is dedicated to Baijnath Mahadev and the other to Hinglaj Mata. On another hillock, there is a temple dedicated to Neminath. In the village, the temple of Adinath is said to be very old. The outer mandap, on its ceiling has mural paintings, which though over 200 years old, have retained their original luster and color. The other temples in the village are Tapeshwar Mahadev, Charbuja and Adinath temples.
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