In the world of tourism Southern Rajasthan is a destination abound with forts, palaces & relics of erstwhile princely order that have been frozen in history. Rural Tourism denotes the temporary movement of people to destinations outside the urban areas for rest, recreation, adventure and pilgrimage.

Rural Tourism - Offerings

Lifestyle :Rural Rajasthan has a prominent community lifestyle. All villages are bound by their customs, homes, attire, cuisine and ritual gatherings. The vivid bandanis, laheria, durries, block printing, intricate mirror work embroideries on string cholis and enormous ghagras and colorful turbans, heavy silver and kundan jewelry are most exciting. Even their footwear is embroidered, sequined and tasseled!

Music, Dance and Art : The hilly tracts of central and southern Rajasthan are rich in community entertainment by virtue of their culturally endowed residents – the tribes like Bhils, Meenas, Banjaras, Saharias & Garasias. Their extraordinary and intricate ger-ghoomer dances, kachhi ghodi, terah taal and kathputli dances and hounding ballads of the Bhopas, music of the Kavelias and Mirasis are just one speck of the immense cultural wealth of the Rajasthanis.

Festivals and Melas : Village communities come together at regular gathering during "haats" (markets), to make purchases and also celebrate life through daylong festivities. In these fairs womenfolk buy multi-colored bangles and jewelry, gymnasts display their acrobatics, men sing and dance and all enjoy spicy kick-nacks foods. It depicts their constant celebration of living. A tourist can experience the making of the beautiful mirror work embroideries or view a clay mound come to life in the hands of a potter, or chance upon a ‘haat’, travel with the nomadic tribes on their camels, taste home made spicy rich food and herd the sheep with the Rajasthani families… encounter the vibrancy of existing in rural Rajasthan.

// Activities:

• Preparation of "Master Plan" for Rural Tourism around Udaipur

• Organising Rural Tourism events

• Arranging lectures by experts on selected topics related to tourism

• Support programmes for small, micro and women enterprenuers

• Setting up a "Tourist Information Centre"

• Tourist Information Centre: TIC would be the nerve centre of tourism promotion activities in Southern Rajasthan. It will facilitate tourism and provide all information to domestic as well as foreign tourist. The scope of TIC is not only to distribute the brochures or avail the information but also to make a itinerary for tourist, booking of taxi, hotel etc.. It will be well equipped by all modern facilities like STD / PCO / ISD, E-mail, Internet, CDs etc..
  
  "URMI – 99"- UDAIPUR RURAL MELA INDIA (Oct.2-6, 1999) : A need to promote Rural Tourism in Rajasthan, in general and in Udaipur Region in particular, was being continuously felt by the members of UCCI for the last one decade. In order to achieve this objective, the Executive Committee of UCCI finally decided to organise a Rural Tourism Mela at Udaipur.
  Detailed report on "URMI-99"

• UCCI participated in Pushkar fair, by way of an information stall in cooperation with the Department of Tourism, Govt. of Rajasthan. Mr. Surendra Verdia, and Mr. Asit Bhardwaj, Project Executives were deputed to study the fair, propagate the theme and concept of Rural Tourism and survey domestic as well as foreign tourists from 18th to 23rd Nov`99.
  
  UCCI is participating in Shipgram Utsav at Shilpgram by way of an information stall in co-operation with the West Zone Cultural Centre. The Project team alongwith a team of Management Student volunteers have been deputed to propagate the theme and concept of Rural Tourism, survey domestic as well as foreign tourists and also artisans / entrepreneurs.

// Fairs & Festivals:

Baneshwar Fair (Jan-Feb) - Baneshwar is the biggest fair and festival of Tribal people of Vagad and adjoining Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat states. A religious festival with simple and traditional rituals, this fair is the center of attraction of a large number of tribal from the neighboring states join their brethren from Rajasthan in offering prayers to Lord Shiva. The fair Baneshwar spans over a week but reaches to its climax on "Magh Purnima" the full moon.

Mewar Festival,Udaipur (March-April)- This is a festival to welcome the spring season. There are songs, dances, processions, devotional music and fireworks where almost everybody participates.

Shilpgram Utsav (December)- The Shilpgram Utsav organized from December 1 to 10 every year, needs special mention. It recreates a village fare with festive mood reflected by folk artists from different parts of the country. A visit to the Terracotta Museum, the museum of masks , folk and musical instrument is memorable.

Gangaur, Udaipur ( March-April )- A festival devoted to Goddess Parvati, the consort of Lord Shiva. It is time for young girls to dress up in their finery and pray for grooms of their choice while the married women pray for the well-being of their husbands. This 18-day festival is laced with various activities and culminates in a grand procession marking the arrival of Shiva to escort his bride home. At Udaipur, magnificent and traditional boat procession is taken out in lake Pichola on the main day of Gangaur Festival.