Most Abandoned & Haunted Place In India- Kuldhara Village
I cannot explain that I have the tendency to explore ruins or haunted places which carry some kind of mystery in them. Their histories, their inhabitant, their beliefs, their art, culture, and their life always interest me. Ghost or spooky places hold a charm very different from the ruins of castles and fortresses, mostly because they give us a chance to peep right into the lives of the people who once evacuated them or we thrill to imagine unseen creatures. While we were in Jaisalmer, it was quite natural for us to desire a visit to Kuldhara, the most haunted village in Rajasthan… and so we did.
On the way Kuldhara..
So accordingly we came to be on the road to Kuldhara, about 20 km from Jaisalmer, on January 1st while listening to Salim, our car driver-cum-guide, narrated the story of how Kuldhara came to be evacuated, cursed and haunted. (Salim is a marvellous driver cum guide who never bored you with his very polite & friendly behaviour with his excellent knowledge about Rajasthan). There were few stories popular among the residents of Jaisalmer spooky as well as scientific.
Ruined part of the debris..
Story of cursed Kuldhara:-
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Kuldhara is inhabited by the rich and wealthy community of Paliwal brahmins. Kuldhara is the largest of a cluster of 85 villages that this community is spread out in. According to the legend, the evil eyes of Salim Singh, the powerful and debauched Prime Minister of the state, fell on the daughter of the village head and he desired to marry her by force. He threatened the village with grave consequences if they did not adhere to his wish. The girl’s father refused as he was from a lower caste. The Prime Minister was furious and gave a 24-hour ultimatum to the girl’s father to change his mind or else…
An emergency community council of the Paliwal Brahmins is convened and they arrive at a decision — to leave the area forever immediately to avoid death and dishonour.
And so it came to happen that the residents of Kuldhara and the other 83 villages take what they can with them, bury the rest and leave their villages in the dead of the night, never to return. The people of Kuldhara also leave a curse behind that nobody would ever be able to live in the village ever again, and whoever tried to dig out the wealth would live to regret it.
Time passes. Days turn into weeks, months, years and then decades. A century goes by and then another. The elements take over and decay and ruin set in. The ghosts of those who had been forced to abandon Kuldhara also return to the village after their deaths. After two centuries the local government started work on this abundant village. Few houses are “renovated and restored”, the local temple made somewhat functional, and voilà an abandoned village is all set to welcome visitors, but strictly during daylight hours only.
Another theory has it that a war erupted, forcing the evacuation.
Cursed house…
Cursed & Haunted structure of the village..
We were trying to pretend ourselves a ghost in front of other public, who were already scared 😉
If you reach here, you will see that many half-standing buildings or broken houses are still standing there in the rubble. There are stones all over. Some stones of the houses have particular shapes, you can know which stone might have been fitted in which part of the house. It is fascinating that the stones of the houses are still in the same places. people around the villages have not taken them. They believe that the spirits of the people who lived here are still haunting the place hence they don’t pick up anything from here. They also say that no one stays here at night as they can’t because of the spirits.
It appeared to be a well-planned village with straight, wide streets arranged in a grid-like pattern. Some of the houses were double-stored and were perhaps the houses of the village headman and other important people of the village.
Even I have seen the stepwell (ruined) also there which proves that in that time people knew to store water for seasons.
Stepwell
Spooky Step well…
But I also found some mysteries when roaming in the area.
- There were temples but no God or Goddess idol was found in them.
temple without god…
- There was a room behind the temple locked by giant lock & some sounds appeared from that locked room, I tried so much to look into the room through hole but actually seen nothing only experienced with goosebumps.
- We heard some spooky or unnatural sounds that came from a well, which actually scared us.
Even though it was cold , the sunray was very bright and it was difficult to stand for long I left that place with believe them to be real!
So would you dare to visit?
Beautiful pictures, Pamela. I was in Kuldhara last year and the story of 83 villages deserting overnight is indeed a act of dare that community undertook to preserve their honor. Keep the posts coming, Ghost 🙂
Thank you Jatin for your nice complement.. yeah spooky place attracts us most, so no chance to miss this ghost village if you are at Jaisalmer ;).. Government did a lot to renovate the place..
Yes, rightly said 🙂
Interesting post. Thanks.
Thank you 🙂
Very Interesting post. Thanks you share…….
Glad that you liked my post 🙂
what an amazing place! creepy, yet waiting to be explored!
Sure, I bet you will really like the place. 🙂
Ruins definitely have an eeriness which attracts people.
I would definitely love to explore these places.
And I thought Bhangarh is the place which is at number 1? I haven’t visited either of these, have just heard about Bhangarh.
Yeah Kuldhara is a nice place for spooky adventure, even I too haven’t visited Bhangarh …but will explore Bhangarh soon..
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Nice post with some lovely pictures. Enjoyed reading it.
Somewhat similar to that of Bhangarh in Rajshtan. Have you visited Bhangarh? I’ve it on my list when I travel to Rajasthan. I think I should include Kuldhara too on my list. Thanks for sharing!!
I am glad that You liked it :), I have not visited Bhangarh yet, but its in my list and hopefully will go there in November.
I am sure you will love the place Kuldhara, a tiny ruined village situated next to desert 🙂
Cool… Pls share your experience going to Bhangarh too… Would be looking forward to read your post 🙂
For sure 😀
The pics justify the “Spook” theory 😛
Thanks a ton 😀
I have read a lot of travel blogs so far but this has been the most different and quirky stuff 😍 keep going girl! ❤
I wasn’t familiar with Kuldhara, but really seem to know about it a little better now because of your post. The visit there must have been one fascinating experience. I love the way you’ve shared it through pictures as well.
Haunted places have a charm of their own. And we seem to be attracted to those places. LOved your account of visiting Kuldhara. The legend behing the village becoming haunted is quite interesting.
It was fun that you were trying to scare people by pretending to be ghost! Did you scare anyone?
I have heard a lot about the legends of Kuldhara. I need to visit here soon. It is such a spooky and strange place. The temple with no Gods and Goddesses freaked me out. The stories behind the place was very interesting. I hope I can make it here this winter. I have been planning since a long time.
I have never visited a haunted site and intend never to visit one anytime soon 😝
Ooh this place is so intriguing! I had never heard of it before!
I have heard about Kuldhara before however the haunting stories give a chill in my spine… Never got the courage to visit this place, however after looking at the beautiful pictures i have to plan a visit soon
Kuldhara definitely has an interesting history. I personally am very scared of haunted places but would like to stop over once to check the place out 🙂
Hahha.. How can u try to scared those already scared cretures.. By the way what’s your take? Is there ghost or just beliefs
Kuldhara seems like an interesting place for ghost hunters to go. The importance of history and culture can never be over emphasized, we should always strive to conserve them. I am glad we still have something left to see and learn about.
I have been there and whatever you are suggesting stands true. It is spooky, eerie yet it will fascinate you. Visit to Jaisalmer cannot be completed without a visit over there. I loved your photos and the way you presented the facts.
Very well written article. I got scared when you said you could hear noises from inside the locked temple and the well. It’s indeed spooky. I intend to visit Jaisalmer soon, I will visit this place as well
Your pics are the highlight of this article and am sure you had a great time visiting the place..lovely read. Do keep sharing more such stories
India indeed had a lot of gems hidden! Most of Indians are not aware of them. I would not just take Indians into my point but also governments initiative to bring more awareness! Thanks for this creative blog though
Well this is as spooky as it can get. It’s quite fascinating hearing about such history. I feel bad for those villagers who had to leave their home. Perhaps now they’re back and would stay here forever
Mazza tab aata, if you’d have had visited this place post sunset 😜
Have heard about Kuldhara before but haven’t got the chance if visiting. Looks like a trip to Rajasthan will be on the cards soon.
Great Pictures and information. I was getting goosebumps while reading. Did you manage to sleep well after coming back form Kuldhara