The illuminated facade of the Deogarh Mahal, a heritage property in the town of the same name located in the Rajsamand district of Rajasthan state. When traveling by road, Deogarh is a few kilometers east of National Highway 8. It is 140 km from Udaipur, 280 km from Jaipur, and 170 km from Jodhpur, the three main tourist centers of Rajasthan. Deogarh was part of the Kingdom of Udaipur (Mewar), it's chieftain had the title of Rawat, and the family was one of the premier 16 aristocracies of Mewar. Their descendants have renovated and modernized the 300-year old Deogarh Mahal, and that in an Eco-friendly way.
The owners generate their electricity using solar panels, windmills and biogas plants. They have banned plastic from the premises and use bio-degradable materials like jute. Bio-degradable Haylide is used for cleaning utensils, the bathroom, metal polishers and for mopping of floors. Deogarh has a sewage treatment plant, which recycles sewage and uses the water in the garden. Traditional water harvesting technologies have long been used here and Deogarh Mahal overlooks the Raghosagar Lake. A few kilometers away the Seengh Sagar fortress is situated in another man-made lake. It is a small luxury villa with a few suites, each has a private balcony, and a common terrace where you can catch views of the forest around the lake. In fact man-made lakes are plentiful in the entire Mewar belt, the more famous being Rajsamand and Jaisamand, and the many lakes in and around Udaipur city.
Deogarh is located in hilly and forested countryside marked by igneous rocks, and undulating down to the plains. The place was quarried for several kinds of stones, like limestone, granite, and marble of a coarse kind, while sandstone was imported from the neighboring Kingdom of Marwar, located in the dry plains to the west. The Deogarh school of painting is a subset of the Mewar miniature school, and ancient paintings depicting the rulers holding court, hunting, celebrating festivals, adorn the rooms and outer walls of the fort. Excursions to the nearby temples, lakes, and forts, shopping in the town, or hiking in the rugged hills are the many attractions of Deogarh. The more relaxed kind can lounge in the swimming pool or take a break in their spa.
