Fort Chanwa

In 1894 Kaviraj Muraridanji, an administrator in the service of Maharaja Jaswant Singh II of Jodhpur, was granted the hamlet of Chanwa as a jagir and built a fortified haveli on it. In 1941 the village reverted to the state under a succession law he had himself introduced. Chanwa was granted in 1948 to Maharaj Dalip Singh, youngest son of Maharaja Umaid Singh, but the fort was left to decay until 1992, when the family opened it to guests.

The whole building is Jodhpur red sandstone, with carved lattice friezes and jharoka balconies. Inside is a complex of courtyards, towers, a water wheel, passages and unexpected stairways that come out at small pavilions and rooftops looking over the village of Luni and the Thar horizon. Traditional wall paintings survive throughout.

There are 65 rooms, of which the three Heritage Suites sit in the original haveli. The restaurant runs buffet and a la carte for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and there is an outdoor pool with a poolside bar and a gifts and handicraft shop. Village safaris go out by jeep or camel to see potters, weavers and blackbuck. Luni Junction is a kilometre away, Jodhpur airport 30 km.