A village for the elephants of Amber Fort

Oct 27, 2007, 2:33 GMT

Jaipur, Oct 27 (IANS) Anyone who has been to the famous Amber Fort here will be familiar with the elephants that ferry tourists up the steep path leading to the monument. Now a special village is being created to house the pachyderms.

The complex, which aims to be a tourist attraction in itself, will have the capacity to lodge over 50 elephants and also a pond for the animals to wallow in. It will have a veterinary hospital, restaurants and a museum for tourists. Akin to a park, the complex will also have rooms for their mahouts.

The foundation work for 24 sheds to house the elephants - that are a big draw with tourists - has been completed. The project will be completed by 2008 at a cost of Rs.50 million, officials told IANS.

The Amber Fort has over 115 captive elephants, which have for years ferried tourists up the steep incline that leads to the 16th century fort.

According to tourism department sources, extensive plantation is being carried out in the park and sewage facilities are also being constructed. The museum there will showcase the unique Rajasthani culture and tradition for tourists.

Meanwhile, the tourism department is redesigning its web portal in five foreign languages - French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese.

Currently the site is in English and a Hindi version is also being created.

The portal will be made interactive with city guide maps and literature on different monuments and other popular tourist places.

'We want the redesigned portal to be more interactive and easy to access. This will make life easier for tourists wanting to come to Rajasthan,' said Usha Punia, Rajasthan's minister of state for tourism.

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service